Passing it on: Emayu showing local boys wild herbs above the Gemma River Gorge.

This summer, I was gifted TWO eucalyptus essential oils: a Eucalyptus globulus from the highlands of Ethiopia that a dear customer gifted me after joining a community project, and a Eucalyptus from an island in Australia that my childhood friend Rebecca brought back for me.

I carry Eucalyptus globulus social enterprise from Australia, with bright clear fresh notes. This Eucalyptus globulus has mellow fruity and tangy notes over the familiar cool fresh buzz.

The brand of the essential oil is ariti. See what they are up to on their Insta #BotanicaEthiopia

I am grateful to learn of Kindred Spirits! Botanica Ethiopia is an approved aid and development project to establish an indigenous medicinal herb garden in Fiche, Ethiopia. 80% of Ethiopians rely on traditional (herbal) medicine as their primary form of health care. According to the World Health Organisation, the World Bank and the United Nations, herbal medicine practice is in danger of being lost due to lack of documented knowledge, and the threatened extinction of medicinal plants.

Working with the Fiche community, local partners and Global Development Group, the Botanica Ethiopia ‘Living Pharmacy’ project focuses on how native herbs can support the health of Ethiopian families and their communities.

My sister from another mother and father, Rebecca, visited Australia and brought me back a giant bottle labelled POISON! I was thrilled. It's Eucalyptus cneorifolia Kangaroo Island Narrow-Leaved Mallee, ‘KI’ Eucalyptus. Clean with notes of spice and honey, I've been enjoying a sprinkle on my pillow to clear my sinuses just before bed. It's high in refreshing oxides, being up to 70% cineole, with complexity from alpha-pinene, alpha-terpinene, myrcene, tetradecane, phellandendrene.

Blue Mallee Eucalyptus polybractea is my favourite, so I naturally took to this narrow leaf!

Essentially Australian writes The Kangaroo Island eucalyptus occurs almost exclusively along the western half of the island. It grows in traditional mallee-style woodland country and can occur as a pure mallee forest on the island. Mallee trees protect and sustain the land through an extensive root ball system that defends against fire and acts as a reservoir for moisture and nutrients.

The Traditional Owners and custodians of the Byron Shire are the Bundjalung of Byron Bay Arakwal people, the Minjungbal people and the Widjabul people. Indigenous peoples have made use of this oil for tens of thousands of years for cuts by wrapping the leaves around the wound. The leaves are also boiled or smoked on a fire and the oil vapours are inhaled for treating colds and flus.

The tree is sustainably harvested from the two plantations established on Kangaroo Island in 1938... Sadly a lot of Kangaroo Island woodland and countryside was cleared, (initially by colonizers) man and bullock teams. Later, they were bulldozed by tractors to make way for sheep farming... Today the trees are largely left intact. The two original plantations were revived in 1991 and are now regularly harvested and maintained for essential oil production.

The company also supports a small range of passionate and committed essential oil farmers and harvesters in other parts of Australia. They encourage ethical land use, revegetation and landcare, and respect indigenous knowledge and medicine ways of the Australian continent.

#conservation #knowledgesharing #biodiversity #medicinalherbgarden #livingpharmacy #Ethiopia #biodiversityishealth #permaculture #bees #herbalmedicine #custodians #traditionalmedicine #Ethiopia #botanicaethiopia #medicinalgardens