Page 18 - AWA Vol.42-No3

hOrTICulTure

From savannah plant to global remedy

how the devil’s claw tuber improves health and wildlife conservation in Namibia

The long dry season is ending in Na- “Devil's claw, it's a most important prod- able rule, no matter what, is you should
mibia’s Bwabwata National Park. Teon uct for the Khwe. The Khwe have been us- never touch the mother root because
Rongwani, who belongs to the Khwe In- ing it since our ancestors,” Teon explains, then you’re destroying the whole plant,”
digenous Peoples and is the community but now, its increasing commercial value says Justina Hamwaanyena, Certification
representative of the Kyaramacan Associ- ensures him and his community a higher Manager at a company that buys devil’s
ation, wipes the sweat from his brow and income and a better future. claw tubers directly from the harvesters
takes a last look over the sandy clearing “It’s a miracle plant indeed,” he says. to produce sustainable-certified Fair for
where he and his community have spent Life and Fair Wild devil's claw tablets and
the past months harvesting a fleshy tuber However, devil’s claw is a protected spe- powders.
whose jagged seed pod has earned the cies. Overharvesting and illegal trade The SWM Programme and DSL-IP sup-
name, the “devil’s claw.” threaten the plant, the harvesters and port also includes devil’s claw resource
wildlife that share its environment. Sus-
Teon and his fellow community mem- surveys, sustainable quota setting, help-
bers camped for weeks to collect it. The tainable management of this scarce re- ing ensure fair buyer contracts, and re-
source is crucial.
baskets are now full of tubers, and all the ducing cross-border illegal harvesting.
large holes dug to retrieve them have Led by the Food and Agriculture Orga- "What the Kyaramacan Association is
been filled to help the plant grow back nization of the United Nations (FAO) and trying to achieve at the end of the day
from the mother tuber and prevent ani- funded by the European Union (EU) and is to make sure that the benefits to the
mals from injuring themselves. the French Development Agency, the members are equitably shared and that
Sustainable Wildlife Management (SWM)
For Teon, and between 5 000 and 10 000 the natural resources are sustainable,"
harvesters across Namibia, this marks the Programme in Namibia has been work- says Teon.
ing with World Wildlife Fund Namibia, the
close of another year of hard work under Kyaramacan Association and neighbor- In addition, a management fee or com-
the hot sun searching for Harpagophytum ing communal conservancies — George mission on devil’s claw harvesting helps
procumbens and Harpagophytum zey- Mukoya and Muduva Nyangana — to en- fund the operational costs of communal
heri, the scientific names of these devil’s sure that devil’s claw harvesting remains conservancies, which in turn support
claw species. wildlife protection.
both legal and sustainable.
Found in arid, savanna environments “People only see devil's claw as just
“Before the harvesters go into the field,
in southern Africa, devil’s claw is hid- they need to undergo a training. After devil's claw, but there is a story to it,”
den deep in the soil. It is not only diffi- explains Justina. The tuber’s journey
cult to find but also needs to be carefully registration, they are issued with a permit from Namibia’s drylands to the shelves
harvested. “You need to walk miles and and can go into the field to start harvest- of pharmacies connects remote Indige-
miles in search of devil's claw,” Teon says. ing,” explains Teon. nous Peoples’ communities to the global
Alongside this, the FAO-led Dryland herbal medicine market.
His community, however, comes to-
gether to do it collectively and sustain- Sustainable Landscapes Impact Program Through initiatives like the SWM Pro-
(DSL-IP) — funded by the Global Envi-
ably. gramme, which is now working in 16
ronment Facility and implemented by the
Devil’s claw is recognised for its anti-in- Namibian government —provides train- countries with a consortium of partners in-
flammatory properties and is used to re- ing to communities on Good Agricultural cluding the French Agricultural Research
duce joint pain and to improve digestion. and Collection Practices (GACP+) to Centre for International Development
Locally, this natural remedy is drunk as help them turn devil’s claw into a sustain- (CIRAD), the Center for International For-
tea. Namibia supplies around 90 percent able income stream. estry Research and World Agroforestry
of the global market, exporting mainly This includes ensuring that the harvest- (CIFOR-ICRAF) and the Wildlife Conser-
to Europe, with Germany as a leading ers record what they collect, re-cover the vation Society (WCS), FAO is investing
in sustainable value chains to transform
buyer.
soil after digging and leave the mother livelihoods while conserving biodiver-
For Teon’s family, like many rural fam- root of the plant to regenerate. sity, ensuring that nature’s gifts, like the
ilies, devil’s claw is one of their main “Harvesting is actually a tough job,” devil’s claw, can flourish for generations
sources of income: money that pays for Teon says. to come and ensure the continuation of
school fees and uniforms, food and health Indigenous Peoples food and knowledge
care. “The number one rule, the unbreak- systems. Circle 22 on enquiry card
16 Vol. 42 No. 3