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The Organic Coach

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The Organic Coach

Monthly Archives: June 2011

Turmeric Traditions

29 Wednesday Jun 2011

Posted by the organic coach in natural farming methods

≈ 4 Comments

Turmeric Plant

Turmeric (Curcuma longa) has been used for over 4,000 years to treat a variety of ailments. It is widely used as a food coloring and gives Indian curry its distinctive flavor and yellow color. It is also used in mustard and to color butter and cheese. Turmeric has been used in both Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine as an anti-inflammatory, to treat digestive and liver problems, skin diseases, and wounds. Curcumin, its active ingredient, is also a powerful antioxidant

In addition, curcumin reduces inflammation by lowering levels of two inflammatory enzymes (called COX-2 and LOX) in the body and stops platelets from clumping together to form blood clots. . Turmeric is considered to have promising results for fighting infections and some cancers, reducing inflammation, and treating digestive problems.

Ayurveda Traditional Medicine

In Ayurvedic practices, turmeric has many medicinal properties and many in South Asia use it as a readily available antiseptic for cuts, burns and bruises. It is also used as an antibacterial agent. It is taken in some Asian countries as a dietary supplement, which allegedly helps with stomach problems and other ailments. It is popularly taken as a tea in Okinawa, Japan. Pakistanis also use it as an anti-inflammatory agent, and remedy for gastrointestinal discomfort associated with irritable bowel syndrome. In Afghanistan and northwest Pakistan, turmeric is applied to a piece of burnt cloth, and placed over a wound to cleanse and stimulate recovery. Indians, in addition to its Ayurvedic properties, use turmeric in a wide variety of creams for all sorts of skin diseases.

I discovered Turmeric as a guinea pig of sorts. My mother was developing a whole line of organic herbal supplement products and I was asked to try this as a cure for gout which had already plagued me for a number of years. Gout, in itself, is hardly curable. It is caused by high uric acid levels in the body which form crystals in your system and these press against your nerves, causing an intense pain that is beyond imagination. Having taken maintenance medicine for this ailment for over 10 years, I had little to lose in trying this medicinal plant and everything to gain. I took Ashitaba and Turmeric capsules daily and was quite surprised at how my body reacted. There is no known cure for gout, only medicine to prevent it or to control its effects. It seems like a miracle, but I have had no gout attacks for almost 2 years now. Life is back to normal for me as well, I am now able to eat what previously were considered as “dangerous” food. Turmeric works effectively with Ashitaba as a colon and liver flush. It excretes any excess uric acid the body cannot process, thus controlling gout by keeping these values at a reasonable level within the body.

I still take Turmeric daily and my blood tests show a normal cholesterol level, and just a slightly elevated uric acid level. But I am free from gout today and what was previously thought as an incurable ailment is now a controlled condition, allowing me to live a normal lifestyle and eat what I wish. Truly a miracle for me, and all borrowed from folkloric traditions in Asia – specifically Ayurveda, an Indian tradition of traditional and alternative medicine. In Sanskrit, Ayurveda means “the complete knowledge for long life.” In western medicine, ayurvedic practices are considered as Complimentary Alternative Medicine (CAM) which is meant for use as a complement rather than a replacement to traditional western medicinal methods.

It is more than that for me and for those who suffer from gout. It is a miracle that enables us to live normally, thanks to Indian tradition and ayurvedic practices. After all, 800 years of civilization can’t possibly be all wrong.

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Coming Full Circle: The Boracay Solid Waste System

13 Monday Jun 2011

Posted by the organic coach in natural farming methods

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Barangay Balabag MRF, Boracay, solid waste management, vermicomposting

 

” It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness……..”

                                                          – Old Chinese Proverb

Barangay Balabag, Boracay

I recently came full circle, bringing a team of Talisay City employees involved in solid waste management to the Balabag Material Recovery Facility – a project I had helped initiate way back in 2005. I had heard so many good things about this facility, now a national showcase for solid waste management practices in the country. I had not been back for a long time, though, and was overjoyed to see what they had done with the seed we planted long ago. Back in 2005, Boracay had an open dumpsite and no solid waste management system. “Boracay Lives!”, a partnership between the Canadian International Development Agency and the Boracay Chamber of Commerce and Industry built the first structures in this facility in 2006, donated its first beach garbage truck as well as its first shredding and wood chipping machines. It also helped in a massive Information and Education Campaign with Barangay Balabag Captain Glenn Sacapano at the helm of this huge challenge which we started with the odds stacked against us. In the years that followed, this small initiative was eventually supported by the Department of Tourism, Boracay Foundation , Inc. as well as a number of large corporations and has grown in leaps and bounds. Coming back five years later, I was truly amazed at what this facility had now become – a source of pride for Boracay and for the people that had started and supported this project.

Turning Over The First Beach Garbage Truck, 2006

Today, the Barangay Balabag MRF processes the segregated waste from close to one million island visitors each year and over 30,000 island residents. It is also a self-sustaining operation as income from recycled products, compost fertilizers, garden tiles, charcoal brickets and even rosaries from waste

Garden Tiles from Crushed Glass, Residual Plastic and Cement

products maintains salaries for its growing staff and enables them to improve on the faciltiy. The Malay, Aklan local government also recently completed work on its sanitary landfill, enabling the facility to start transporting its residual waste gathered over a five-year span while the landfill was being worked on.

Shredding Biodegradable Market Waste

Compost Biodigesting Machine

Charcoal Brickets from Charcoalized Bamboo

Waste Compacting Machine

Vermicomposting Beds

Rosaries made from Recycled Cigarette Cartons

Glass Crushing Machine

The Boracay solid waste management system has truly come full circle, also in an island that continues to grow in tourist traffic, residents, hotels and waste generated. With its new sanitary landfill in the mainland, it has achieved what almost all municipalities in the Philippines never get to do. It is estimated that only 3% of all municipalities in the Philippines are compliant with Republic Act 9003 on Ecological Solid Waste Management. It is a tribute to the people of Boracay and those who support them that they are part of this small minority today. What started as a seed of an idea from forward-seeing stakeholders years ago is now the backbone of keeping clean and green the Philippines’ premier tourist destination. As Boracay lives, its people continue to ensure its sustainability individually and collectively. Living true to the island’s common slogan, ” For Boracay……….I Will !”

See related Post entitled Boracay Lives!

12.879721 121.774017

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