Due to popular demand we are reaching into our archives! Today we publish Buckston Harrison’s contribution to the February 8, 2007 edition of Buckston and Huber’s Alternative. Huber’s contribution is current.

The aloe vera, or sinkle bible as it is commonly know, is one of the most popular and useful plants in Jamaica, and rightfully so.

I has a myriad of medicinal uses that have prove helpful for generations of Jamaicans. But many of us are missing the best part of the aloe which carries the most potent medicinal properties. It is the yellow part of the plant that many people discard. It is called the sap and carries properties of the plant, such as iron and mineral.

Additionally, what first appears as a yellow colour also contains black and lavender colouring that stains or tans the body. These “tanning” properties can stay in the system for up to a year where the medicine continues to work.

People, however, shy away from the sap because it is bitter and also has a very unpleasant smell. But on way to use this very potent part of the plant is to make flour ball tablets.

Aloe sap flour balls

Method 1. Place 2-3 ounces of flour in a clean dry bowl

2. Drain the sap of the plant into the bowl of flour

3. When complete, mix the sap and flour together to make a paste and roll into small table-sized balls

4. Leave to dry.

5. Take tablets as desired.

Another way to use the sap – and this requires an acquired taste – is to drain it into a glass of water and then drink. This mixture is however, very bitter and may take some getting used to.

Yet even without utilising the sap, as most people might not be able to acquire the taste, the gel of the aloe is still very medicinal. The sinkle bible or Barbados aloe variety found locally is used chiefly for sunburns and in cosmetic preparations . It is also good the eye, ears, nose, liver, spleen and kidneys.

Best if used fresh from the garden, the gel of the plant also effectively cleans the alimentary canal and is very good for colon problems. In addition, it is a good conditioner for the hair and is known to put pterygium, which grows over the eyeball, in remission.

When you use it to treat a burn, the pigment of the skin returns very quickly and without scars. Fresh aloe is good for wounds, especially old wounds, like ulcerated sores.

It is also good for mosquito and other insect bites and aloe is good as a mild laxative.

Buckston Harrison was well known for his work as a herbalist, especially in western Jamaica. He resided in Sheffield, Westmoreland until his untimely passing on Monday March 22, 2010.

Huber’s instant peanutbutter/banana jam

Snacks like the one in today’s recipe were made possible through the well spent effort to plant a tree. This is still one of the surest ways to stay on a sustainable path to prosperity. See you at Denbigh!

* 1 ripe banana

* 1 dozen peanut butterfruit

* 2 slices wholwheat bread

Method

*Wash peanut butter fruit, cut out the seeds and place in a bowl

* Dice banana and place in bowl

* combine to a past and spread on bread for a tasty snack

Thomas ‘Bongo Tommy’ Huber is a Swiss national who migrated to Westmoreland’s Retrieve District over 10 years ago. He is a naturalist who lives off the land and is deeply involved in an ongoing effort to create Jamaica’s next generation of exotic fruit trees.