Anantnag- For the past 20 years, public school teachers have cultivated herb gardens and turned them into treasure troves of natural remedies. With a passion for preserving and harnessing the healing powers of nature, he has cultivated over 100 species of plants, each with immense medicinal value. These include rare species known for their potential to treat serious diseases, including cancer.
Mr. Manzoor Javaid is a former state nodal officer for the J&K School Herbal Gardens Scheme, a lecturer by profession, and is popularly known as the ‘Herbal Man of Kashmir’. At his home in Achabal area of south Kashmir’s Anantnag district, he maintains a herbal garden boasting over 100 species of medicinal plants.
Manzoor said his herb garden is the result of 20 years of hard work. “We have collected seeds from various regions, mainly plants with medicinal properties.Currently, the garden is home to over 100 species, with more to come.Until the next growing season. “The garden will become fully functional on a larger scale,” news agency KNO reported.
His collection includes exotic vegetables such as Chinese cabbage, wild garlic, and Swiss chard, as well as medicinal plants such as dandelion, known for its liver benefits, and Valeriana wallichiana, known for its antidepressant properties. I am.
Javaid’s garden also includes oregano, Elsholtzia ciliata (Eila gassa), lemon balm, lavender and rosemary, which are known for their health benefits. Some of the more unusual plants include Bistorta affinis, which is used to treat bleeding and ulcerative colitis, and Taxus Wallichiana, which is an anti-cancer plant.
“You can brew nutraceuticals, nutraceuticals, pickles, oils, teas. Globally, there is a growing trend in the supplement market featuring products derived from these medicinal plants,” Javaid said. .
He said that in the future, they plan to work with government and private institutions to promote herbal cultivation among the local population and make herbal cultivation a viable career option for young people through awareness programs. “Farmers and young people can pursue this as a career, whether as producers, entrepreneurs or in the value-add sector,” he said.
Javaid said that after the fruit industry and tourism industry, the herbal sector has immense potential to generate employment opportunities across J&K.
More and more students are visiting herb gardens and showing interest in the herb field. Some have started pursuing careers in this field, he said, adding that they have worked in the herbal sector across Jammu region, Kashmir and Ladakh.
He suggested that the government should initiate an initiative to recognize the herbal sector as a vocational field (subject) in schools, similar to courses on hairdressing skills, automobiles and tourism. “The herbal sector is closely related to tourism and should be promoted as part of herbal tourism to attract more tourists,” Manzoor said.
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