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Monday, December 30, 2002 Online Edition 50 |
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IV National Science and Technology Contest held in
December By CAROLINA ALDUVIN TEGUCIGALPA — Between December 16 - 20, the Salon Cultural of Banco Atlantida, exhibited the twelve best projects presented at the IV National Science and Technology Contest, organized by the Honduran Council for Science and Technology. Under the motto “Improving Development of Knowledge”, the institution calls for participants in the Professional, Student, Children and Free categories to submit original, innovative and creative scientific or technological projects. This year 24 entrants proposed ideas in areas such as physics, energy, math, computer science, chemistry, biology, environment, agriculture, agro-industry, engineering, health and education. This year the contest had important sponsors such as the Diplomatic Corp appointed in Honduras, Fundacion Vida, the Embassy of the Republic of China, EXVECAM, the Vanguard Group, UNILEVER, TACA Group, Banco Atlantida and the Ministry of Culture, Art and Sports. The opening ceremony took place on Monday, December 16 in the evening. The Honduran vice-president and National Commissioner on Science and Technology, Vicente Williams gave the inaugural speech. At the main table he was seated with the physicist Pablo Dominguez, Director of Scientific Research at the National University; engineer Irma Acosta de Fortin, President of Jose Cecilio del Valle University and Camilo Bendeck, Director of Intellectual Property at the Industry and Trade Ministry. A jury consisting of professors Pablo Dominguez and Nabil Kawas of the National Autonomous University of Honduras; Oscar Munguia from the National Education University Francisco Morazan and Irma Acosta de Fortin from University Jose Cecilio del Valle made the first selection and interviewed the entrants. Projects displayed at the exhibition included a model for a sun stove by Marcos Javier Martinez, touted as an alternative solution to the ever-increasing countryside deforestation, caused largely by the need for firewood. The alternative invention could be doubly important, given research that the use of firewood for cooking contributes to lung cancer, and is equivalent to smoking two packets of cigarettes a day, not to mention producing gases contributing to the greenhouse effect. One of the most interesting aspects on show was a computer program for remote discharges of documents by the Internet which saves a lot of money to telephone users, by requiring only a few minutes of connection. It starts the discharge and then the program continues even if the telephone has been hanged up, and was presented by students Lenin Villeda and Carlos Caraccioli. In another exhibit, Victor Andino, in the free category showcased a system of sensors to automatically control transit signals and an electronic security system, for immediate notification. Student Maynor Fuentes displayed apparatus to measure Ohmic (electrical) resistance. Students Rafael Dubon, Cesar Melendez and Andres Prieto built an horizontal seismograph, connecting it to a computer, they made a program that registers even the slightest move at the monitor screen. Angel Guevara in the free category demonstrated a couple of portable devices to accurately cut automotive seals. These parts are mainly produced by fixed machines, which are very difficult to move around. Also in the free category, Manuel Godoy presented a temporizer to be programmed by computer. Gustavo Avila displayed an educational pilot program about dengue and its vector, oriented to schoolchildren. Students Edwin Figueroa, Dennis Mendez and Ricardo Caraccioli displayed Viking 3, a computer-operated robot. Also students David Ortiz and Freddy Cardenas exhibited a small car moved by sun energy concentrated onto a solar panel, barely able to function indoors. At the end of the row was the display by Mercedes Roca, Melisa Castillo, Estela Aguilar and Carlos Sabio from Zamorano, about management of the lethal coconut-yellowing disease in the Caribbean coast of Honduras. Government officers, diplomats, university professors, fellow students and the general public attended the opening; a wine of honor was served to celebrate this one of a kind national event. 
