TAKE ACTION. INSPIRE CHANGE. MAKE EVERY DAY A MANDELA DAY.

Making every day a Mandela Day celebrates Madiba’s life and legacy in a sustainable way that will bring about enduring change. Thank you to Aspen Philippines, Inc.; the South African Embassy; and DFA for contributing to a greener Philippines!

*Ornamental Banaba and Bougainvillea

The Banaba and Bougainvilleas were selected upon recommendation from key agro-forestry experts at the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB Forestry), also a FEED Living Legacy partner. Both species are considered optimal to plant along roads and highways,  not only for their flowering canopies and bushes, but for their low maintenance, high climate resilience through both wet and dry seasons,  minimized obstruction with roads and electric posts that line the highways and for the overall safety of road users.

Currently, many Philippine roads and highways are lined with high risk species, such as Eucalyptus or Mahogany — both introduced species consume heavy amounts of water and soil nutrients to survive, making neighboring trees struggle for survival. They are also both more relevant  for industrial plantation purposes, not to mention these trees being high potential road obstructions during storms, heavy winds and rains. The Banaba and Bougainvilleas were also selected as such to minimize road safety hazards and incidents reported regularly throughout major highways.

The banaba tree is a rainforest tree growing in Southeast Asia and India. The scientific name is “Lagerstroemia speciosa L” and it is a flowering tree with lavender blooms. Banaba is also known as the “cape myrtle” tree. The bark, and leaves of this tree is used in the Philippines by herbolarios or herbal medicine men/women to treat “manas” or swelling of ankles or other parts of the body. Banaba’s principal ingredient is corrosolic acid, a substance that has the same effect on the body as insulin medication, only without the harmful side effects that chemical medicines have on the human body.

Source: http://theorganicmom.blogspot.com/2012/01/banaba-tea-cure-for-diabetes-and-kidney.html

Bougainvillea spectabilis Willd.  Native to South America, the first species recorded in the Philippines was Bougainvillea spectabilis. The other species, B. glabra and B. peruviana were introduced much later. The cultivated hybrids have produced a considerable variety in size, color, form and numbers of showy bracts. The genus is derives its name from Antoiine de Bougainville, first Frenchman to cross the Pacific. Bogambilya is a woody climber that can grow to a height of more than 10 meters, with large thorny stems and long drooping branches.  It’s leaves are considered to have anti-inflammatory activity, also containing Pinitol considered antidiabetic.  Studies have shown antimicrobial, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, antifertility, amylase inhibitory, antihyperlipidemic, radical scavenging, anti-atherogenic, thrombolytic, analgesic, antipyretic, anthelmintic, antiulcer properties. 

Source: http://www.stuartxchange.org/Bogambilya

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