Ethno-botany in Nepal

Mr Ram Din Mahato, is a Tharu naturalist and and expert in local herbal medicine.  He has for some years made a collection of information handed down by word of mouth (in a mostly illiterate society) about the traditional use of herbs, plants and grasses for medicinal purposes.  His particular interest is in the Terai, where elders in the villagers are loathe to pass on the information to anyone outside the family, whereas the younger generation now prefers Western style medicine.  It is felt that unless the information is recorded, the knowledge at present held in the minds of those older people will be lost forever.

Ram Din travels from village to village in the Terai collecting the information, sometimes 'earning' the right to further information by using traditional medicine to cure villagers.

ITNC supported Mr Mahato's plan to publish a book with all his findings, since the results would provide evidence of the need to conserve a particular area of flora and fauna and keep the information for future generation.  His research is on-going and the book is currently being written, a slow process due to the sheer magnitude of the task he has undertaken.