devil claws

How do the Bushmen (people of the San tribe) make a living today from tubers with medicinal properties found in their territory, through sustainable exploitation?

The plant "devil's claws" got its popular name from the shape of the seed lects that are equipped with uncoiled spines, spines that are caught in animal fur and thus spread the seeds of the plant. Elsewhere I wrote about the right of residents to receive royalties for developments from natural resources found in their area (plants, minerals, etc.). One of the well-known examples is the San's demand for rewards from slimming drugs that are developed from the thank you plant that originates from Drap and has been used by the San for many generations. Now the Sun gain the ability to receive rewards from an additional plant / medicine. Devil's claws is a plant that grows in the DRAP deserts, especially in Namibia and Botswana, home of the San. For a plant that has roots that develop elongated tubers, these tubers were used medicinally by the San people from the beginning of Dana. Pain, fever, digestive problems, gland activity, skin lesions, all of these are treated by the tubers. At the beginning of the twentieth century, European settlers brought the tubers of the plant to Europe to use as a medicine for arthritis. as well as a medicine to improve appetite. After testing, it turned out that the active substance (iridoid glycoside) or harpagoside can be extracted from the tubers, whose concentration in the tubers is between 1 and 3 percent. The recognition of the medicinal value of the plant led to a growing demand, a demand that has recently been met by the Beni Hasan, until 2006 there was a ban on collecting the tubers, due to the great damage/destruction of plants by wild collection, starting in 2006 (sustainable) collection was only allowed to the Beni The sun, collecting tubers in quantity and in a way that will ensure the continued existence of the plants. In this way, about 12 tons of bulbs were collected this year, bringing in about $60.000, of course the income is for the collectors, that is, for the San people. To ensure a sustainable collection, about 300 people were trained in a collection method that would not harm the plants, licenses for collection were distributed and together with the licenses, cutting knives and collection bags were distributed, each collection is limited in the amount of tubers when the supervision is by locals / the raw material is purchased by only one license holder and thus it is possible to monitor The process from collection to export. And once again, the San people - the local residents, who have the knowledge and tradition to use the plant get the opportunity to profit from the knowledge and tradition to utilize a natural resource in their natural environment. So yes and so handsome! Dr. Assaf Rosenthal, ecologist, tour guide/leader in Africa and South America. For details: tel. 0505640309 / 077-6172298, email: assaf@eilatcity.co.il