MEDICINAL AND AROMATIC PLANTS

MEFBA leverages the power of its nationwide grassroots alliance to amplify the voices of local peoples and proactively engage local elected governments, multilateral institutions, and private sector actors to adopt market led demand-driven NTFP social business dynamics with conservation and rural livelihoods. The Alliance works to actualise a structured grassroots entrepreneurial agenda to sync with the gendered rural self-employment with bio-economy models to thwart climate challenges locally and replicate the successes to scale up creating an impact for climate resilience and adaptation.

 

The Alliance seeks to unblock all local social, political, cultural and other institutional obstacles to create the enabling conditions for an impactful progress in the quality of life of the local community and the biosphere that surround it and eventually create pathways to scale.

The livelihood is the processes comprising the capabilities, assets and activities that provide a means for living’ to the human beings. Livelihoods are best examined through Sustainable Livelihoods Framework (SLF), which is based on the premise that livelihood is not about resource productivity but it is about people and their lives. Livelihoods are sustainable when they are:

 

• a) resilient to shocks and stresses,

 

• b) independent of external support,

 

• c) maintain the productivity (and diversity) of natural stocks; and

 

• d) do not adversely affect the livelihoods of others.

 

In other words, SLF:

 

 

• • builds on the strengths of people, their resources and knowledge systems,

 

• • strengthens local institutional capacity,

 

• • attempts to remove conditions causing poverty rather than poverty itself,

 

• • gives priority to improving policies, processes and institutions in developing and implementing programs.

 

 

Medicinal and aromatic plants (MAP) – based livelihood systems are often mediated by the market forces and/or related directly to employment and income of the poor people. MAP and other biodiversity – based livelihoods can not only become poverty reducing but they can also be made socially equitable and gender balanced. Therefore MEFBA has, designed the interventions carefully to enhance and diversify livelihood strategies with a focus on strengthening existing biodiversity-based livelihoods by considering the following points:

 

• both non-monetary and monetary benefits from NTFP biodiversity-based livelihoods;

 

• improving linkages and synergies with and amongst other components of NTFP biodiversity;

 

• landscape-scale management practices that protect or enhance biodiversity (organic farming, mixed farming, community forest management, water management to enhance aquatic resources as part of landscape planning). MAP-based livelihoods are cleverly mainstreamed with other components to enhance human welfare, especially among the poor and marginalized communities living in the fringe of society.

Nepal has a large number of valuable medicinal plants naturally growing mostly in fragile ecosystems that are predominantly inhabited by rural poor and indigenous communities. The sustainable management of these traditionally used plants not only help conserve nationally and globally important biodiversity but also provide critical resources to sustain livelihoods. Himalayan mountain region, for example, has in abundance, a diverse range of herbs, shrubs, trees and vines that have significant medicinal value whose healing properties are known to the local healers and traditional doctors for centuries but are currently threatened due to lack of concerted conservation efforts. The value of medicinal raw materials annually exported from Nepal to India alone was USD 60.09 million in 2014.

 

In all the countries of South Asia, medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) play a significant role in the subsistence economy of the people, especially those living in the rugged and impoverished hills, mountains and rural interiors. The collection, simple processing and trading of medicinal plants contribute significantly to the cash income of the poor and women in these regions. Unsustainable and large scale harvesting of MAPs from the natural habitats without providing equitable benefit to the local people and government is a self defeating enterprise. In the Karnali region of Far Western development region of Nepal, almost all the local people are dependent on medicinal plants collection for their livelihoods. Therefore, by sustainably using and growing economically remunerative MAPs, there is an ample scope to maintain both the rural livelihoods and environmental sustainability. MAP-based local micro-enterprises can also bridge the gap between rural poor and relatively well-off urban rich and promote social harmonization and sound environment conservation.

