DECLARATION TO RESTORE MOTHER EARTH

By Liliana Usvat
Blog 290-365

I found this uplifting message on Internet and I would like to share it.

In April 2010, a historical moment occurred. More than 32,000 people, including Indigenous Peoples, social movements, small farmers and some world governmental leaders, converged in Cochabamba, Bolivia for the World People’s Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth. Two outcomes of this conference were the Cochabamba Peoples Accord and the Universal Declaration on the Rights of Mother Earth. 

During the Cochabamba world conference, President Evo Morales of Bolivia officially proposed that the United Nations adopt a declaration that recognizes that Nature or “Mother Earth” has certain inherent rights that we humans must respect and defend. 

The adoption by the United Nations and national and local governments of the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth would expand the class of holders of legally rights and would initiate a global process of transformation.

Our prophecies and teachings tell us that life on Mother Earth is in danger and is coming to a time of great transformation. As Indigenous Peoples, we are accepting the responsibility designated by our prophecies to tell the world that we must live in peace with each other and the Earth to ensure harmony within Creation.

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Restoration of the original right of Mother Earth to her natural constitution

Mother Earth’s rights are equivalent to Human Rights. The reactivation of sacred places and sacred sites is vital for the reconstitution of a healthy and balanced life on Earth.

In this task, restoring and reactivating the neglected and injured sites of Mother Earth is urgent. It is necessary to carry out this task on a global level in all biocultural regions of the earth and to revitalize the sacred elements of life: Air, Water, Earth and Fire.

The Natural Rights of Mother Earth should be upheld and endorsed by the United Nations System and by national and regional laws.

The designation and protection of sacred areas of Mother Earth are a way to reinforce ancestral wisdom and the very constitution of Mother Earth.

Within this endeavor for cultural preservation, we recognize that songs, dance, music, prayer, restorative ceremonies and other cultural elements are invaluable and important.

Currently, there is a biocultural crisis on earth. Half of the world’s cultures have disappeared or are in danger of extinction. 

Likewise, ecosystems are growing more fragile each day. In spite of existing local and international laws, and significant advances in science and technology Mother Earth and all her beings today confront an ecological crisis that places life itself in jeopardy. 

We ardently invite global society and governments to embrace and activate a Unification Process which bring forth the natural wisdom of the Original Mandate and transform harmful ways of living to “Living Well”. 

For example, to alleviate Mother Earth’s fever, transitioning towards clean energies is imperative.

"We invite humanity to come together to improve our collective human behavior so that we may develop a more sustainable world. We can preserve, protect, and fulfill our sacred duties to live with respect in this wonderful Creation. We have the power and responsibility for change." Tom B.K. Goldtooth Indigenous Environmental Network

Links

http://www.rightsofmotherearth.com/ien-rome-conferenc/#sthash.LwCsU3e3.dpuf

http://upliftconnect.com/declaration-to-restore-mother-earth/

http://upliftconnect.com/violence-preventable-brain-disorder/

People and Food Forest Lawrence and Horace Kadoorie in Honk Kong

By Liliana Usvat
Blog 289-365

Two brothers, Lawrence and Horace Kadoorie in 1951 took on an idea to redevelop a trashed and degraded mountainside on 148 hectares with the emphasis on helping people to help themselves through training, supply of agricultural inputs and interest-free loans.

Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden (KFBG)  formerly known as Kadoorie Experimental and Extension Farm ), or Kadoorie Farm  for short, was originally set up for aiding poor farmers in the New Territories in Hong Kong. 

 It had been completely re-vegetated into a food forest with numerous water falls, ponds, rare turtles, terraced gardens on steep slopes, a compost and biochar system, a waste-water treatment plant and wetlands and so much more. It is an amazing site that was built so far ahead of its time with an emphasis on teaching local people.

It later shifted its focus to promote biodiversity conservation in Hong Kong and south China, and greater environmental awareness. 

It is located near Pak Ngau Shek, encompassing Kwun Yum Shan in the central New Territories; 

The Farm was built in a valley with streams, woodlands and terraces in 1956 by the Kadoorie Agricultural Aid Association. 

Now it is managed to integrate nature conservation, including a rescue and rehabilitation programme for native animals, along with holistic education and practices in support of a transition to sustainable living.

Programmes run by KFBG's Education Department include tree planting, improving wildlife habitat, art and environment workshops, as well as outreach programmes for schools and the local community. 

Increasingly there is an emphasis on holistic education, encouraging visitors to explore their relationship with nature by artistic means, internal inquiry, mindfulness and compassion.

 Meanwhile through its Sustainable Living & Agriculture Department KFBG works to support community Transition by developing new and economically workable opportunities for all parties in the food system. KFBG is actively trying to reduce the ecological footprint of its own operations.

History

Sir Horace Kadoorie, received Order of British Empire ( lived from 28 September 1902 - 22 April 1995) was an industrialist, hotelier, and philanthropist. His father was Sir Elly Kadoorie, and his uncle, Sir Ellis Kadoorie. 

