Trees of Mexico Guano Palm

By Liliana Usvat    
Blog 356-365

Guano Palm, Sabel mauritiiformis, Arecaceae family. A prized palm  is found in the Maya jungles and is the most valuable palm frond for the Maya people since it is used to build their traditional home's roofing. 

The Guano palm has large thick water-resistant fronds that will last up to 15 years when properly cured for roofing.  Harvest only during full moon by the Maya to avoid steam to be susceptible to insects damage.  The Guano palm trunk as it matures because very hard and sturdy.

Guano is slang for bat droppings. But in its context, guano is perfectly normal word for thatch from this common palm tree.

Guano is Sabal genus but potentially many different species are called guano
It is typical in local Spanish of Mesoamerica for the same word (in this case huano or guano) to refer to many separate trees

 Guano palms, used to make the thatched palapa roofs
Palm thatch is cut only during certain phase of the moon
 
Most visitors to Maya sites assume that when the local people say it is best to harvest palm thatch during a certain phase of the moon, that this is utter superstition with no actual supporting facts.

Very easy: harvest the palm for your home at any time of the month that you select (ignoring the position of the moon).

Compare it with a Mayan thatch roof harvested at the optimum time of the moon for having the palm protected by the position and amount of the sap.

I bet that the “anytime, non-superstitious” thatched palm will rot a lot more quickly, than the house that the local experienced Maya villager can build.

Peruvian Man Reynaldo Ochoa, Plant 30000 Trees

By Liliana Usvat    
Blog 355-365

Here is the story of Reynaldo – Rainforest Hero, about one man's inspirational regeneration of the Amazon Rainforest

More and more permaculture projects are demonstrating that areas in rainforests, that were once biodiverse habitats for scores of species but have been logged for timber or destroyed by slash and burn agriculture, can be replanted for food, fibres and medicines. Not only will they provide resources for local people, they can also become richly biodiverse in varieties of plant and animal species. This is a win-win situation for people and the planet.

Two of the major problems affecting the area are deforestation and malnutrition.
Local people habitually clear land to grow crops such as yucca and bananas for sale. They generally have a monoculture and use a piece of land (a hectare or more) for around 2 years before clearing some new land where the soil is nutrient rich. Though each farmer generally owns just a few hectares of land the 'slash and burn' faming culture has a major impact as almost every farmer does it.


Reynaldo Ochoa, a 54 year old resident of Manu was no different. Moving to the region in the early 1980's he cut and burned forest for farming like everyone else. But he soon found a better way. He learned about permaculture farming and began to adopt its method on his own land, with great results. He uses a multitude of crops in one place which work in a sustainable manner, replacing nutrients with nitrogen fixing plants and trees while having a multilayered crop yield; he grows fruit trees with yucca and a number of other fruits and vegetables. He also began planting soft and hardwood trees. He found that the shade the trees provided actually helped his crop yield as well as protecting the land from strong winds and the damaging effects of soil erosion.

One community is learning to live in balance with their environment.



For decades the people in the Manu region of Peru have used slash-and-burn as their primary farming technique. Realizing that there would soon be no forest left if this practice continued, Reynaldo Ochoa began experimenting with different approaches to farming the land. He's now dedicated to reforesting the region and teaching residents more sustainable alternatives to deforestation, like agroforestry and permaculture.

Planting Trees with the crops the system works in balance with the nature.

The garden provide all the needs of the family. They are able to live without cutting the forest.

The Peruvian man planted 30,000 trees since it began.

Without trees the earth became barren and crops will not grow. Agroforestry help land to recover and let farmers survive without clearing the forest. The trees provide shade absorb carbon from the air and put nutrients into the soil.

It is important for families to have fresh food and live in harmony with the forest and nature.

Everything in life begin with a seed. It is the same for a plant a tree or an idea. Each tree make a difference. It is a special feeling to plant a tree and watch it grow and flourish.