Alleviating rural poverty in South Asia will require efforts, which go well beyond the basic income yardstick. It has to include improved access to primary health and education services, the right to a sustainable means of livelihood, protection from external shocks, and the power to participate in decision-making that affects the lives of the poor and marginalized communities. Meeting all these challenges will require, in addition to enabling rural development oriented policies, sustained income growth of rural people. The MAP sub-sector is an integral part of natural resource management (NRM), contributing to economic growth, environmental protection and trade. The potential contribution of MAP can be substantial in capital-poor but resource-rich countries of South Asia if investment and efforts can be substantially increased in this sub-sector. The overriding challenge for the region in the coming decades is to secure sustainable economic growth in the face of an increasing population and distribute the additional wealth created to reduce rural poverty and improve the quality of life, especially for poor, women and indigenous community who are most vulnerable to slip in and out of poverty trap

In this context, medicinal-plants sub-sector has much to offer, not just in the way of raising season income through collection and cultivation activities, but being an integral component of forest resource management, especially in the processing and marketing of non-timber forest products (NTFP), and providing a means to create rural assets and wealth through the development of micro-enterprises. MAP biodiversity assessments, inventorying and management, and establishment of mixed and multi-story plantations are particularly labor-intensive activities that can create a large amount of employment. MAP-based community/agro/farm forests can provide opportunities for livelihoods in nursery development, plantation management and post harvest activities and in the development of nature-based complementary health care products and services managed by local people. Although much of the employment traditionally created by community forestry is relatively low skilled, and has in the past been mainly for men, there is no reason why in the new plantations, especially home-gardens and agro-forests, women, dalits and the local indigeneous groups cannot be targeted.

 

Therefore, MEBFA envisages small enterprise development for utilising the Medicinal and Aromatic Plants under Non Timber Forest Products sector including plantation and cultivation of bamboo and other high value berries, fruits and plants. The MEFBA is pursuing three project development realms in collaboration with key stakeholders, principle among of which is the local forestry communities :

 

• Community Engagement and Professional Networking;

 

• Product Design and Supply-Chain Coordination; and

 

• Integral Communication Systems

There is an increasing global demand for medicinal plants. Nevertheless, the nature and scale of processing in national-level medicinal plant production networks, can be smartly leveraged to attain the sustainable development goals under forestry sector.

 

Medicinal plants are a key asset of Nepal. With better management of the sector, this asset can contribute to increased prosperity—demand for consumer products containing medicinal plants already exists. Domestic demand was the starting point for the commercialisation and growth of the medicinal plant secondary processing sector in Nepal, following regional and global trends of higher consumption of traditional medicine products. However, Nepal is a supplier of raw materials to mainly India and China and a producer of lower-value domestic consumer products rather than an exporter of higher-value products. To make this transition, and benefit from a potential manifold increase in exports, sustained and consolidated efforts must be made to address the obstacles hindering enterprise operations and expansion. This includes simplifying bureaucratic procedures, creating stable and supportive legislation, establishing missing infrastructure such as for product quality testing and supporting certification processes, and improving access to processing technology and labour. These limitations are found for many non-timber forest product enterprises in the Global South. What is missing, across products and countries, are interventions based on actor agreements on explicit pathways that promote sustainable economic growth while conserving the resource base. Such pathways can be developed as part of a theory of change that can then form the basis for establishing national bioeconomy strategies relevant to renewable natural resources in low-income countries. The community based SME model of sustainable business based on NTFP sector espouched by MEFBA is the planned pathway for synergizing grassroots sustainable development and environmental conservation

MEFBA interventions:

 

1. Strengthen existing community forest user groups (CFUGs) and cooperatives: Existing groups engaged in the collection and trade of soapnut need support to develop their knowledge and skills on better business planning and instituting strong governance mechanisms. Among these groups, the sustainable use of resources should be encouraged through the promotion of nurseries, high-quality seedlings, and scaling up of plantations, both in private land and community forests.

 

2. Support cooperative storage facilities: A substantial amount of soapnut is produced each season, and cooperatives currently lack the infrastructure to store surplus soapnut. By supporting the construction of collection centres in the villages and a larger storage facility in the market hub of soapnut producing areas in collaboration with the local elected governmental agencies, to minimise the damage and wastage of soapnut crop.

