At Last, The Solution To Insect Pests, Hemorroids & Bald Dogs
No, it's not snake oil, but the oil of the neem tree.
The neem has been honoured in India for millennia, where it plays a leading role in Ayurvedic medicine and agriculture. Also known as the Margosa tree, preparations of its leaves are used to ease skin disorders, flatulence, hemorrhoids, eye and ear problems and childbirth. Neem leaves are burned in Sri Lanka to deter mosquitoes. Bundles of neem twigs are sold in every Indian market for use as tooth brushes; their antiseptic properties help prevent gum disease and tooth decay. Some cultures call it the 'village pharmacy'.
Brought to Bali hundreds of years ago by Indian or Burmese traders, the neem tree is now indigenous in Bali's driest areas, including Jimbaran and Bukit where nothing else will thrive. In the arid northeast, farmers are able to grow corn under neem trees without investing in fertilizer because the nutrients from fallen leaves enriches the soil considerably. Wherever it grows, the adat rules on its use. In some areas it can't be cut without permission, and the wood is used in temple structures. A relative of mahogany, the neem lives about 200 years and grows to 40 metres in height and 1.5 metres in girth.
Neem has many properties which make it interesting in the environmental context. The neem tree grows in the worst of soil and climate conditions, nourishes the soil, provides shade, supplies a wide variety of medicines and provides fodder for livestock. Branches can be taken from the tree without killing it. Perhaps its most impressive property, though, is as a powerful natural pesticide. The oil pressed from the seeds, the whole seed and even the leaves contain a substance which controls about 200 types of insects.
Richard Wendt of Yayasan MACK has been studying and experimenting with neem in Bali for 10 years. "Neem is the best organic pesticide available today," he states.
Neem has several modes of action against undesirable insects. It acts as an anti-feedant; pests lose their appetites and starve. It also interferes with reproduction. In field tests of up to 100 generations of insects, there is no evidence of resistance to neem. It is a powerful deterrent to the critters we don't like, yet it leaves the good guys alone. Neem has very little effect on mammals and bees and no effect at all on fish, birds or amphibians. It's hard to imagine a more ideal pesticide for Bali's busy rice fields, where ducks, fish, snakes, frogs and eels all co-exist happily in the muck. Neem also leaves unharmed the predator insects such as ants and mantises which prey on other bugs. Neem cake, oil, crushed seeds or leaves help control mosquito larvae when added to standing water.
Neem prefers dry conditions -- the less hospitable, the better. It is a pioneer species, often the first plant to appear in a barren area. The north slope of Mount Agung was a wasteland in the 1970s, but neem seeds dropped by bats and birds established themselves here. Nourished by its own fallen leaves and with a tap root that grows very fast and deep, neem created an environment where other plants and creatures gather, which in turn nourish the soil and attract other species.
Yayasan MACK is trying to persuade Indonesians to plant the tree and harvest the seeds to provide a local supply of neem oil. The seed cake, which is left after the oil is pressed from the seeds, is an excellent fertilizer with natural insecticide properties. Richard's experiments with neem trees in Indonesia extend to Lombok, Sumbawa, Sumba, the Riau and Flores, where farmers who understand the value of neem planted 80,000 trees.
Last year, the entire production of neem oil and oil cake was given over to farmers in Lombok for pilot testing. They found that neem protected their long beans from a chronic pest and their harvest was better as a result. Now they are broadcasting the benefits of neem to other farmers - the most effective way of ensuring adoption of a new technique in traditional societies. Richard is working with new groups and hopes to plant 300,000 more trees this year. The seeds from these trees will feed Indonesia's nascent neem oil industry.
Besides its value as an insecticide, the neem tree also effectively controls erosion. Very fast-growing when well cultivated, the roots of the neem trees bring nutrients from deep in the earth, rapidly improving soil conditions.
Richard has been promoting neem for years, but during the economic crisis saw a great opportunity to help the Indonesia. With a seed press donated by GTZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit GmbH) he began to research products that would both benefit local growers and provide income. "It would have been difficult to do this during the Suharto era," he says. "Now it's possible to create a sustainable social activity that creates income. We are growing a crop that actually improves the environment, provides chemical-free pesticide and generates value-added products."
Only 15 tons of seed was produced last year, so Yayasan MACK has not had a great deal of raw material to work with. But small amounts of oil, which has a long shelf life, are now available. Products developed to date focus on neem oil, oil cake, leaf powder and an anti-fungal soap for humans and pets. Richard is looking for the right partners to help develop neem insect coils, mosquito repellent, toothpaste and other products.
Richard has also made a discovery which will delight dog owners in Bali. Four years ago his dog developed mange and Richard applied neem oil to the mutt's itchy hide. "It seems to be very effective against the mange parasite. The hair grows back lush and healthy, and there has not been a recurrence." Hmmm. Imagine a Bali teeming with hairy, vicious dogs instead of bald and vicious ones. Makes sense, though. My reference material also mentions neem oil as a cure for baldness.
For information on neem products available in Bali, contact P.T. Intaran/Yayasan Mack Tel 735822, Richard Wendt at baliasli@dps.centrin.net.id or visit www.indoneem.com