Community Technology Centers
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Christmas in Honduras, it’s just different By DON PEARLY ROATAN – You’re sitting in a pulperia having a banana smoothie when a loud series of explosions fill the air. Heavy smoke wafts over to your area and a just as your recovering, a few random late shots go off. Where are you - in Afghanistan, in Israel? No, in Los Fuertes on Roatan. It’s Christmas in the Caribbean. Somehow they have blended in the Fourth of July with Christmas and everyone seems to enjoy the noise. Many men, women and children walk by wearing their Sunday best. They are on their way to the many churches nestled in and among the houses. Singing and guitars can be heard from every other building. Ex-pats interspersed with tourists, native islanders and people from the coast. Then of course there are the men who heard Christmas time meant putting away as many Salva Vida beers as possible. They will continue on with their work all night long and into the next day. A dedicated bunch that has no doubt practiced all year for this event. In French Harbor a valiant effort to recover from the rainout Christmas event scheduled a week prior. The streets roped off for pedestrian traffic only, kids of all sizes and ages safely roaming the streets checking out the music section, the ice cream store and the hundreds of table sales offered to those passing by. Plenty of efforts by the local inhabitants with mass Christmas lights forming all sorts of holiday things on their houses and lawns. One wiener-dog pulling a Santa sleigh, electric palm trees and lots of ice cycles in every color imaginable. Then the highlight of the evening, the big boats are on the move. Cruising up and down the harbor are fishing boats, shrimp boats and cargo vessels. They each had a different idea for decorating launches including flashing lights, outlined hulls, trawling poles all light up. In and out with the 20 ft skiff all covered in ice cycles. The biggest and best was the shrimp boat when she extended her big net booms totally covered in red lights. She looked like a giant butterfly or a dragonfly coming toward you. Picking up passengers for the trip, everyone having the best time possible. People greeting friends and family they never see during the year, hugs and kisses and exchanges of information. After you get over the explosions it really is a lot like Christmas in the United States after all. |
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EVENTS ARTS |
MUSEUMS
& GARDENS TEGUCIGALPA MUSEO DE HISTORIA REPUBLICANA The
Museum of Republican History is located at the Villa Roy building
in Tegucigalpa's Barrio Buenos Aries.
It is open 8:30 to 3:30, Tuesdays through Sundays and features
portraits, paraphernalia, and other interesting items from past presidents.
Admission is Lps. 20 for non-resident foreigners and Lps. 10
for Hondurans and Central Americans.
For more information, call 222-3470 or 222-1468. CENTRAL BANK MUSEUM The
Central Bank of Honduras located at the Comayaguela annex building
is open from 9 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 4 p.m., Monday to Friday.
It has a permanent coin and painting exhibit. For special presentations, call the Emision y Tesoreria department
at 237-2270 (-78), ext. 2117 (-2120). [CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.] NATIONAL ART GALLERY The
Galeria Nacional de Arte features rock art, pre-Columbian ceramics,
colonial paintings, religious art and a wide selection of 20th century
Honduran painters. The
gallery is located at the Plaza de la Merced in downtown Tegucigalpa.
It is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10-5 p.m. and Sunday
from 10-2 p.m. Admission
is Lps. 10 for adults, Lps. 5 for senior citizens, Lps. 3 for students
and Lps. 1 for children accompanied by adults. IGUANA FARM The
Biosfera Ecocentro Iguana Farm in Colonia La Joya invites the public
to come and learn everything about iguanas.
Admission is Lps. 5 for adults, Lps. 3 for children.
The facility is open every day (except Wednesday) from 9 to
5. For more information, call 230-6346. COMAYAGUA,
COMAYAGUA COMAYAGUA MUSEUM OF ARCHAEOLOGY Located
in the city of Comayagua, two hours north of Tegucigalpa, the Comayagua
Museum of Archaeology is in the building that served as the seat of
government in the 19th century.
Exhibits include prehistoric fossils, cave art, ceramics, and
objects used by indigenous cultures during the pre-Colombian era.
The museum, which also has a small library, is open to the
public Tuesdays through Sundays from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. COMAYAGUA RELIGIOUS MUSEUM Located
in the Casa Cural in front
of Comayagua's cathedral, this museum features religious paintings
and objects dating back to the 16th century.
