Peatland Women Prepare Herbal Medicines

There are no drugstores in the peatland communities. Those who live in the remote village of Tabangohay have to travel for 28.8 kilometers with a portion of dirt and rocky road usually by motorcycle to reach the nearest drugstore in the town proper of Alangalang, Leyte. Aside from the distance, the high cost of medicines hinders those with health issues from seeking medical care until the illness become worse, causing more financial burden to families especially those living in poverty conditions.

Mothers and grandmothers usually bear the role of taking care of the sick in the family. There must be solutions to alleviate their burden by equipping them with knowledge and skills on alternative health care. Hence, WEAVERS' Project Eden partnered with the Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care (PITAHC) to train twenty-five (25) women on the uses and preparation of herbal medicines. They learned how to prepare cough syrup from lagundi (Vitex negundo L.) or 5-leaved Chaste Tree (Engl.) which is also a relief for asthma and fever.

They also learned how to prepare anti-fungal ointment from the leaves of akapulko (Cassia alata L.) or ringworm bush or shrub (Engl) which can cure tinea flava or tinea versicolor, athlete's foot and scabies.

If there is a guava tree in your backyard, take care of them because the mature leaves can be made into herbal soap. The participants were taught how to make guava soap, too.