Combining both African and native medicinal traditions, one Curacao woman
fights to keep local healing tradition alive - and so far is winning.

CURACAO, NETHERLANDS ANTILLES (FILE - JUNE 19, 2008) REUTERS -
 For years Dinah Veeris ignored the traditional Caribbean medicine of
her native Curacao, but after struggling to recover from an operation she
found only her mother's teas helped her stomach pains. 
    Casual chats with her mother about the herbs in her garden turned into
a five-year study of herbal medicine that took Veeris from the island of
Curacao, one of the five major islands of the Netherlands Antilles
archipelago, to the mountains of the nearby Aruba and Bonaire isles, just
north of Venezuela. 
    "In the beginning, I didn't want to do anything with herbs, but my
mother has a garden full of herbs. And then at a certain moment you start
getting interested in herbal medicine. Because she was getting old, I started
to learn from her and I noticed how much she knew about medicine and how much
she knew about herbs. Then I started to interview elder people from Aruba,
Curacao, Bonaire, and so I learned from them. For five years I learned from
the elderly people and I understood how many plants there were in Curacao for
herbal medicine. And then I started the garden," she said. 
    After finishing her studies, Veeris, a former teacher, opened a garden
in 1994 outside the capital of Willemstad to preserve herbal medicine and
local traditions. 
    The garden, called Den Paradera, draws a range of Curacao locals
seeking natural cures and tourists drawn to the bastion of local tradition on
an island increasingly populated by shimmering glass offices and glitzy
tourist resorts. 
    "There are a lot of people coming here for treatment, local people
that have problems like constipation, eczema, diabetes, high blood pressure.
You know, they come here with their children to get help. And not just people
from Curacao, Aruba, Bonaire but also I get people from Holland, from Spain,
from Germany, the United States. People come to see the garden to learn about
the medicinal plants of the island and also to learn about the history of
Curacao. You know, they send an email that they want to be treated, you know,
or they come here to Curacao to be treated by the herbs." she said. 
    The maze of plants includes species like the Calabash, a tree with hard
wood and gourd-like fruits, used to treat stomach-aches, hypertension and
breathing problems.  Another plant called Silik Cotton has green pods filled
with cotton-like fibre whose aroma helps cure insomnia and leaves that help
ease headaches. 
    Twice a week Veeris gives individual consultations with Curacao locals,
who often seek help with ailments such as high blood pressure and rheumatism,
or help with emotional and spiritual problems. 
    Den Paradera appeals to tourists seeking alternatives to the island's
traditional attractions such as legendary scuba diving, tropical beaches and
traditional Dutch architecture. 
    Curacao was colonized by Spain and later captured in 1634 by the Dutch,
who introduced the slave trade to the island. The slaves brought with them
their own tribal medicines, which mixed with the native remedies to form the
Caribbean medicine Veeris now practices.