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Current Grapevine Articles: Other Archived Grapevine Articles: Rural Action Takes on Management of National Center Ohio University Convenes Meeting on Chinese Medicinals |
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Grapevine Rural Action Takes on Management of National Center In January 2001 Rural Action entered into Phase 2 of an agreement with Frontier Natural Products Cooperatives and took on the management of the National Center for Preservation of Medicinal Herbs. The National Center was founded by Frontier in 1998 to research how to grow medicinal herbs that are threatened with over-harvest as the natural products industry grows. Located in a beautiful area of Southern Ohio, the center is part of a "green corridor" that includes the United Plant Savers botanical sanctuary and land owned by herbalists and other supporters of our work. Hundreds of research beds have been established to research the best growing practices for goldenseal, black cohosh, wild yam, false unicorn, and other herbs. This research will help us learn more about growing these herbs that have not been seriously grown commercially before and will help Rural Action teach growers the best growing methods. Many of the herbs that the Center is working with are still easy to find in Ohio's woods but with a multi-billion dollar natural products industry there is the potential for them to be over-harvested to endangerment. Ginseng and Goldenseal are already listed on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Colin Donohue, Director of Conservation-Based Development Programs at Rural Action recalls a time when another species was threatened with overharvest. "The Audubon Society was formed out of a concern that over-harvest of Egrets might drive them to extinction. The Center is looking to be a steward of medicinal herbs to save these resources for future generations." Donohue is excited about the potential of the Center to provide critical information to growers and natural products companies. "The National Center is the only center in the world dedicated to researching organic production of North American native forest herbs which have never been commercially cultivated, researching and educating growers as to how to grow them. As more people use these natural remedies, the work of the Center will become more and more important." While Frontier will continue its role in many of the existing experiments, Rural Action will be enlisting academic and industry researchers from across the country to become involved in new and existing research. Ohio University Department of Environmental and Plant Biology and other universities from Kansas to New Jersey have become involved with the research committee and will be partnering with the National Center. Rural Action has been a long-standing partner with the National Center; the opportunity to marry conservation with economic development was what motivated Rural Action to take on the National Center. "We focus on the Appalachian region of Ohio but feel this is a very important project that has the potential to benefit growers in the region. If we can provide economic opportunities which help conserve native plants threatened with over-harvest, both rural communities and the forests will benefit." Most of the plants that the Center works with are not currently viable crops, but research is needed before plants become too scarce. "When plants are over-harvested, the price goes up which encourages more harvest. It may take years to really learn how to grow some of these plants so we need to learn how to grow them BEFORE they are on the brink." Frontier will be covering many of the expenses of the Center for the next year of the transition while Rural Action takes it on, but they plan to reduce their contributions over time. If the partnership works well and other sources of support are found, Rural Action will become the permanent owner of the National Center when Frontier donates it in 2002. "This is a very important time for the National Center. We need to develop a base of support from growers, herbalists, researchers, environmentalists and natural products companies to enable the Center to accomplish its mission" says Donohue. | Top | Ohio University Convenes Meeting on Chinese Medicinals Ohio University and the Athens County Chamber of Commerce recently met to consider regional economic development through local farmers growing Chinese medicinal herbs. The university has good connections with herbalists in China and is part of a consortium of eight prestigious Chinese medical schools. Over 300 million people in China prefer Chinese medicine to Western medicine, and export of herbs to China was explored. OU's College of Osteopathic Medicine will soon train students in the use of Chinese medicine, producing doctors interested in purchasing Chinese medicinal herbs and possibly creating a good market for local growers. The demand for Chinese herbs in the US grows ten percent each year. The addition of new US doctors knowledgeable about Chinese medicine could dramatically increase that growth. A process to identify promising herbs has begun. Ginseng and fresh medicinals for US markets seem the most promising opportunities at the moment. Participants in the meeting included Cindy Riviere from Plant It Herbs, Peter Borchard from Companion Plants, and representatives from the Roots of Appalachia Growers Association, the Athens Chamber of Commerce, the Farm Bureau, and the OSU Extension. | Top | Forest Congress Seeks Common Ground More than fifty community members participated in the Forest Congress, held December 9, 2000, at Ohio University. Funded by a grant from the Ohio Educational Fund and coordinated by Rural Action, the congress's purpose was to find common ground among interested parties in the region regarding the use and sustainability of forestland in Southeastern Ohio. The participants came from a variety of groups, including the timber industry; environmental organizations; natural resources, recreational, and other governmental agencies; landowners; academics; and researchers. The congress separated into roundtable discussions, each assigned a topic which participants had indicated were of primary importance. These included forest management, rare and threatened species, eco-system management, sustainability, incentives for management and investment, soil/water conservation, and development. The findings of each roundtable discussion group were voted on by the entire assembly and will be compiled in a final report, which will be made available to the public. Sponsors of the event included Ohio University Department of Environmental and Plant Biology, Haessly Hardwood Lumber Company, Marietta Savings Bank, Mike's Taxidermy of Coolville, and OSU Extension. | Top | Herb Growers Unite Rural Action Sustainable Forestry has been holding "herb growers' meetings" regularly since 1998. These meetings have provided an opportunity for medicinal herb growers/producers to share their experiences with other growers and learn from each other's successes and failures. When we first began holding these growers' meetings, just a few folks came out for the pot-luck dinners to get acquainted, discuss various herb growing issues such as disease control, or hear from experts about different herb cultivation methods. Over time, more and more serious growers came out of the woods to meet other growers, share their experiences, and learn more about what was happening in a comfortable, secure and friendly environment. As the growers' group evolved, people began to see the benefits and potential of working together as a group to accomplish tasks larger than one individual could handle. Soon plans were underway for bulk orders of planting stock and fertilizers, people were talking about group work days, and some were even talking about working to change poaching laws! Poaching of medicinal herbs from private property is not uncommon in the region, but no laws are in place to compensate a grower who loses his/her herbs. With ginseng prices as high as $500 per pound, growers face serious losses from poaching. Since most of the growers were cultivating the same crops, they found they had similar limitations or concerns on certain issues. Knowing that they were not the only one facing these problems made it easier for them to work on a solution. The group members felt that if they were going to work together to benefit each other and other growers in the region, they would need to establish themselves on firm ground. They decided to incorporate and become an association; this would afford them the many benefits of a group while still allowing each one to work independently toward personal goals. The name Roots of Appalachia Growers Association (RAGA) was chosen for the new association. Some of the goals that the group decided to work toward include providing a secure and completely private place for herb growers to work together, providing educational opportunities to herb growers and potential growers on various topics of interest, and working toward some legislative changes concerning poaching of herbs, particularly American ginseng. The growers' group, begun as just a few interested people, has now become a dedicated working family of growers who together are getting things done, and done fast! The group's evolution over the past year and half, let alone the last six months, indicates RAGA has a very bright future ahead. I encourage you to learn more about RAGA and get involved. If you have something to contribute to other herb growers in the region or if you would simply like to learn more about RAGA, please contact Rural Action's Sustainable Forestry program at 740-767-4938, or Greg Dusky of RAGA at 740-558-2069. | Top | |
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