FMNR helps reemergence of herbs for Aberinga's community
Gonnum-Akua is one of the ten communities in Kassena Nankana District where World Vision introduced the Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) Project in July 2020. The FMNR Project seeks to improve and sustain food security and resilience amongst the people in the District.
Through the project, World Vision established a communal field where farmers would conduct periodical practices in pruning shrubs, such as thinning and lopping as a way to restore the land.
Aberinga (38) is a native of the Gonnum-Akua community, and a member of the FMNR Lead Farmers who received practical field training on the project’s concept and approaches. He succeeded his late father who was a healer; treating sick people and animals with herbs.
In June 2021, Aberinga testified that the project’s interventions have benefitted him as a young healer. For some time now, he has seen positive outcomes from the protected communal field. According to him, the protection of the field against bushfires has led to the availability of fodder for animals from his community and nearby communities.
“Before we got introduced to this project, we used to travel miles in search of feed; especially during the dry season”, he said, adding that things have changed this year because their pilot field now has grasses to feed their animals.
Aberinga used to travel several kilometres in search of medicinal herbs. Sometimes, he had to travel over 19kms to find necessary herbs for healing.
As a healer, Aberinga indicated that there were signs of the reemergence of some plants that he used as medicinal herbs to heal. He identified Combretum molle, which he combines with Strophantus sarmentosus to treat dysentery, and stomach upset. A search round the field showed that many more of these herbal products were either growing from roots, tree stumps or seeds.
He is optimistic that in few years, it will not be necessary to travel out of his community in search of plants for medicinal herbs to heal people. He pledges to use his influence to promote the adoption and uptake the FMNR concept to land restoration.