»Borojo
Borojo
patinoi
Is a tree between 3 to 6 m in height. The fruit is large, between 7 to 12 cm in diameter, green in color, and brown when mature. The fruit contains an average of 330 seeds.
Origin of Borojo:
Wild plant of the south and western basin of the
Amazon river, in the zone shared among Peru, Brazil and Bolivia. Borojo
patinoi is found in the region of Collided, on the peaceful coast of
Colombia. It is also found in the Darien jungle, at the border between
Panama and Colombia.
»Noni
Morinda
citrifolia
A number of nutritional supplements are available in today's health food stores. These are merely new discoveries of the old cures, of the old medicine. One such rediscovered natural health aid is Noni - Morinda Citrifolia
Knowledge of
noni's health benefits has been passed from parents to children for
countless generations in all the tropical countries. For
example, in Panama and Colombia, noni is a fruit which can be freely
purchased in the market place. Department stores offer both the noni
pulp and the noni juice.
Emberas - Our Borojo Harvesters:
These pictures were taken in an Embera village, located in the jungle on Chagres River, (the river which is used for the Panama Canal).
At the time of the visit, we have learned the Emberas have such a vast knowledge of the jungle plants, that many pharmaceutical companies are coming to them to to learn.
"Just a few
generations ago the Embera, whose language only includes numbers that
go up to five, lived off of the land in an economy that had little to
do with money. Now the principal source of outside income for
Ipeti-Embera, as with many other Embera communities, is the sale for
cash of baskets and sculptures carved from cocobolo wood or tagua nuts.
Within the indigenous economy as well, the botanicos --- herbal healers
--- work for money rather than the traditional barter for food or labor.
Scientists
from developed countries, often funded by pharmaceutical companies, are
renowned --- often “infamous” is a better word ---
for picking the brains of indigenous healers in search of plants from
which medicines may be extracted, tested and sold on the global market.
Sometimes this research is a survey and testing of diverse plants in
search of medicinal properties ---
“bio-prospecting” --- and sometimes it’s
a matter of outright theft, wherein unscrupulous individuals and
powerful corporations seek to claim patent rights over the traditional
pharmacopoeia, fraudulently trying to pass themselves off as
inventors." - Source: Panama News, English
Edition, Vol. 9,
No. 20
Oct. 19 - Nov. 8, 2003
At the time of our visit, their main healer "curandero" was attending some very difficult to cure cases, in the jungles of Darien.
Indostrias Y Manufacturas Bionaturales S.A. will continue to work with the Emberas, to contribute to their way of life and help conserve their traditions and the environment.