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Exploring A Living Pharmacy

“Let food be thy medicine” - wise words to live by. In times of Corona, good health, a nutrient-rich diet and medicine are all at the forefront of many a mind, which means there couldn’t be a better time to introduce the spiralled Living Pharmacy garden at Angama Mara
Angama's Shamba, the whimsical garden that continuously delights our guests
Angama's Shamba, the whimsical garden that continuously delights our guests

Although The Living Pharmacy was designed and built during my last visit three years ago, the Shamba team hadn’t had a moment to install its plants until the recent absence of their much-loved guests. The team are usually kept frantically busy growing and supplying ‘garden-to-table’ fresh produce to the lodge’s kitchens or guiding guests to handpick their salad greens during a Shamba Lunch.

The pharmacy lives in the Shamba’s Zone 5 just behind the Manyatta and close to the chook hotel - (yes, even the chickens at Angama reside in style). It consists of two comma-shaped raised beds which morph into spiralling towers offering a range of easy-to-clutch natural remedies.

The spiralling pharmacy towers offer natural remedies for a range of ailments
The spiralling pharmacy towers offer natural remedies for a range of ailments

The two beds mirror each other and welcome visitors to sit on their curved lower walls whilst the shamba keeper explains the plants’ medicinal values. In the beds surrounding the spirals, you’ll find larger sprawling herbs and indigenous medicinal trees, many of which the Maasai use daily.

Plant varieties are arranged according to which hemisphere of the body they treat - the upper body in one spiral and the lower body in the other.

Shamba keeper James Keshei oversees all aspects of the planting and growing of herbs, fruits and vegetables
Shamba keeper James Keshei oversees all aspects of the planting and growing of herbs, fruits and vegetables

The healing properties of the available plants can be enjoyed in a variety of applications:

• Freshly brewed herbal teas are known to treat many an ailment and many of which happen to be delicious. My favourites are cinnamon basil and chamomile (separately) but others to try are ‘Bushman Tea’ (congestion), lemon balm (fevers, anxiety and depression), peppermint (upset stomach), fennel (halitosis), rosemary (depression, memory, circulation and even baldness) and lavender (strong anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory and anti-fungal properties)

• Dried leaves: some medicinal herbs, such as Moringa, are easier to absorb when the leaves are dried. I’ll never forget the aroma of a medicinal healer’s hut where bowls of herbs were placed to dry on top a wood burner oven

• Fresh juices extracted from leaves and stems, tamed with a drop of honey and a kick of ginger. Some seasonal health juices on offer include green alkaliser, slick citrus, and beetroot boost

Various ways in which our guests enjoy the Shamba's bounty
Various ways in which our guests enjoy the Shamba's bounty

• Fresh leaves: simply chew on a Bushman’s Tea leaf and your congestion disappears. James, the head shamba keeper, reported on our recent Zoom catch-up call that guests found this one most effective

• More on the scrumptious side, health smoothies are loaded with antioxidant goodness thanks to moringa leaves and blueberries and are flavoured with frozen banana and Maasai honey

• Fresh flowers: calendula petals have anti-inflammatory properties and are used to treat skin conditions. They also add a yellow colouring and spicy, saffron-like flavour to soups, salads, herb butter or pasta

• Flower buds, fresh or dried, such as dandelion have excellent detoxifying properties

• Floral tea: viola’s ancient name is ‘heartsease’ as a tea made of its flowers is an effective treatment for blood pressure

• Roots: Num num roots are boiled into a soup-like broth and used to treat toothache

• Chopped stems: not healing but still fun, such as the African Olive, are used as (plastic-free) toothbrushes

These are just a few of the remedies on offer. For the full experience James will tailor your next visit to the Shamba to meet your healing requirements.

The fragrant carpet of Penny Royal ends a dreamy stroll through the Shamba
The fragrant carpet of Penny Royal ends a dreamy stroll through the Shamba

The next time you’re in the pharmacy checkout aisle, I dare you to close your eyes and imagine you’re circling Angama Mara’s herb spirals and citrus labyrinth with the smell of freshly cut lemon balm in your nose, the Maasai Mara wilderness below you and a herb bundle clutched in your hand. The visualisation alone is likely to kick start your body’s immune system.

Filed under: Inside Angama

Tagged with:

Angama Chefs , Angama Design , Angama Food , Angama Shamba , Angama Staff , Shamba , Shamba Lunch

About: Ian Dommisse

Ian is an architect with a passion for alternative, environmentally friendly construction methods. In 2013, he founded The EcoBrick Exchange (EBE), a recycling non-profit, which builds township preschools using up-cycled plastic waste. With landscaping projects becoming more of a focus, including designing Angama's Shamba, he is in his element surrounded by nature amongst its magic and beautiful creatures great and small.

Browse all articles by Ian Dommisse Meet the angama team

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Join the Conversation (2 comments)

Comments (2):

AM

1 September 2020

I absolutely love it. Brilliant timing!

    Kate Fitzgerald Boyd

    2 September 2020

    Thank you dear AM!

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