Ethnobotanic Health Center

Ethnobotanic Health Center

DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT

1DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT

BIOVISION Catalyzer 2013



The vegetal biodiversity as a medicine for isolated countries

Since the beginning of time, men have used plants to provide them with food and medicine.

The growth of organic chemistry, as well as the humanitarian work lead in developing countries, has contributed to the slow disappearance of this knowledge.

In our Northern countries, this loss does not have consequences on public health, even if it is a part of our cultural patrimony that disappears.

But in some countries, the loss of this knowledge can sometimes lead to dramatic sanitarian issues.



Example : Dukagjin – Albania35 000 inhabitants - 1 doctor - isolated from the rest of the world 5 months a year.

This situation is far from unique, we have come to observe it in many mountainous regions such as Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan…


2PROJECT ORIGINALITY & INNOVATION




The Ethnobotanic growhouse for research, farming and teaching



The ethnobotanic growhouse is a structure toward local populations.

It serves for researchs on plants that grow higher in montains and isolated countries.

And to produce vegetables, fruits and plants for care.

It promotes education and exchanges of knowleges between habitants, studients and professionnals.

his module has an energetic autonomy with several systems: water, wind, carbon and solar powered.

Solar power is used to transform and preserve plants as well as using it as oven, dryer and cooker.

To reduce our impact on the environment, we choose to put above the structure a rainwater recovery.

In addition to that, there are dry toilets and composts.



Energetic autonomy and reduced impact on the environment

• Water- and Wind-powered• Compost and dry toilets• Rainwater recovery• Solar oven and cellar / drying

room• Stove heated



Geodesic dome made ofTetrafluoroethylene Ethylene



We try to use the best materials to generate a light structure as we can transport easily in those isolated countries. So we use Tetrafluorethylene ethylene : a lighter, more resistant, recyclable metarieal and cheaper than glass.

This geodestic form is suited to control the air and to succeed in growing plants.

It allows to sow earlier in spring and reap later in automn.

Spaces are articulate around the stove heated, for keeping heat and optimize storage.

Fifty percent is used to grow plants. Others spaces are for learning , teaching, transforming and helping to cure.

There are also one space with cupboard and a wall for projection.

A laboratory with storage and transparent wall for showing to others has been also created..

The solar oven / dryer / cooker is located inside the a drying room, close to the cellar for jars and seeds.

A more personal and secure place for the professionnal is setup. So they could come for several days to teach, to practice medecine or to do research. That’s why a shower and several cupboards had been added.



Learn, Teach, Transform and help to Cure


3ECONOMIC IMPACTS & CITIZEN BENEFITS


Preventing the medical deserts, and allowing the creation of new economic processes and small-scale industries



The benefits for the local populations are obvious.This project can be adapted depending on the different situations, and thus have numerous citizen benefits : opening up of their regions, medicine to treat and cure some of their illness, new economic perspectives for the local populations, touristic opportunities, …

In Gavar for example, we mainly work on the teaching and touristic aspects. In Mongolia the highlight is put on health issues and research, while in Albania, the food and medicine improvement is the most important point of view. In France and Europe, the preservation and transmission of our cultural and historical patrimony is the key.



Our action could initiate and favor the development of a small-scale plant industry, where locals learn to grow, harvest, transform and use the plants of their environment.This leads to creating or strengthening the economy in these rural regions (as in the Massif des Bauges and Chartreuse), or allows the young inhabitants to stay and work in their hometowns (Gavar or Husche).

The establishment of these ‘Ethnobotanic Health Centers’ in diverse parts of the world would also allow to create several international partnerships between universities.This could mean giving PhD’s students the opportunity of very promising thesis, at the crossing of environmental, patrimonial, economic and sanitarian issues.



Furthermore, we already take part in a number of universities studies.We also have the expertise in publishing books and exhibits on the ethnobotanic patrimony we collect.

These skills, allied to this project, will at the same time provide research informations, teaching material, and the public’s interest for these issues.


4PLANNED SCHEDULE & BIOVISION

EXPECTATIONS




Second semester 2013Research for technical, industrial and scientific partnershipsEngineering for the ‘Ethnobotanic health center’, first steps of prototyping

First semester 2014Construction and testing of the prototypeCoordination and formation of the NGOs and universitiesin order to prepare their intervention in the field

Second semester 2014Production of the ‘Ethnobotanic health centers’Interventions’ planningVisas’ applying when necessary



We have :

• The foreign political supports

• The volunteers• The expertise• The knowledge• The enthusiasm

We need:• The French political

supports• The financial support in

order to build the proprotype and validate the working hypothesis before launching the production and a wider deployment.

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BIOVISION - FONDATION POUR L’UNIVERSITÉ DE LYON - 210, AVENUE JEAN JAURÈS - 69007 LYON - FRANCE

[email protected] - TEL. : +33 (0)4 78 92 70 00 - FAX : +33 (0)4 78 92 70 29

CONTACT :

l Mathieu Genty

l 06.07.18.42.99

l [email protected]

Health & Medicine

Ethnobotanic Health Center