ARTEMISIA ANNUA AGAINST MALARIA A PROJECT OF AGADEZ HORIZONs

ARTEMISIA ANNUA AGAINST MALARIA
A PROJECT OF AGADEZ HORIZONs

Agadez Horizon is a de facto association that we created 4 years ago.

This helped to restore the finances of a women's cooperative granting micro-credits to their members.

We had launched a first project: to completely equip a land to allow this group of women to cultivate ARTEMISIA ANNUA. Double-blind studies carried out in the DRC and in Germany have shown that this ancient Chinese plant, used mainly in the form of herbal tea, has a therapeutic activity both preventive and curative against malaria. It is inexpensive and does not cause side effects.

Our project consisted in setting up the market gardening structure necessary for the cultivation of ARTEMISIA ANNUA, which enabled women not only to exercise a correct gainful activity, but above all to save human lives by distributing the herbal tea bags.

Thanks to the remarkable work of the market gardener, the exceptional harvests followed one another for 2 years, to such an extent that the Sultan, the local authorities, and Nigerian television came to encourage them and broadcast a glowing documentary. Since then, many growers have wanted to follow in the footsteps of this formidable public health enterprise.

Building on the success of this pilot crop, we embarked on a second project : we acquired another land located on a significant aquifer, it will also be intended for the cultivation of artemisia, but above all will become a TRAINING CENTER to initiate future market gardeners who wish to train in the culture of artemisia.
This land, like the first land, must be equipped : the drilling of a well, the installation of the submersible pump, the solar panels, the irrigation network, the construction of the drying shed, the house of the caretaker, the acquisition of packaging equipment for herbal teas, ...

The artemisia harvests were abundant and its remarkable effects on the sick (a cure rate of over 95%) boosted the interest of the population to cultivate this plant, not to mention the attraction aroused by artemisia to stimulate the body's defense against Covid-19 (cf. study results of the Max Planck Institute in Germany)

This training center, in partnership with “La Maison de l'Artémisia” (a recognized French foundation that works for the dissemination of this plant in Africa), will teach market gardeners how to cultivate artemisia, according to a rigorous protocol (sowing, cultivation, harvesting and bagging…) Each village, each family will be able to dispose of this plant, at a minimum price or free of charge, in the form of herbal tea.

Three enthusiastic local players are currently involved in the project:
1) A coordinator already active in carrying out the first cultivation project. He will supervise the various works to develop the infrastructure necessary for its operation.
2) The market gardener well-trained in the culture of artemisia during the first project. He will become the trainer in culture according to the charter of  « La Maison de l’Artemisia ».
3) The Nigerian agricultural engineer, representative of « La Maison de l'Artémisia » in Niger, who liaises with this French foundation, which is very active on the African continent.

We are now launching a first call for funds to carry out our double project.

Agadez Horizons - Rue Victor Horta, 16/301 - 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve