A garden to protect endangered herbs

KOZHIKODE: Deep in rural Kozhikode, a hillock is being inseminated with hundreds of rare and almost extinct traditional herbs in a conservation effort aimed at ensuring that these plants and traditional medicine live to fight another day.The initiative was embarked on by the Shanthigiri Ashram a couple of years ago and is being helmed by Chandukutty Kuttiapurath, a traditional doctor based in Koyilandy. Chandukutty had always maintained a small herbal garden at home for his practice, but had been on the verge of giving it up owing to financial problems. However, Shanthigiri officials soon discovered him  and gave him 14 acres of land in Kizhakkemuri near  Kakkodi to do what he  did best - discover rare medicinal herbs and  transplant them to the garden.The garden, now, is beginning to show the first signs of promise with several of seeds sprouting into plants. “We now have nearly 500 rare medicinal herbs and we are still scouting for more plants to save. We expect the farm to reach its potential in another five years,” Chandukutty said. Amongst the medicinal plants present in the farm are a number of traditional cures for many ailments visible in the society today. “We have the Asoka tree here, the bark of which can be used to solveuterine problems, while another herb called Sarpagandha is an effective tool against high Blood Pressure. The Asoka tree in particular is classified as ‘vulnerable’ by the IUCN Red List and is still cut down in rural areas because it has a negative role in the ‘Ramayana’ as being the tree under which Sita was kept captive by Ravana. We are, however, making an effort to conserve it,” said Chandukutty. And many of these herbs were discovered quite by accident, he adds. “Once during a travel, I developed some skin problems on my foot and an adivasi woman from Wayanad suggested a particular herb to me. I used it and my problem was cured in less than a day. I then located the herb and replanted it in the garden,” he said. Other rare herbs like the kodiveri, iruveri, karikurinji and nadan nelli are also being nurtured here.The garden is being run at a loss with the rare herbs being sold at as less as Rs 10 a sapling, but the organisers maintain that making a profit was never their aim. “We invested `20 lakh when we started it for setting up high-tech greenhouses. But, our intentions were to spread these plants and slowly but surely we are succeeding in it,” administrative officer M Chandran said.And their efforts have not gone unnoticed. The garden, though still in its infancy and virtually a secret, has attracted a host of high profile visitors, including the Kerala State Horticultural Trust Mission director K Prathapan. “I saw many rare and endangered plants during my visit there and it is a very good venture. When it is completed, it will be a good herbal catalogue for the rest of the state to utilise,” he said.