 

3. Introduce grading and quality certification system: soapnut comes in different qualities due to the lack of appropriate harvesting practices and periodic infestation by pests and diseases. This affects the marketability of the product, thus reducing its overall price. Potential interventions include capacity building of collectors on quality segregation, grading, packaging, and branding and providing support for the development of certification systems. Good quality soap nuts will be traded directly, whereas moderate quality soap nuts will be used for powder making and poor quality soap nuts for saponin use in soaps, shampoos, and detergents. 

 

4. Support product diversification, packaging, and branding: soapnut is currently traded from Nepal in the raw form. Opportunities exist for value addition, such as making powder, extracting oil, or making herbal soaps and detergents. Interventions are also required for improving packaging and developing the soapnut brand.

Plant Description:

 

It is a medium-sized tree with a straight trunk of 15 to 22 meters in height and a girth of 1.5 to 1.8 meters. The bark is dark grey or brown and 1.3 cm thick. Leaves are 20 to 35 cm long and 9-18 cm wide, crowded at the end of branches. The fruit is a berry, 2 to 4.5 cm long, bright green, or blackish, shining with a thick, soft pericarp. The fruit is oval and green in color with three seeds that turn juicy and grey after ripening. The exterior of the fruit is thick, soft, and rich with glucose and fragrance. It contains black and sparkling seeds of 1.5 to 2 cm in length, which have almond-shaped white-colored kernels inside. The seed coat is thin to thick and woody to crusty.

 

Product Description:

 

Phulwara butter contains 56.6% palmitic acid and 3.6% stearic acid, both of which are saturated fatty acids.It also contains 36.0% oleic acid along with 3.8% linoleic acid, both of which are unsaturated fatty acids. Oleic acid is a mono-unsaturated fatty acid and has one double bond at the 9th carbon of its hydrocarbon chain. Linoleic acid has two double bonds in the hydrocarbon chain of the acid.

 

Chemical Constituents:

 

It contains high contents of C16:0 and C18:1 fatty Acids, respectively. Phulwara butter may be a potential source of palmitic acid for the pharmaceutical industry.

Composition of fatty acids

 

Uses:

 

Chiuri butter gives stable emulsions due to the uniform triglyceride composition with high oxidative stability. It may be used as an ingredient in skincare products, massage creams, make-up, soap, sun care products, and body lotions. The butter can not only be used in daily cooking, but also in fueling lamps.

 

Chiuri butter is used to cook vegetables and curries. Likewise, this butter has a variety of applications in confectionery, pharmaceutical, vegetable ghee production, and candle manufacturing.

 

This butter is an effective massage for rheumatism. Also, it is used as an insecticide, nematicide, wormicide, molluscicide, and rodenticide. Chiuri butter can also be a source of saponin for the industry.

 

Importance of Chiuri Tree among Chepang Community

 

The Chiuri tree is a medium size tree which is native of Nepal. It grows mainly in the sub- Himalayan tracts on steep slopes, ravines and cliffs at an altitude of 400 to 1400 meters, particularly in the Chitwan district. The principal inhabitants of Chitwan district are the indegeneous Chepangs people. These simple resilient forest dweller tribes are known for their immense knowledge on forestry products and their traditional collection, harvesting and processing methods. They have a deep cultural relationship with Chiuri trees as the tree is a central to the Chepang cultural life including its importance in the Rite of Passage.

 

MEFBA Interventions:

 

• Intervention of efficient and low cost processing technology has to be made to replace traditional technology. Quality and quantity of butter can be improved with a mechanical expeller as oil content in the chiuri kernel is about 50-70 percent. The rate of extraction by the traditional expeller “Chepuwa ” is only 38 percent.

 

• Training on entrepreneurship building and marketing is essential for the producers and processors.

 

• The potential use of Chiuri and its export to foreign market should be explored.

 

• Solar dryer needs to be promoted.

 

• Research is needed to establish its potential uses in different fields.

