Workshop to cover uses of neem tree
The all-purpose neem tree — known to the people of India as "the village pharmacy" — will be the focus of a workshop from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday at Mouna Farm Arts and Cultural Village in Waianae.
The neem tree (Azadirachta indica) has many uses, including as a toothbrush, insect repellent and topical treatment for rashes, dandruff and infections.
Agronomist Saleem Ahmed, founder of Neem Ventures LLC, will discuss neem’s sociocultural and religious uses in South Asia, including traditional and modern medicinal uses of the plant for humans, plants and pets. The event includes a farm tour and tastings of vadagam, a traditional Sri Lankan dish made of neem flowers, and laddhu, a sweet, both prepared by Jothy and Genga Kumar. Neem-based products and seedlings will be available.
There is no fee for the workshop, but donations will be accepted. Sign up by calling 524-8416 or email mounafarmheart@gmail.com. Mouna Farm is at 85-485-A Waianae Valley Road. Visit www.mounafarm.org for directions.
Public health to star in historical drama
Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives’ latest Cemetery Pupu Theatre production focuses on 19th- and early 20th-century public health issues in Hawaii. "For the Sake of the Public Health" will be performed Friday, Saturday and June 27 and 28 at Oahu Cemetery, 2162 Nuuanu Ave.
Although performed at the grave sites of historical figures, the carefully researched vignettes performed by costumed actors make for "a moving and evocative rather than eerie experience," according to producers.
The latest production features Dr. Archibald Neil Sinclair, first director of Leahi Hospital, who was known for his fight against tuberculosis; Dr. William L. Moore, who worked with the federal leprosy laboratory in Kalihi; Dr. John Mott-Smith, Hawaii’s first royal dentist; Dr. Sarah Eliza Pierce Emerson, the kingdom’s first licensed female physician; and Hali‘a, a representative victim of the 1853 smallpox epidemic, which killed almost 7,000 people.
The $45 tickets include two drinks and sunset pupu. Reservations are required via www.missionhouses.org, or call 447-3926.
