Artemesia Tea

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I’ve been thinking of a day like today ever since I sat in Kyle and Ginger Holton’s living room and sipped a bitter, foul drink made from the leaves of the artemesia plant. While the taste of the “tea” that night wasn’t enjoyable in the least, the idea of it captured my attention. Kyle explained to us that a concoction of this tea, drank in specific quantities over the course of a few days, could cure Malaria. And the best thing about it: it could be grown in your backyard.  I knew that night that growing artemesia was bound to be part of our work in Tanzania.

Malaria is still a huge issue here in Tanzania. While the mortality rates caused by Malaria have fallen dramatically in the past 10 years, it still remains a deadly virus for populations living far from proper medicines and proper treatment facilities. A large portion of Mtwara’s population falls into that category, and because of its low altitude, warm weather, and heavy clay soils, the whole region is a “red zone” for Malaria.

As soon as we settled into our house here in Mtwara I started preparing a part of our land for growing the artemesia plants. We bought the seeds (from a small organization in Germany called Anamed), prepared some holes, and started our first seedlings. It’s been a tough process along the way. Starting the seeds was a trick due to their microscopic size. And the plants themselves didn’t seem to do well in the fierce tropical sun– most of them wanted to bolt to seed long before they were big enough for a good harvest. But we continued to mulch, fertilize, and love on these 20 plants for the past few months.

Our toil did pay-off however, and just last week we harvested enough to make our first, small batch of artemesia tea. We pulled the leaves, cut them up and dried them in the sun. It doesn’t look like much– mainly because its not– but to us, that small pile of dark green dried leaves represents our first tangible piece of “work” here in Mtwara. After a year of doing only “preparatory” work in language and culture, having a product that we can hold, smell, and even (unpleasantly) drink is a big step for our family.

We’ve got a long way to go in trying to do good here in Mtwara. Our knowledge of the land, the people, and the language is still only “novice” and our  connections and relationships with people still limited. We’re still far from ready to enter our “work” phase here. But today we celebrate a small victory, raising a glass of pungent artemesia tea,  and toast to whatever good and fruitful things the future may hold for us and our Tanzanian neighbors.

NOTE: To learn more about the Anamed organization, or about the Artemesia (A-3) plant and its uses in tropical countries like Tanzania, visit www.anamed.net. Also note that none of this tea will be distributed to anyone other than ourselves until we can determine its effectiveness. As of today, we still recommend and prefer to use the WHO guidelines for treatment of Malaria.

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