In Shinyar, Kakamega County, Benjamin Akolo and his employees are busy washing, drying and crushing roots harvested from the nearby Kakamega Forest.
This is Mondia whitey, widely known among communities in Western Kenya and in fact known in Kenya as Mukombero, a vine commonly found in Kakamega forests.
Mr. Akolo has been working with Mukombero since 1999, but has recently discovered more medicinal benefits of the grape through research and is now adding value to Mukombero with the aim of helping Kenyans and indeed the world. He said he has set out to give.
“This vine helps reduce cholesterol in the human body and thus helps fight diseases such as obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure,” Okaro said while chewing the mukombero root.
For a long time, many Kenyans have believed that mukombero helps increase sexual desire in men. Akolo says this is true, but mostly it’s in people’s minds.
“What’s actually happening is that Mukombero dilutes the cholesterol in the blood. This allows blood to flow better to all parts of the body. This creates the firmness that everyone is talking about. But Mukombelo is good for both men and women. For women, it works, especially for breastfeeding mothers, whose breast milk flows freely,” explains Akolo.
In addition to grinding herbs into powder for easy consumption, Akolo is also currently breeding herbs with the aim of increasing population and forest area.
His nursery currently houses more than 1,000 propagated Mukombero seedlings. He is targeting local residents in Sinyar, asking them to plant at least 10 mukombero saplings on their fences.
“We have a problem with climate change. With government help, we want to help plant as many seedlings as possible so that vegetation can spread and actually help mitigate climate change. ” he further says.
