Not For Opium ... For Medicine
Summer Internship, 2006
2006 Student Internship
Rachelle Gould
Internship Host: Ugyen Wangchuck Institute of Environmental and Forestry Studies, Lamegompa, Bhutan
The Blue Poppy, with its delicate and surreally blue blossom, is not only Bhutan's National Flower; it is also one of many (over 500) Himalayan plants used as ingredients in the indigenous Bhutanese medicine system. Bhutan has a very developed National Institute of Traditional Medicine that trains traditional doctors and manages the entire "value chain" of the country's indigenous natural medicine system: from plant collection by local residents, to processing techniques, to the creation and dissemination of therapeutic pills, capsules, powders, soaking salts, syrups. The selection of this intriguing flower as Bhutan's national emblem demonstrates both the intricate connection between Bhutanese culture and natural environment and the Bhutanese appreciation for beauty.
Rachelle Gould
Internship Host: Ugyen Wangchuck Institute of Environmental and Forestry Studies, Lamegompa, Bhutan
The Blue Poppy, with its delicate and surreally blue blossom, is not only Bhutan's National Flower; it is also one of many (over 500) Himalayan plants used as ingredients in the indigenous Bhutanese medicine system. Bhutan has a very developed National Institute of Traditional Medicine that trains traditional doctors and manages the entire "value chain" of the country's indigenous natural medicine system: from plant collection by local residents, to processing techniques, to the creation and dissemination of therapeutic pills, capsules, powders, soaking salts, syrups. The selection of this intriguing flower as Bhutan's national emblem demonstrates both the intricate connection between Bhutanese culture and natural environment and the Bhutanese appreciation for beauty.
Bumthang district, Bhutan, at 4700 meters
