Moses the Medicine Man!

Yesterday we went to see Moses as a group for a tour of his home. Moses is the go-to herbal medicine man here. He is what is called Rastafarian which is his way of life where they pretty much live off of the land and believe in the essence of the herb.

We walked through the garden areas in Moses' home and on the way he pointed out a huge variety of different plants and what they are used for as well as the recipe to make it. We saw mangosteen which is used in breast and prostate cancer, thyme which is used as an antiseptic, disinfectant, inflammation and of course, seasoning for food. We also saw vanilla and Moses explained how to pollinate it because it is pollinated by man's hand. It's used in a lot of medications, it is a blood stimulant which can make you sweat and it can also be used as a laxative. We also saw parsley, basil, mint, rosemary, peppermint, bergamot, sage, comfrey and more. I was really impressed with the fact that he knew all of these things and their uses and rattled them off so easily. I also really enjoyed learning about the Rastafari movement and the history behind their beliefs. We even got to see him in action as he applied some Aloe to Erica's leg -- maybe she'll tell you that story later. :)

At the end of our tour, we extracted sugarcane juice from sugarcane and got to try it fresh. It was almost too sweet for most of us but we all really enjoyed trying the fruits of our labor. It's just too cool to be able to live off of the land the way that they do. You can walk up to a tree here and pick off a piece of fruit if you're looking for a snack. That's not something you see very often in the United States.

In the beginning of the week we were given pictures of 2 plants to identify and find during some of our hikes. I had a particularly difficult time with one of mine and some other students did as well. I have a whole new respect for those that practice Bush medicine and use these herbals on a daily basis. It was much harder than I thought it would be to pick out the exact plant -- it makes me think that if I had to do it, I'd pick out the wrong plant and cause more harm to myself than good.

Overall I think we are all really enjoying our experience here in Dominica. I personally love seeing the difference in culture and way of life.

Aubrey