VOA标准英语2009-Forest Plants in Kenya Grown for Traditional

Kakamega Forest in Western Kenya one of country's last remaining stands

Cathy Majtenyi | Nairobi, Kenya 24 November 2009

 
Mondia, found in Kakamega Forest, is a vine that has for centuries been used as a flavoring agent and medicine

Kakamega Forest is one of Kenya's last remaining virgin¹ forests, containing many trees and plants that have curative properties.  To protect these medicinal plants from harm, local farmers are being encouraged to grow them instead of harvesting the plants from the forest. The farmers also win by getting good money for their crops.

This is an increasingly common sight in Kenya, graveyards² of what once were mighty³ forests, teeming⁴ with life. The Kakamega Forest in Western Kenya is one of the country's last remaining stands.

Plants in the forest are being damaged or killed because people harvest them for traditional medicines.

So, to save Kakamega Forest, an international research group has transferred two popular plants out of the forest and into the hands of farmers such as Mary Shimuli.

Shimuli grows a half-acre's worth of Ocimum kilimandscharicum and harvests the plant every six months. She says that, besides saving the forest, her harvests bring her family a better income. "I used to go to the forest for firewood, but I was afraid of being arrested. After I realized that the project is fruitful for me, I stopped going to the forest. I managed to buy three cows," she said.

Shimuli and other farmers bring what they harvest to a nearby factory owned and operated the community and supported by African Insect Science for Food and Health, or ICIPE. The ocimum is weighed, dried, then processed.

The oil extracted is used to manufacture Naturub, a balm and an ointment⁵ used to treat flu, cold, chest congestion⁶, aches, pain and insect bites. The products have been certified⁷ and approved by the government.

The products are sent to the capital Nairobi, where they are packaged. They are sold in 80 outlets⁸, including Kenya's major supermarkets, and are gaining in popularity, says Frederick Nduguli, a marketing⁹ consultant¹⁰ with ICIPE. "Natural products have been used since time immemorial, so they are well-known in the marketplace as natural products but they have always been consumed in their raw form. Our role as ICIPE has been to add value to these natural products," he said.

He says that, by commercializing ocimum, the plant is used more efficiently¹¹, it is available to more people, and Kakamega Forest is conserved¹².

Wilber Lwande explains the science behind ocimum, "We found that the major constituent¹³ of this plant is a compound called camphor. Camphor has been shown scientifically to be having medicinal properties. Mainly it relieves pain and also it is an anti-microbial - it kills germs. Camphor has been used in various medicinal preparations such as Vicks, Robb, Deep Heat, but they use synthetic¹⁴ camphor," he said. "So we thought that this was a good source of medicinal product which would actually be of natural origin."

Another medicinal plant found in Kakamega Forest is mondia, a vine that has for centuries been used as a flavoring agent and medicine. Farmers are now starting to cultivate mondia.

A community group processes the root to produce a powder branded Mondia Tonic¹⁵.  It is said to be an antioxidant, a revitalizer, and a cure for hangovers.  

1 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。

2 graveyards   

墓地( graveyard的名词复数 )； 垃圾场； 废物堆积处； 收容所

参考例句：

• He takes a macabre interest in graveyards. 他那么留意墓地，令人毛骨悚然。
• "And northward there lie, in five graveyards, Calm forever under dewy green grass," 五陵北原上，万古青蒙蒙。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学

3 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

4 teeming   

adj.丰富的v.充满( teem的现在分词 )；到处都是；（指水、雨等）暴降；倾注

参考例句：

• The rain was teeming down. 大雨倾盆而下。
• the teeming streets of the city 熙熙攘攘的城市街道

5 ointment   

n.药膏，油膏，软膏

参考例句：

• Your foot will feel better after the application of this ointment.敷用这药膏后，你的脚会感到舒服些。
• This herbal ointment will help to close up your wound quickly.这种中草药膏会帮助你的伤口很快愈合。

6 congestion   

n.阻塞，消化不良

参考例句：

• The congestion in the city gets even worse during the summer.夏天城市交通阻塞尤为严重。
• Parking near the school causes severe traffic congestion.在学校附近泊车会引起严重的交通堵塞。

7 certified   

a.经证明合格的；具有证明文件的

参考例句：

• Doctors certified him as insane. 医生证明他精神失常。
• The planes were certified airworthy. 飞机被证明适于航行。

8 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

10 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

11 efficiently   

adv.高效率地，有能力地

参考例句：

• The worker oils the machine to operate it more efficiently.工人给机器上油以使机器运转更有效。
• Local authorities have to learn to allocate resources efficiently.地方政府必须学会有效地分配资源。

12 conserved   

v.保护，保藏，保存( conserve的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He conserved his energy for the game. 他为比赛而养精蓄锐。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Under these conditions, the total mechanical energy remains constant, or is conserved. 在这种条件下，总机械能保持不变或机械能保存。 来自辞典例句

13 constituent   

n.选民；成分，组分；adj.组成的，构成的

参考例句：

• Sugar is the main constituent of candy.食糖是糖果的主要成分。
• Fibre is a natural constituent of a healthy diet.纤维是健康饮食的天然组成部分。

14 synthetic   

adj.合成的，人工的；综合的；n.人工制品

参考例句：

• We felt the salesman's synthetic friendliness.我们感觉到那位销售员的虚情假意。
• It's a synthetic diamond.这是人造钻石。

15 tonic   

n./adj.滋补品，补药，强身的，健体的

参考例句：

• It will be marketed as a tonic for the elderly.这将作为老年人滋补品在市场上销售。
• Sea air is Nature's best tonic for mind and body.海上的空气是大自然赋予的对人们身心的最佳补品。