Hours are 8-12 and 2-4 p.m., Mondays through Fridays.
For more information, contact Leonardo Letona at 772-0348.
LA
PAZ, LA PAZ LA PAZ HOUSE OF CULTURE The
La Paz Casa de la Cultura
is located in downtown La Paz.
It features an attractive exhibit of the Lenca handicrafts
and culture. It is open
Mondays through Sundays. SAN
PEDRO SULA, CORTES SPS MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY AND HISTORY The
Museo de Antropologia e Historia de San Pedro Sula features exhibits
on the development of Sula Valley, from 1500 B.C. to the middle of
this century. The museum is open 10 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays
and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sundays.
Admission is Lps. 10 for adults, Lps. 5 for students and children
under 12, and Lps. 2 for senior citizens.
For more information, call 557-1496/557-1798 or fax 557-1874. MUSEUM OF NATURE OF SAN PEDRO SULA Sponsored
and managed by the Fundacion Ecologista H.R. Pastor Fasquelle, this
new museum was inaugurated last December in its current location at
the Biocentro on 3 Avenida and 9 Calle Noroeste.
It has 24 exhibits on the environment, natural resources and
biology of Honduras. Hours
are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily and 8 a.m. until noon on Saturdays.
Admission is Lps 5 for students from public schools and Lps.
10.00 for everyone else. YUSCARAN,
EL PARAISO YUSCARAN HOUSE OF CULTURE
Yuscaran's
Casa de la Cultura is located
at the former Casa Fortin
in downtown Yuscaran, El Paraiso department, just 45 km from Tegucigalpa
on the road to Danli. It
is open Mondays through Saturdays. OLANCHO PECH CULTURAL CENTER The
Pech have built a small house in El Carbon, Olancho to display their
modern handicrafts. An
exhibit of archaeological finds in the area is planned.
You can ask to see the collection and/or get a tour of a Post
Classic era fortified site.
The Pech Cultural Center also offers medicinal plant tours,
nature hikes, Pech dinners, etc.
There is no admission fee to the cultural center.
Hours: If you ask, they will open it. COPAN COPAN ARCHEOLOGICAL MUSEUM
Located
in the village of Copan Ruinas, Copan department, the museum exhibits
a splendid assortment of Mayan pieces that have been found in the
Copan Ruins Archaeological Park just 1 km away.
LA PUENTE ARCHAEOLOGICAL
MUSEUM Featuring
a sizeable collection of Mayan handicrafts and photographs as well
as a room with Japanese antique ceramics, this museum is located at
the El Puente Archaeological Site, about an hour's drive from Copan
Ruinas. MAYAN SEPULTURAS MUSEUM Inaugurated
in 1996, this is the premier Mayan museum in the Mundo Maya, featuring
the finest examples of Copan's tombs, sculptures and architecture.
Located at the Copan Ruins Archaeological Park, the museum
is open Monday through Sunday. TELA,
ATLANTIDA LANCETILLA BOTANICAL GARDENS Located
2 kilometers from Tela on the Atlantic coast highway, the gardens
feature one of the largest collections of tropical and subtropical
plants, shrubs and trees in all Latin America.
It is open from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Mondays through Sundays.
There is an admission charge. LA
CEIBA, ATLANTIDA TROPICAL BUTTERFLY FARM The
Tropical Butterfly Farm & Gardens of La Ceiba is open to the public
Wednesday to Sunday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The farm is located at The Lodge at Pico Bonito in the village
of El Pino, about 25 minutes west of La Ceiba.
Admission is Lps. 30 for adults, Lps. 15 for children and $6
for international visitors. BUTTERFLY AND INSECT MUSEUM Thousands
of butterflies and insects from Honduras and 18 other countries are
on display in La Ceiba' private Butterfly and Insect Museum.
