Eco-Chick · The modern girl's guide to living green & fabulous.

Rosita Arvigo: Rainforest Home Remedies

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by Kimberly Jordan Allen · 07/07/06

I picked up this book some time ago when it was recommended by a good friend, and I love it. To get an international perspective on herbalism and holistic health adds a new dimension to living well. Rosita Arvigo is the co-author of this, one of several books she has written on herbal and natural healing. She is a naparapathic physician (they focus on the evaluation and treatment of neuro-musculoskeletal/connective tissue disorders,) an herbalist/ethnobotanist, and an international lecturer. Arvigo lived in Belize for thirty years where she apprenticed with her mentor, Don Elijio Panti, who was recognized throughout the Americas for his skills in the ancient system of Mayan healing, which uses plants, prayers, massage, acupuncture, and herbal baths. Elijio died in 1996 at the age of 103.

Centered in the notion of ch’ulel, which is akin to qi, chi, or Indian’s phrana, the notions in the book are based on balance and inner harmony. Everything from anemia to vaginal infection is addressed and there are various recommendations that can prove very useful for day to day health.

Arvigo is famous for bringing Mayan Massage to North America. This massage is meant to re-align the inner tissue in various conditions such as women who experience reproductive disorders or men who have prostate problems or erectile disfunction. Many have claimed to have great success after undergoing sessions of this massage and there are now practitioners, who have been trained by Arvigo and her school, all across the U.S. and Canada.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes to avoid allopathic medicine and instead practice less invasive forms of healing.

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Mountain Clubs or Country Clubs?

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by Brianne Goodspeed · 06/30/06

Unlike bigger mountains out west, the craggy granite outcroppings of New Hampshire’s White Mountains and Vermont’s Green Mountains are within a day’s drive of about 75 million people. Each summer, mountain clubs and other non-profits get to work educating hikers about Leave No Trace and the responsibility of land stewardship.

But not all mountain clubs are created equal. The old and now-behemoth Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) is coming under frequent fire these days from hikers who claim that the AMC has abandoned its commitment to the mountains and the ordinary folks who trek through them. Instead, the AMC is building quasi-resorts such as Crawford Notch’s new Highland Center to attract wealthy visitors and corporate groups. Other smaller and less controversial groups inlcude Vermont’s Green Mountain Club (GMC), the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC), and the Guy Waterman Alpine Stewardship Fund.

The Guy Waterman Fund, which offers grants for land stewardship and education, was established in memory of a long-time dedicated White Mountain advocate who, along with his wife, Laura, was instrumental in raising environmental awareness in the northeast mountains. Their fabulously well-written and suprisingly funny books include Backwoods Ethics, Wilderness Ethics, and Forest and Crag.

Laura Waterman, by the way, also recently wrote a memoir, Losing the Garden, about her life with Guy at their Vermont homestead, where for twenty-seven years they lived without heat, running water, or electricity while penning over ten books and countless articles from the kitchen table of their two-room cabin.

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