His family were originally Iraqi Jews from Baghdad who later migrated to Bombay (Mumbai), India in the mid-18th century. In 1913-14, he spent a year at Clifton College and was a member of Polacks House; a boarding house solely for Jewish boys at Clifton.

Kadoorie and his brother Sir Lawrence Kadoorie worked for Victor Sassoon during the 1920s and 1930s, and managed his famous Shanghai hotel. They also worked for there for their father, the famous industrialist Sir Elly Kadoorie.

Among Sir Horace's philanthropies was a school that became a haven for Jewish refugee children in Shanghai.

He and his brother also formed an agricultural aid organization that in the 1960s helped hundreds of thousands of peasants in rural areas near Hong Kong to become independent farmers.

Kadoorie and his brother, Lawrence, both received the Magsaysay Award for public service in 1962.

Links

http://www.geofflawton.com/fe/77209-re-greening-a-mountain
http://permaculturenews.org/2015/01/30/nursery-quality-to-tree-planting-success/
http://www.kfbg.org/kfb/introwithreport.xml?fid=169&sid=239&lang=en

Medicinal Trees Around the World

By Liliana Usvat
Blog 288-365

Allspice (Pimenta officinalis)
Native to the Caribbean islands and southern Mexico, the allspice tree produces berries that are dried for export. Crushed, they are used in cooking, but also are added to medicines as a carminative that aids in expelling gas to relieve colic.

Areca (Areca catechu)
A palm tree of Malaysia, the areca yields a seed or nut once chewed by the natives to dye their mouths fashionably red. Although not relied on in human medicine, the alkaloid arecoline, the seed’s extractive, has the ability to destroy and repel worms in animals.

Balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera)
Growing across the northern reaches of North America, balsam poplar bears buds coated with a gooey, fragrant substance. In the drug industry, it’s called “balm-of-Gilead,” and as an expectorant, it becomes a constituent of cold medicine. It also keeps ointment from going rancid. Applied externally, it helps heal wounds.

Benjamin (Styrax benzoin)
Native to Java and other Southeast Asian countries, this large tree has grayish, fluffy bark. When wounded, it exudes a white, aromatic gum universally known as gum benzoin. It’s a productive expectorant when used in medicine. As the compound called tincture of benzoin, it relieves bronchitis when employed in a steam inhaler.

Birch (Betula papyrifera, nigra, lenta )
Native to northern and eastern North America, birch trees possess concentrations of salicylic acid, the predecessor of aspirin. Although birch products were never widely used, folk medicine called for chewing birch twigs to relieve headache and pain. Willows (Salix spp.) also contain the pain-reducing acid.

Camphor (Cinnamomum camphora )
In both China and Japan, the evergreen camphor tree grows to great size. An extractive of its bark, camphor acts as a counterirritant when included in ointments for relieving muscle pain.

Cascara (Rahmnus purshiana)
In the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia, this small tree is called cascara buckthorn. Since 1877, its bark has been dried, baled, and shipped to dealers who grind it into a fine powder for medicinal use as an effective laxative or purgative.

Dogwood (Cornus florida)
A medicine made from the bark of this tree native to the eastern United States often has been substituted for quinine. During the Civil War, Confederate doctors used it to treat malaria cases. Although it grows in abundance, drug companies looked past it to the more powerful quinine that comes from the cinchona tree of South America and the tropics.

Kola (Cola nitada, C. acuminata)
Do you get a lift from a carbonated soda? The large kola trees of tropical West Africa, the West Indies, and South America are responsible. Their dried seeds, which contain much caffeine, provide the stimulant in some medicines. But they also provide an energizing ingredient in many soft drinks.

Nux vomica (Strychnos nux-vomica )
The deadly poison strychnine comes from the seeds of this Asian tree. In small amounts, or mixed with other drugs, strychnine can become a heart stimulant or tonic.

Quassia (Quassia amara )
The wood of this tree from Mexico and Central and South America has been an item of commerce since the mid-1700s. The wood’s bitter extractive, which has been relied on to expel parasites and reduce fever, is water soluble. Thus in the 1800s it frequently was turned into popular “bitter cups.” The substance also has uses as an insecticide.

Rauwolfia (Rauwolfia serpentina)
More like a shrub than a tree in most places where it grows in India, rauwolfia produces extracts in its roots that have for centuries been used to treat nervous disorders. The extract also provides an antidote for snake- bites and insect stings. In the 20th century it was discovered that powdered rauwolfia root as a clinical medicinal ingredient would treat hypertension and mental disorders. Many drugs that make up tranquilizers have their origin in rauwolfia root.

Sassafras (Sassafras albidum)
This tree of the eastern and southeastern United States is entirely aromatic—wood, bark, roots, branches, and leaves. Locally, sassafras tea made from its roots has long been a spring tonic. Bark may be taken from the tree’s roots, then boiled; the resultant drink, taken internally, is an active diuretic.