It is located in Colonia El Sauce, 2nd etapa, casa G-12. Visiting hours are 8-12 and 2-5, Monday through Saturday.
The museum is closed Wednesday afternoon.
Fees are Lps. 15 for adults and Lps. 10 for students.
Tel. 442-2874, e-mail: rlehman@ns.gbm.hn TRUJILLO TRUJILLO RUFINO GALAN MUSEUM A
private museum which has a memorabilia section, old chairs, anchors,
silverware, beds of famous people locally.
There is an industrial archaeology section on how lights, axes,
stoves, sewing machines, typewriters have changed over time.
They have a good collection of Garifuna handicrafts and the
best collection of NE Honduras archaeological pieces -- all unmarked.
A written guide to the museum is available at the Trujillo
Tourism Office in English and Spanish.
The museum is open 8 to 4, closing for lunch.
Adults Lps. 20, children Lps. 10.
Located on Calle 18 de Mayo, next to the Crystales River and
the famous "piscina" or pool, about a 15-minute walk out
of town. ROATAN,
THE BAY ISLANDS CARAMBOLA BOTANICAL GARDENS h
located in Sandy Bay, Roatan, Bay Islands.
A wide variety of exotic plants is featured here, including
"Roatan's most extensive orchid collection."
It is open daily from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For more information, call 445-1117 and ask for Bill or Irma
Brady. BAY ISLANDS MUSEUM A
private museum at Anthony's Key Resort, Sandy Bay, Roatan, Bay Islands,
it mostly includes archaeological pieces, but there is a small section
on the modern Bay Islanders.
Museum admission is included in the cost of the dolphin show
at Anthony Key's Institute of Marine Sciences.
Small buses or taxis will take you to Sandy Bay from most Roatan
towns. |
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Monday, December 23, 2002 Online Edition 49 |
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Roatan’s charismatic craftsman, the wood carver
By CMJ JENNINGS As each piece of wood spoke to him, he
carved out the likeness and soon had a whole collection of creatures.
People came to admire and hastened away with his creations to decorate
their own homes or give to friends. In those days, Melvin said he had no
idea he could sell his treasures. True Currency Nothing is good in excess, everything can
be good but only to a certain extent, except for goodwill. In his
bravest attempt to make a science out of ethics and moral philosophy,
Emmanuel Kant begins his dissertation with that affirmation. All the
other virtues and human traits, talents or abilities, even human love
has limits, but goodwill is a virtue that none can have too much of. It
has no limits, it knows no boundaries. And the greatest time to manifest
that goodwill to all, Christmas, has arrived once more.
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Christmas recipes II - Santa Barbara style nacatamales Santa Barbara style nacatamales (Serves: 20) First step: Preparing the dough 5 cups corn flour (for tortillas) 15 cups water 1 1/2 cups chopped onion 2 tsp. ground white pepper 1 cup chopped green pepper 1 2/3 cups vegetable shortening 3 Tbsp. salt 1. In a frying pan, melt 1-cup vegetable shortening. Cook the onion and green pepper at medium heat until slightly golden. Cover the pan and cook at low heat for 10 minutes. Let cool and grind in the blender. Strain with a sieve. 2. In an 8-quart pan, place the corn flour by dissolving it gradually with water. Add the salt, pepper and the sieved mixture of the onion and the green pepper. 3. Cook at medium heat and stir the mixture constantly. When the dough begins to boil, add the remaining melted vegetable shortening. Boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. Second step 2 pounds pork meat without fat 1-cup dough prepared on the first step 1 1/2 cup tomatoes 1 cup onion 8 garlic cloves 1/2 cups chopped green pepper 1/2 cup tomato paste dissolved in water 1 tsp. cumin 1 Tbsp. salt 1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper 1 tsp. “achiote” 1 Tbsp. finely chopped jalapeño pepper 4. Cut the pork meat into 2” pieces 5. Place the tomato, onion, garlic and green pepper in the blender and chop. Prepare the “recado” by mixing it with the rest of the above ingredients and add them to the meat. Refrigerate overnight in a glass container or 8 hours before preparing the “nacatamales”. Third step: elaboration 2 cups short grain rice, uncooked 2 cups potatoes cut lengthwise (2 x 1/4”) 2 cups green beans cut into 1 1/2 inch” 1 1/2 cups peas 2 cups water 20 plantain leaves (4 x 12”) washed and soaked in boiling 2 cups stuffed green olives 1 1/2 cups raisins 3/4 cups capers 2 Tbsp. corn oil 1 tsp. “achiote” 1 tsp. salt 1 toll thin string 20 pieces aluminum paper 6. Heat the oil in a small pan and cook the rice. Add the water and “achiote” dissolved in hot oil. Season with salt and cook uncovered until water evaporates. 