The Hindu Print Edition

Ahmedabad, Nov. 21 (PTI): An NGO has created a database of 50,000 traditional methods of cure in order to develop herbal products based on this knowledge in collaboration with pharma companies or on its own.

"We have prepared a database of the remedies with 50,000 different entries that old generation used when there were no modern medicines," said Anil Gupta, who runs the NGO -- Srishti.

"Our old generations is a storehouse of traditional knowledge. The problem is, the knowledge available with them on how to use resources of nature to cure problems related to human, animals and crops is dying with them as the new generation is not interested in them," said Gupta, who is also a professor at IIM (Ahmedabad).

Srishti secretary Ramesh Patel said the NGO's volunteers have extensively travelled throughout the state over the last 15 years and recorded methods of traditional practices use by villagers from the time when modern medical treatment was not available.

"This is an attempt to build 'checkdams of knowledge', to ensure that traditional knowledge does not disappear with our old generations," he added.

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