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Permaculture
Moringa Oleifera Tree:
The moringa tree is an
incredibly hardy, productive tree with a wide variety of uses from
edible, high protein leaves to water purification from its seeds.
Possible uses for Moringa include:
# Eating the leaves raw (although most people don't like the taste
much).
# Eating the highly nutritious leaves cooked in soups and other dishes.
# Drying the leaves and powdering them and using them as a food
supplement.
# Leaves used as animal forage.
# Cooking the green immature seed pods (drumsticks) as a vegetable
(like very large green beans). They have a taste similar to asparagus.
# Stir frying the mature seeds (stir fried they taste something like
peanuts).
# Cold pressing the seeds to create an oil (used for cooking, cosmetics
and lubrication).
# Cutting leaves and branches and using them as a high nitrogen mulch
for other plants.
# As a companion plant with very light shade in the home garden and
high nitrogen, year round leaf drop.
# Live fencing.
# And many other uses including medicinal.
Planting And Growth:
The Moringa tree is very easy to grow. Simply plant seeds or cuttings
in the ground in a sunny spot. As part of planting on raised beds is
best...the trees don't like being waterlogged.
Hardwood cuttings of 30cm to 1 metre planted in the ground should grow
vigorously. You can harvest the leaves at will and cut the tree back
regularly for mulch or as a way of harvesting leaves.
Moringa
Seeds For Water Purification:
The
powder from the crushed moringa seed kernal
acts a a natural coagulant binding to the solids in water causing them
to sink to the bottom. This leaves the water clear with 90-99% of the
bacteria removed (to be reasonably certain of removing most bacteria
and parasites you should boil water as well). This video explains step
by step how to use the
seeds of the moringa tree to purify water...
Oil
From Moringa Seeds:
You can
extract oil from moringa seeds by pressing or mashing the seeds and
boiling them in water. When you boil it the oil floats to the top of
the water where it can be scooped off and used for cooking or
lubrication. You can dry, crush and powder the mashed seed and use it
for purifying water.
Cold
pressed oil from moringa seeds is long lasting with a shelf life of
around 5 years. It is used in cosmetics as a skin conditioner, as a
cooking oil and for lubrication. The following video shows the cold
pressing of moringa seeds to make oil...
How
To Powder Moringa Leaves:
This video
shows you how to cut a moringa tree (it grows back) and how to powder
the leaves of the moringa tree...
Traditionally the leaves are dehydrated
in the shade and crushed with a mortar and pestle as you can see in this video...
Moringa
Leaves And Nutrition:
In some
areas of the world the tree is called "mother's best friend" because
the
leaves are so high in protein and other nutrients. Giving children
moringa leaves as part of their diet is an exceptional way of
increasing nutrition in their diet. It's great for adults too. In many
areas during drought the moringa tree has saved people from starvation
and malnutrition because it produces leaves even with little water...
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