7. Take 1 plantain leaf and place 2 Tbsp. of dough in the center and spread. 8. Place the ingredients approximately in the following order: a piece of meat, 4 pieces of potato, 5 pieces of green beans, 1 Tbsp. peas, 4 olives, 1 tsp. capers, 1 tsp. raisings, 3 tsp. rice and 1 Tbsp. of the “recado” meat. 9. Fold the plantain leaf and wrap in the aluminum foil so that the size of the “nacatamale” remains 4 x 6”. 10. Tie with string. Repeat the same process in making every “nacatamale”. 11. Place in an 8-quart pan and add enough boiling water to cover them. Boil for 45 minutes and lower the heat afterwards and cook for 1 1/2 hours at low heat. Check once in a while to make sure water does not evaporate completely. |
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Monday, December 16, 2002 Online Edition 48 |
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Restaurant Review:
CSI: Honduras Most kids do little but play games in the
computer because they lack the habit of reading. The essence of
learning, like reading, hasn’t changed all that much; we just have to
refocus on how to teach it. Research shows that students learn best
when engaged in designing and creating things. Modern technology gives
children the opportunity to do many creative and design activities, from
creating their own web pages, making music, designing pop art, virtual
worlds, visually impacting publications and much more.
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Future water supply for Tegucigalpa The last possible water supply was the Amarateca sector, said Ochoa. For that reason he and other technical staff disagreed with the decision to settle the victims of Hurricane Mitch in the area. Nobody paid attention then to their claims, now they have been asked to solve the problem. The waterbed: Stories from an unconventional movement By MARCO CACERES On November 18, 2002, I received a message from Linda Johanna Stern in Zamorano, Honduras. It read: “We have a young girl here in one of the villages where we work who is 12 years old and is paralyzed from the waist down. She spends her days in a wheelchair and her friends and family take her to school and back home. She is a very good student and wants to continue to finish high school. She suffers from decubitus (bedsores) and is having surgery (donated by Hospital Escuela) to remove the ulcers. The physician has recommended a waterbed. I was wondering if anyone has a twin waterbed that they could donate to this child. We would be very appreciative. Thank you so much.” I forwarded Linda’s message to the projecthonduras.com network the same day. I also sent a copy to Emmy Riccio of Yale University School of Medicine’s Recovered Medical Equipment for the Developing World (REMEDY). REMEDY has an e-mail service called AIRE-mail which posts requests for medical equipment, as well as information on available equipment from its network of participating hospitals in the United States. Linda is the director of Proyecto para el Mejoramiento de la Salud (PROMESA), or “Project for the Improvement of Health”. PROMESA provides health education, training, and services for the people in the mountainous Yeguare region of Honduras, including nine municipalities within the departments of Francisco Morazan and El Paraiso. The combined population of these municipalities is 65,000. PROMESA is based at the Pan-American School of Agriculture, also known as Zamorano. On December 2, I received a message from Darryl Rotman Kupperstock of New Haven, Connecticut. Darryl is the Executive Director of REMEDY. She wrote: “Just saw the notice that we sent out on our AIRE-mail service about the need for a waterbed in Honduras. I remembered that my sister in suburban Chicago is about to move and has two waterbeds that belonged to my nieces who are now grown and out of the house. She is happy to donate one (or maybe two if needed). One is a twin (waterbeds are slightly bigger) and one is a double. What kind of logistical arrangements can be made once they have emptied the bed of water? Do you have a team in Chicago that can move the frame and mattress and take responsibility for transportation? Let me know asap. Thanks.” My first reaction