From the pharmacy of God

Annual mugwort (Artemisia annua) has always been known for its anti-inflammatory effect. The long list of applications ranges from influenza and malaria to cancer and HIV. In 2021, the natural remedy received a huge boost. Swiss Artemisia producer Reto Reber recalls: ‘When the coronavirus pandemic broke out, people were queuing up to buy our capsules. The product was temporarily sold out. We grew three times as much that summer.’

Artemisia, sea buckthorn and chilli
Reto Reber advises our Romanian partner organisation Gerschom. In the summer of 2024, this organisation cultivated Artemisia for the first time on an area of 800 m². As the name suggests, annual mugwort has to be grown from seed in sowing pots every year. The seedlings are then planted in the field, where they grow into bushes the size of a small fir tree. At harvest, the plant is cut off completely and the leaf tips are removed and dried in a special facility.

To kick-start the Gershom project, AVC has financed a cultivation programme with 5000 Artemisia seeds from Anamed, the irrigation system for the field and the drying plant. To ensure that the latter is fully utilised, our partners are growing two other medicinal plants: Sea buckthorn, known as a food supplement with a very high vitamin C content, and chilli to produce an ointment for back pain.

Nature instead of chemicals
Once the Artemisia leaf sprays are dry, they are ground into powder and filled into capsules. They are crushed a little coarser and put into biodegradable bags for making tea. The encapsulation is made to order. During the current winter months, Daniel and Claudia Jonas from Gerschom are busy visiting pharmacies, chemists, doctors' surgeries and hospitals in their region, publicising Artemisia and taking orders.

At the same time, however, they are also looking for a major customer. Daniel Jonas: ‘We want the project to become self-sustaining as quickly as possible. We want to use the income to finance our missionary and humanitarian projects in Romania. But we also want to show people that chemicals are not always necessary, but that God has thought of everything in his creation - including health.’