Andrew Young Presents
Strong Medicine : The Secret Power of African Healing
Part 1 of 2

Traditional Medicine documentary tells you about fading knowledge of healing powers of herbs in rural regions of Namibia. It dwells on rich Namibian cultural heritage and sends a very important message that traditional knowledge should be protected in modern African society. Steven Kashekele of the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology collected footage, travelling the rural areas of Erongo region. Narrations by Paulina Moses. This project is, no doubt, of very high value to the Ministry as well as all Namibians who love and appreciate their country.

Video 43 in the Introduction to Ethnobotany series. Presented by Orou Gaoué.

Africa is the second largest continent and has the second largest rainforest block. Africa has diverse plant resources and indigenous communities that still rely largely on plants for their livelihood. This episode discusses uses and management of plant resources in West Africa in three parts: First, are presented the distribution of ecological variation and human population density in Africa. People populate mostly the savannah region of the continent, leaving the vast infertile desert and the harsh rainforest regions less populated. Increasing population density and its concentration in the savannah areas is, among other reasons, responsible for high forest degradation rates and high plant harvesting impact in Sub-Saharan Africa. Second, the different indigenous uses of plant resources are reviewed: food, medicine and cosmetic, fodder, firewood and charcoal, building and timber. There is a severe firewood crisis in the region and harvesting non-timber forest products such as tree fodder, tree bark for medicine, is participating to the degradation of the forest. Third is an analysis of indigenous as well as government management strategies of forest and forest resources. Sacred forests and agroforestry parklands are some of the traditional ways of conserving plant species of local interest. The state management strategy has shift from an official protectionism of the state reserve forest, to a more participatory approach, although the level of implication of indigenous people has varied over the years.

In this guest lecture, Paul Blackmore, director of the Fuqua Conservatory at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens presents his fascinating work on edible and medicinal plants of Cameroon. Mr. Blackmore speaks about his fascinating experiences during field research and conservation efforts over 6 years that he spent working in the area of Mount Cameroon. This lecture was given in April 2012 in Dr. Cassandra Quave's class "Botanical Medicine and Health" at Emory University.

DISCLAIMER: Content provided in this video and the YouTube TeachEthnobotany site is for educational purposes only and should not be construed to be medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. This content is not a substitute for professional medical or healthcare advice, diagnosis or treatment, and may not be used for such purposes. The information about herbal medicines and drugs in this video and the TeachEthnobotany site is general in nature. It does not cover all possible uses, actions, precautions, side effects, or interactions of the plants/medicines mentioned, nor is the information intended as medical advice for individual problems or for making an evaluation as to the risks and benefits of taking a particular drug or botanical/herbal medicine. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical question or condition.

⁣Growing Grapes | Ghana

Ride along with a local goat farmer, Crusie, who will be showing us how to raise goats in Jamaica.