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Durf GROOT te zijn: Durf GROOT te zijn. Durf jezelf te zijn.: "Maak een verpletterende indrukGroot zijn betekent te laten zien wie je werkelijk bent. Te laten zien het zwakke te respecteren en waarderen...."

Mangosteen is not only being used for Health Issues

Fallen leaves and fruit skin have no use for city people, but a group of villagers in Khiriwong, Nakhon Si Thammarat, seem to have found a way with the waste which they use to produce natural dyes.



Khiriwong village sits at the foot of Khao Luang mountain and is fed by a stream full of fish.

These dyes, created with local ingenuity and used for colouring clothes, blouses and accessories, have earned Tambon Kamlon, of which the village is part, a name and have been accorded OTOP (one tambon, one product) rating.

"We aim to make the most use of materials naturally available in our community," said Aree Khunthon, leader of a housewife group which has been producing natural dyes for 14 years.

The orchards of Khiriwong yield mangosteen, durian, rambutan, garcinia (som khaek), longon, mango, parkia (sataw) and other plants depending on time of year, a factor helped by good weather and fresh air that, according to the Pollution Control Department, is among the cleanest measured in the country. The village sits at the foot of Khao Luang, the highest mountain in southern Thailand.

But selling fruit alone wasn't enough to make a living, recalled Aree of the years before her group embarked on a programme to produce natural dyes to supplement their meagre income. Back then the average earning of a family was 10,000-30,000 baht earned between August and October, while it sat idled for the rest of the year.

Following a series of natural disasters starting with flooding in 1975 and 1988 and drought in 1996, the villagers decided to switch to something that would allow them stable and sustained income, and where they wouldn't have to rely soely on the weather.

After several rounds of debate and discussion, they settled on something that would make use of local ingenuity, using up to 80% of raw materials available locally and be environmentally friendly, explained Aree.

For start-up capital, the village received 25,000 baht from the Komol Keemthong Foundation. "Instead of using plastic ropes to create patterns on cloth, we use bamboo sticks, which come handy when making small patterns such as flowers and leaves, and they can also be reused," she said.




The cloth is put in a basin containing liquid dyes produced from natural materials.

The dyes themselves are made by boiling the leaves or fruit in huge enamel basins for a whole day. Dead mangosteen leaves give off orange colour while fresh ones produce pink shade; bangal almond produces yellowish-green shade; parkia pods give off grey colour; parkia pods boiled with rambutan skins produce dark grey hue; core of jackfruit produces yellow colour; leaves of peka (Oroxylum indicum) olive green; and seeds of jiringa ( nieng) brown colour.

Each piece of cloth is dyed at least three times to ensure colour does not run. The raw materials used to make the dyes are later dried to be used as cooking fuel.

Currently there are 33 families joining the programme, each earning between 3,000 to 7,000 baht a month selling cotton shirts, blouses, pants, tablecloths, bed cover sheets, pillow cases, hats, key chains and bags.

"We will keep experimenting trying to use natural materials to explore new dyes and create fresh designs," said Aree, "to ensure the products we make remain unique to our village."

Located in Lan Saka district, the village of Khiriwong, which was rated the ‘‘Best Community Attraction’’ at the Thailand Tourism Awards in 1998, offers homestay and trekking tours to Khao Luang National Park. Visitors can buy homemade mangosteen wine, soap made from mangosteen skins and various herbs, and preserved durian. August to October is high fruit season.




To get to the village, take a minibus from Talat Yao in Muang district, available between 7am-4pm.Alternatively, you can take Highway 4016 from town and drive onto Highway 4015 to Lan Saka, a distance of about 26 kilometres. The village is at Kilometre 20 marker to your right.

Source: Bangkok Post

Try Mangosteen Juice HERE

Mangosteen Juice. The Fruit of the Gods?

We have known for some time that anti-oxidants are good for us, that they help counteract the negative effects of free radicals. But the more scientists research this area, the more we find out that certain anti-oxidants can be exceptionally beneficial to our health.

The latest research suggests that Xanthones, a specific type of anti-oxidant, have incredible health giving qualities. Xanthones are biologically active plant phenols found in dark, red fruit and often in the nutrient rich plants of the tropical rainforests. The fruit with by far the most Xanthones is Mangosteen with 47 different types (there are about 200 different types in total), native to the South East Asian countries of Thailand and Burma.

Initially a secret shared by extreme health enthusiasts, well-informed celebrities (Kate Moss was reputed to have drunk Mangosteen juice to fend off her hangovers) and most of South East Asia, Mangosteen is now a growing phenomena in the mainstream Western health industry.

So why are Xanthones, and therefore Mangosteen, so special? The list of suggested benefits is almost limitless - everything from the general claims of more energy, better skin and anti-aging through to specific anti-viral, anti-diarrheal, anti-allergenic properties and so on. It is reputed as good for your heart, your eyes (prevents cataracts), your mind (supports against dementia) and your blood sugar (Diabetics have reported lower blood sugar levels after drinking Mangosteen).

How much any of these are proven is unlikely, but there has been much positive research into anti-oxidants in general, and Xanthones are definitely a highly active category within that, so this anecdotal evidence certainly has a strong grounding.

But there is a caveat to the miracles this fruit can perform.

Made up of 3 parts, the pericarp or rind, the pulp or fruit, and seeds, the bulk of the Xanthone content is in the pericarp which is, as you might have guessed, not the tastiest part of the fruit. Hard and bitter, many producers of Mangosteen juice choose to leave the pericarp out rather than either spoil the taste of their drink or give themselves the harder task of turning rind into juice.

But it doesn't need to be that way. As another astonishing example of how clever nature can be, Xanthones are heat stable molecules, which mean you can boil up the pericarp without damaging its content. So look out for Mangosteen Juice WITH the pericarp. If you're a Grapefruit Juice fan, choose one with nothing added. If you've got a slightly sweeter tooth, choose one that's mixed with other fruits (although be careful to ensure the main ingredient is Mangosteen).

Slow growing and native to a select region, Mangosteen juice in inevitably an expensive product. But if you believe even a sliver of the claims made about this much-admired fruit, it is money well spent. One thing is for sure - it won't do you any harm so perhaps it's worth giving it a try. At least then you might understand what all the hype is really about. And if you wake up looking like Kate Moss, please let me know!

Article From Articlebliss:

Author Resource: Sam worked in the health and fitness industry for over 15 years and became more interested in the role diet and nutrition plays in people's health, so her studies took her in a more nutritional direction. She now works at Totally Nourish, who sell Mangosteen Health Juice and health foods such as low GI pasta. Article From http://www.articlebliss.com