 

• Promotion of Chiuri products in urban areas through a wider marketing network and promotion and publicity.

 

• Promoting vertical sourcing integration by the importing companies will ve a crucial value addition to chiuri butter.

 

• Organising individuals from the community into groups and cooperatives will ensure bargaining positions for getting higher price for the butter.

Honey

 

Nepal has tremendous opportunities in beekeeping due to the richness in the natural floral habitats diversity and the honeybee’s species. There exist four native honeybee’s species Apis florea, Apis dorsata, and Apis laboriosa are open nesting and Apis cerena halfway domesticated types. The beekeeping in Nepal contributes to the economics boost up of the rural and marginalized landless farmers.

 

Himalayan Chiuri Honey

 

In the Himalayan region of Nepal, there are many microclimate specific plants, which produce enormous quantities of nectar for bees like Chiuri (Butter Tree). Chiuri, native to Nepal, is a multipurpose tree mostly distributed in the Churia forest range areas, which has significant cultural and livelihood associations with the Chepang community. The Chepangs are one of the indigenous minority communities, largely dependent on forest products for their survival by hunting, fishing and collecting edible forest products that includes Chiuri (Butter Tree). Chiuri is the main source of edible oil, honey, timber and fuelwood in the Chepang community. While Chiuri flowers have therapeutic value as the oil extracted from its seed is also used to cure different kind of skin diseases.

 

Chiuri (butter tree) is a medium size tree, naturally occurring in warm temperate areas throughout the pristine Himalayan tracts on steep slopes, ravines and cliffs up to 1500m above sea level. It flowers during cold season. During this season, the plant produces so much nectar that it overflows; hence Chiuri Honey is very fragrant and full of pollen with enormous health benefits. Chiuri Honey is harvested at winter from the pristine high altitudes of the Himalayas, giving it a uniquely high antioxidant capacity. Chiuri honey has fine granulation, pleasant taste and sweet aroma. The taste, quality, and standard of Nepali chiuri honey are among the best in the world.

 

MEFBA Intervention:

 

• Mobilise, organise, motivate and train the Chepang and other weaker sections communities into cooperative societies

 

• Train beekeepers in simple and profitable beekeeping

 

• Help beekeepers to access fair and reliable markets for their produce

 

• Further knowledge and understanding about sustainable apiculture

 

• Share information and knowledge to build capacity

 

• Connect beekeepers all over the world within our network

 

• Protect and restore habitats for bees and biodiversity

 

MEBFA focuses on simple methods of sustainable beekeeping, always using local bees and local materials. We have helped many groups of remote and poor families from Chepang and other excluded communities and  to earn essential income to meet their basic needs. We encourage people to make simple, low-cost beehives so that more people can harvest and sell honey, turning natural resources into sustainable livelihoods with great benefit for the wider environment.

 

Our work is based upon the interdependent and sustaining relationships between bees and flowering plants.

 

Plants provide bees with bountiful nectar in exchange for their pollination service, which enables the production of fruits and seeds on which humans and wildlife depend for food. Also a chiuri flower in full bloom with cross pollination means, fully developed fruit and perfect seed kernel which in turn produces more oil for the indigeneous communities after the chiuri fruit is wildcrafted in harvest. It is such a win-win situation for the fruit bearing chiuri trees, the bees and the humans – the sure winner is the eco-environment !

 

The supply of nectar – transformed into honeycomb – is often so plentiful that a surplus can be harvested and sold as honey and beeswax without harming this essential system. MEFBA recognises that the exploitation of this bee-plant relationship – otherwise known as beekeeping – can be done in a way that is wholly self-sustaining and beneficial.

 

In pursuit of the Sustainable Development Agenda, humans face huge challenges to reduce the negative trade-offs between meeting people’s needs and conserving ecosystems. Beekeeping – if done well – is an activity that delivers only positive synergies, yielding income for beekeepers and pollination services for life on land. Beekeepers know that their bees need plants to thrive, and hence are champions of floral diversity and conservation.

 

In short, beekeeping supports people and nature.