was... “Great, we’ve found what we need.” Then it occurred to me that it might well be more trouble and expensive to transport a waterbed from the US to Honduras than if we just purchased a waterbed in-country. My partner, Jerry Thompson of Special Missions Foundation in Georgetown, Texas, had actually raised this question with Linda on November 19. Jerry had inquired how much it would cost to simply buy the bed in Honduras, if in fact waterbeds were sold there. I sent out another e-mail to the network on December 2 inquiring if there was anyone in the Chicago area who planned to travel to Honduras anytime soon and would be willing to help out with the logistics of getting the bed to Linda. I figured I’d give another nudge to the people on the network, even though I suspected Jerry had already resolved this problem in his mind. On December 4, we received a message from Linda. “Hello All. I priced the bed and it would be $106. I read the e-mail from [Darryl Rotman Kupperstock] who wanted to donate a bed. I’m just concerned that getting the bed down here would be a bit of an undertaking. Let me know what you think, and thank you very much.” Sure enough, Jerry responded within a couple of hours. “Thanks for checking into this. I would love to pay for the bed if you will handle the logistics of getting it delivered and set up. I can reimburse you the $106 by having one of our local representatives bring you the money there in Tegus. Let me know if you would like to move forward with this little project and I will wire the money to Samuel in Tegus... Thank you for helping the people of Honduras!” Linda wrote back the next morning. “Jerry - thank you so much. We are going to order [the bed] today! The person in your organization can give the money to Ligia de Valle in the office of Zamorano in Tegucigalpa, in Colonia Palmira. She will get it to me to reimburse PROMESA. The money can be in any form - lempiras, dollars, or a check made out to PROMESA. That is such wonderful news; the family will be thrilled. We’ll get the bed delivered here to Zamorano and will transport and set it up in the girl’s home. Thank you again.” By the end the day, Jerry had wired the money to his brother-in-law Samuel Romero in Tegucigalpa. Samuel drive about an hour to Zamorano and delivered the funds. And that was that. A total of 18 days elapsed from the time Linda sent out her first e-mail to the time her situation was resolved. About 17 e-mails were exchanged between six people in Zamorano, Tegucigalpa, Texas, Virginia, Connecticut, and Illinois. I estimate the amount time actually invested in this effort probably came to no more than 5-6 hours, including Samuel’s road trip to and from Zamorano. That’s what it took to ensure that a partially-paralyzed young girl living in the mountains south of Tegucigalpa can sleep more comfortably at nights. It’s a drop in the bucket. No question about it. There are tens of thousands of Honduran kids suffering from similar or worse ailments than this girl. And Honduras, as a whole, has an endless array of problems that need to be addressed. But if you can manage to stop thinking for a moment about all the reasons why Honduras is cursed to remain a backward and poor country, and instead open your mind to the potential constructive power that can be created when private citizens volunteer and pool their resources, particularly now with the Internet... well, you might be surprised at what is possible to accomplish in Honduras over the long-term. I believe Honduras’ single-most biggest challenge is one of an attitude shift, from an attitude that focuses on talking about all that is wrong with the country to one that always strives to do something to make things right, no matter how insignificant the act may appear to be. Remember... every time it rains, it starts with one drop. |
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Monday, December 9, 2002 Online Edition 47 |
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University Museum of Natural History
Good business sense
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San Diegans to take medical team into mountains of
