Below is a translated version of a report recently received by ENCA from COPINH, the Civic Council of Honduran Popular and Indigenous Organisation. You can find the original spanish version here, and more pictures from the project can be found here.

Civic Council of Honduran Popular and Indigenous Organisation (COPINH)

Narrative Report

Project: "Recovery of Traditional Lencan Herbalism"

Year 2010

The "Recovery of Traditional Lencan Herbalism" project has meant an important experience for our organisation, COPINH. It has allowed us to deepen and systematise some of the ancestral knowledge of the Lenca people about medicinal plants and their uses, in a way that is simple and easy to reproduce.

As a result, at the end of the project, we have:

• A large herb garden in our Training Centre "Utopia";
• Two herb gardens of smaller size in the communities of Plan de Bario and Montaña Verde;
• 50 educational booklets on natural medicines;
• 10 posters on natural medicines.

Achievements

• We have in our "Utopia" centre a big and well stocked herb garden that we can use as a demonstrative data base, and that also allows us to use the medicinal plants when they are needed by guests at the centre.
• Together with the work team, other people in the organisation, others from outside the organisation, and voluntary workers that have been incorporated in the development of the project have learnt more about the topic of medicinal plants.
• The herb garden has stirred up interest in many people in medicinal plants and their healing properties.
• Other communities have expressed interest to reproduce herb gardens on their land.
• In the community of Montaña Verde the teacher has involved the younger students, as the community herb garden was created near the school, with the purpose of rescuing and teaching the elder's knowledge. It will be the girls and boys that care for it.

Difficulties

The environmental and climatic conditions have influence the development of the project a lot, there have been problems from the strength and amount of rain, so much so that two herb gardens in Plan de Bario and Montaña Verde have been destroyed.

The same rains have delayed us, with the impossibility to travel to the communities as the roads were impassable were a lot of time, so that the end date of the project was postponed to December.

Development of the Project

Phase 1

During the socialisation and planning process if the development work, in visits to the communities, we have found a particular interest in the herb garden proposal and the recovery of natural medicine. That has allowed the collaboration of many people from the communities that have contributed with a great deal of knowledge, ideas, suggestions and in practice with the creation of the herb gardens.

On the technical side: The volunteer group have collected plants and seeds from the community's green houses. Then they have prepared the sowing beds, and sowed them.

Because of the copious rain in 2010 we have had many problems and delays, as the beds enlisted for planting have collapsed more than once. Also, a short time after the completion of Montaña Verde's herb garden it was destroyed completely. The community have rescued and recovered more plants and has renewed their herb garden in the original site, next to the school. They are considering in the future, predicting the same climatic conditions, of making a protective gallery to prevent the herb garden's destruction.

Phase 2

1. 1. With the collection of the information obtained, we have developed 10 posters and 50 educational leaflets, utilising popular and simple education methods, and with pictures.
2. 2. In the "Utopia" Centre, there was a wider and more detailed piece of work. Here we put the explanation of the technical part of their stages of development

• Selection and measurement of the ground, the conditions of the property such as a slope to channel water.
• Strengthening the protective fence.
• Conditioning a drainage canal.
• Cleaning the terrain.
• Preparing the land for the beds.
• Cultivating the seeds and plants.

The process starts with the application to the soil where the herb beds will be planted of preparation techniques: making measurements of the land, making holes in the earth with a depth of 20 centimetres, levelling the earth (crumbling it so that it receives more oxygen), and raking it, all to tune the soil however is best that the seed or seedlings don't have major difficulties germinating perfectly for them to take hold and develop.

This is followed by the sowing of the seeds or seedlings that have been collected near the beds.

In the maintenance stage of the herb garden it is recommended to irrigate using sprays, but other systems can be used, like gravity, drip or others.

Fertilisation is recommended in the following manner: Prepare organic manure before sowing and apply 15 days after sowing.

Another infallible activity in the development of a herb garden is weeding. This must be done every twenty-two days as needed.

The weeding is done in the following manner:

Pull up the weed with the hands and deposit it in the drainage canal that there is between the beds.

For the signs, we've recycled bits of broken tiles.

Recommendations

1. 1. It is recommendable to get the seedlings to from 15 to 20 centimetres in the seedbeds before transplanting to the herb beds.
2. Undertaking this project is preferable in winter for the adaptation of the seedlings in the new soil, and to facilitate their irrigation.
3. Designing a management plan with the necessary activities for the proper maintenance from planting to their use.

Conclusions

• Plans are to follow the project with training on the development of natural medicine, using the plants from the herb garden.
• This experience has allowed us some lessons; how choose the proper land, and the correct conditions to successfully perform the project.
• The cultivation of medicinal plants is important for the community as they contribute to reducing morbidity and protect the population.
• It contributes to reducing the costs of health demands of families and the communities.
• It has achieved positive effects on the healing processes of diseases without side effects.
• With this type of natural medicine projects we contribute to the organisation of the population to collectively improve health conditions and the economic incomes of the families involved.
• This project has allowed us to strengthen the knowledge about medicinal plants and the methods of cultivating and rescuing them.

Consejo Cívico de Organizaciones Populares e Indígenas de Honduras, COPINH