 Reynaldo Ochoa help to achieve a sustainable future for Manu Region in Peru

Reynaldo and the Crees foundation begun a 'bio garden' program in 2008 helping teach local families how to grow their own vegetable gardens year round, giving them a chance at a better diet and a sustainable income through the sale of the excess. They get expert training, have the garden built and planted for them and then they are helped and monitored throughout the year. Crees and Reynaldo's vision is that in order to protect the forest and its diverse wildlife you need to engage the people in better practices which serve their needs and the forest alike.


Link

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/short-film-showcase/rain-forest-hero-plants-over-30-000-trees-to-save-the-amazon?source=relatedvideo
 

Peruvian Forest - Tawari Tree used to treat infection, cancer, tumors and inflammation

By Liliana Usvat    
Blog 354-365

Medicinal Uses

The bark of the tawari tree is used to treat infection, cancer, tumors and inflammation.

Nowadays Tawari is used all around the world as a vegetable medicine (phytofarmacum). In South America it is considered to be astringent, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, fungicide and aperient, also used for ulcers, syphilis, gastrointestinal disorders, candidoses, cancer, diabetes, prostrate, obstructions and allergy. In the herbal medicine of the USA it is considered to be as a bearer of analgetic, anti-oxidate, anti-parasite, anti-microbe, fungicide, antivirus, anti-inflammatory, purgative and also anti-cancer features.


 It is used for external and internal treatment of fevers, infections, cold, flu, syphilis, cancer, respiratory problems, derm ulcers, dyzentery, gastro-interstinary problems of all kinds, artritidy, prostrate and circulate non-adequancies. Other, previously treated and registrated stages, are diabetes, lupus, ulcers, leucemy, allergy, hepatic problems, Hodgkins disease, osteomyelitidy, Parkinson disease and psoriasis.
 
 It is also a very popular instrument for treatment of leaver infections. 



Tawari has a long, well documented history of the Indian rainforest natives usage who used several kinds of Tabebuia including T.serratifolia,T.chrysantha, T.heptaphylla, T.impetiginosa, T.rosea. 
 
 There are indicia about using this trees also by Inks. In fact the clans living thousands miles away used also their treatment effects. Some of the native Indian tribes from tropical rainforests used the wood for manufacturing the bows and arrows and that is why they called this tree in breastsummer ,,bow,,. Indians from the Guarani and Tupi tribe call the tree ,,tajy,, what means to “have the strength and spirit,, and they use the crust on various medicine methods. 

The native use covers the stages as malary, anemia, respiratory problems, cold, cough, flu, mould infections, fever, artrididy, rheumatism, against the snakebite, bad blood circulation, syphilis, ulcers and cancer.

Traditional enthomedicinal uses:

For reducing the blood sugar level, reduction of gassiness, treatments of bile stones, liver diseases, infection diseases and for a complete repair of organism, the bast is used as a draught prepared apr. 20-25 minutes on a very mild fire (under a cover) in the ratio 10:1000.

Phytoterapeutic properties:

Analgetic, anti-bacterial, fungicide,anti-inflammatory, anti-saprophytic, antioxidative, anti-mutagenous, anti-leucemic, antirheumatic, anti-carcinogen, antiviral, cytotoxic, immunostimulant, laxative.


Family: Bignoniaceae (Trumpet creeper family)

Genus: Tabebuia Specie: serratifolia (Jacq.) Nich.

Common names: Pau d’arco, abano, acapro, araguanei, chacaradanga, chonta, curarire, roxo, lapacho, tahuari, taheebo, trumpet tree, 

Description

Tabebuia spp. is a big tree situated in some parts of south-american tropical rainforests. It usually grow up to the height of 150 feet and the trunk base is in average between 4-6 feet. The tribe Tabebuia include a big amount of big and beautifully blooming trees, e.g. serratifolia, ochracea,chrysantha and others, which have concretely big and lovely violet flowers. The tribes of Tabebuias are very common picture of the south-american country and cities, just for their beauty. Unfortunately they are also very popular for companies, which lumber the wood - due to very resistant and tough wood, which is commonly used on houses constructions even on ships and agricultural tools.