Honduras Rescue Task Force (RTF) volunteers Gary Becks and Wendell Cutting leave Wednesday morning, from Lindberg Field to take a medical relief team into the mountains of Honduras. They will be joined in Honduras by Joel MacCollam of Carlsbad based World Emergency Relief (WER). The Honduran volunteer medical teams, supported by RTF and WER, consisting of four doctors, three dentists and lay people, will serve the communities of La Cienega and Villa Madrid and the surrounding areas. Knowing that medical help is coming, people will often walk for hours bringing the sick and injured for help. Rescue Task Force, supported almost totally by donations of San Diego area residents, recently completed building and equipping a full-service medical clinic in the remote Mosquitia (jungle area) of Honduras. Rescue Task Force is also currently engaged in constructing a maternity clinic in this area. They will soon start construction on a second medical clinic facility. While in the capitol city of Honduras, Tegucigalpa, Becks, Cutting and MacCollam will also review distribution of $3 million in pharmaceuticals recently shipped to their sponsored programs: a hospice home for children, a pediatric ward for children with cancer, and a home for elderly homeless. Becks and Cutting are on the staff of Congressman Duncan Hunter. Cutting is a member of the Governing Board of Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District. On volunteerism in Honduras
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Monday, December 2, 2002 Online Edition 46 |
National flower rescued by Zamorano
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By DON PEARLY The world is awakening to the latest “Miracle Drug”. The English Medical Society performed an intensive two-year study on the medical benefits of a particular plant and recently made the bold statement, “This fruit is a direct cure for colon cancer.” They also went on to say it was obviously effective in treating many, many other types of illnesses including other types of cancer, but they were not prepared to say just what yet. More and more studies will have to be done and side effects monitored as well before it is proclaimed anything more than just a direct cure for colon cancer. Isn’t that enough for one little plant? In 1936, Life Magazine came out with a five-page article entitled, “Cure for Cancer Eminent.” That was 66 years ago and relatively little has been accomplished to stop the disease. Radiation, chemotherapy of various types, change of diet all do a little here and there, surgery if done in time can stop the spread but not always. What is this wonder drug made from a plant? It is called the ugly fruit locally; it used to be called the poison fruit before some brave soul had the nerve to try ingesting it. Mothers warned kids, do not eat the ugly fruit. Well, some did and many felt the benefits of its ingredients. Some say it is a great help if not a cure for diabetes, the high blood pressure, kidney problems and even loss of memory traits. Others tell of curing arthritis and other bone disorders. Prostate cancer has been reportedly halted and chronic pain controlled. The tourists are now running off of the cruise ships in Coxen Hole seeking the magic fruit. They are paying one dollar U.S. for one piece the size of a small potato. I am sure there are many problems that follow the purchase because fruit is not allowed to enter the States. This means they will have to smuggle it and it tends to be hard and green for a long period of time and then suddenly soft and ripe and oozing with juices. The smell is enough to turn a sewer workers stomach with nothing to compare it to. It has a unique and horrible smell of its own. Imagine the fruit going off in its secret hiding place on the way back from Honduras to Miami. The sniffer dogs should have no trouble identifying the carriers. But on the serious side, is it a direct cure for colon cancer? This could be so great a find the evil side of the medical profession would want it slowed down or even buried. Where do we go with it next? The fruit is called “noni” for short and it is from the Morinda Citrifolia tree. It has been around forever just avoided by most. It grows in great abundance right here on Roatan. It can be propagated with relative ease and literally grows like a weed. Log-on to www.noni.com and check out what the Tahitians have done with the produce. What can we do to commercialize it and provide this wonder drug for our visitors and ourselves. This could very well be why some tribes in remote locations show no history of certain diseases. They could be Noni-Fans. You might also check out a Google search for “Noni” that has pages of testimonials and valuable information. |
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Melvin´s
wood carvings often represent animals. 
By
CAROLINA ALDUVIN
