Organic Garden Of Medicinal Herbs: Social Inclusion In Community Of Barra In Muriae/Mg - Brazil

The implantation of an organic garden of medicinal herbs had as objective at social inclusion of poor people in the community of Barra (Muriae/MG) to permit access to treatment of diseases through herbal medicine. Initially there was the selection of the species, obtaining seedlings and installation of the garden. The 40 selected species under agroecological management, were indicated as therapy to 25 major health problems raised in the community. The didactic format of the garden, representing the human body, served as a reference to the indications for use of each species. The community was involved in the project from the start, being active in providing matrices and harvesting of medicinal herbs. The post-harvest processing, preparation and dispensation of the of phytotherapics occurred in dependencies of the local parish. The forms are available herbal internal use (dried herb, tincture, syrup) and topical (cream, gel, ointment), being the most searched: gel, tincture and syrup. The success of this project is reflected in the increasing number of species used, from 40 species in 2006 to 170 species in 2012, including: garden rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), basil (Ocimum basilicum), mulberry (Morus alba), arnica Brazilian (Solidago microglossa), calendula (Calendula officinalis), chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla), grass (Melinis minutiflora), horsetail (Equisetum arvense), hat-in-leather (Echinodorus grandiflorus) and espinheira santa (Maytenus aquifolium). Organic production of medicinal herbs, from 2006 to 2012, allowed the social inclusion of poor people, counted by 32,400 attendances, an average of 385 people/month.