Nowadays Tawari is used all around the world as a vegetable medicine (phytofarmacum). In South America it is considered to be astringent, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, fungicide and aperient, also used for ulcers, syphilis, gastrointestinal disorders, candidoses, cancer, diabetes, prostrate, obstructions and allergy. In the herbal medicine of the USA it is considered to be as a bearer of analgetic, anti-oxidate, anti-parasite, anti-microbe, fungicide, antivirus, anti-inflammatory, purgative and also anti-cancer features.

 It is used for external and internal treatment of fevers, infections, cold, flu, syphilis, cancer, respiratory problems, derm ulcers, dyzentery, gastro-interstinary problems of all kinds, artritidy, prostrate and circulate non-adequancies. Other, previously treated and registrated stages, are diabetes, lupus, ulcers, leucemy, allergy, hepatic problems, Hodgkins disease, osteomyelitidy, Parkinson disease and psoriasis.

 It is also a very popular instrument for treatment of leaven infections.
 

The chemical components and active units of Tabebuia tribe are very well documented. Its usage and recorded results of the treatment of various kinds of cancer in the first decade of the sixtith years accelerated most of the research about this plant. 

 Its against-cancer features were firstly fastened on the phytochemical called lapachol which is located in the crust and in the wood. In the study from the year 1968, lapachons proved a significant effect against cancer´s tumours of rats.

Sequentialy in the year 1974, NCI recorded that in the first stage of clinical tests lapachons did not banish the terapeutical effect without sequential side effects and that is why was interupted the cancer research.

 An another important researching group developed in 1975 lapachol which very effectively extended the life-span about more than 80% at mouses inoculated by leucemic cells. In the short study from the year 1980 at 9 patients with various kinds of cancer (liver, kidney, breast, prostate, cervix) recorded that the pure lapachol showed the ability to reduce the tumours and to reduce the feeling of pain caused by tumours and demostrated the complete remission at three patients.

Beside lapachol it consists at least 20 other active components to which are imputed various effects. It was clearly proved the often medical using in a big number of diseases caused by microorganisms which interprete us its wide range of using in nature medicine. 

The effects probably come from a bigger feed of oxigene on the local level, killing the bacterias, virus, mould and parasites. The anti-microbe characteristics were clinicaly verified in many studies and they show strong effects at gram-positive bacterias and moulds, including Candida, Staphylococcus, Trichophyton, Brucella, Tuberculosis, Pneumonie, Streptococcus and Shigella. 

These components further deported the significant anti-virus character at virus like Herpes I and II, Influenza, Poliovirus and Vesicular stomatitis virus. Its anti-parasite effects showed in malaria, Schistosoma, Trypanosoma and were clinically acknowledged. The crust samples proved the anti-inflammation activity against wide range of irritations. At derivates of furans (naftofurans), naftochinons, naftopyranons – summary + marked as lapachons was proved the significant cytotoxicity ( the inhibition of reverse transcriptose).

Tawari is an important source from tropical rainforest with many opportunities of using in herbal medicine. Unfortunately its popularity and using has always been guided with controversy thanks to various effect results that were caused by the missing quality control and confusing about which parts of the plant to use for processng and how to proceed in the preparation.

 There are several kinds of Tabebuia, also as other, completely unrelated tree kinds, which are exported from South America, e.g.,,Lapacho,, „Tawari“,„Pau´D Arco“ etc, which have just very low or no active ingredients from the studies of subjacented and used medical kinds. 

Climate change and global warming is a reality.   
The simplest way to combat climate change is to plant trees: Trees breathe in Carbon Di Oxide and through the process of photo-synthesis create food for themselves and breathe out Oxygen.

At Sustainable Green Initiative, plant trees to help the fight against climate change and also hunger, poverty and rural migration. By planting a tree you help in doing your bit to mitigate your carbon footprint and carry on the fight against hunger, poverty and climate change.