HomeHealth & FitnessReviving Traditional Bush Balm to Heal and Connect

Reviving Traditional Bush Balm to Heal and Connect

Healing Through Tradition in Alice Springs

In Mparntwe-Alice Springs, Tamara Stewart, a young Pertame woman, crushes irmangka leaves to create a traditional healing balm. For her, this practice is both therapeutic and deeply personal, reminding her of her late grandmother. 

Tamara prepares the irmangka balm for dialysis patients, providing relief from pain and inflammation. She explains, “Irmangka is good for sore joints, muscles, aches, pain, and cold and flu symptoms.”

A Legacy of Healing

Tamara leads the Bush Balm team at Purple House, a non-profit running 22 dialysis sites across remote Australia. The Bush Balm project began over a decade ago when patients missed their traditional medicine and started making it themselves. 

In 2021, Purple House opened a social enterprise hub with a dedicated kitchen and retail space for Bush Balm, blending traditional healing with modern medicine.

Passing Down Knowledge

Tamara and her team make and distribute bush medicine to patients, selling it locally and internationally. 

Despite the bittersweet memories, Tamara finds pride and joy in keeping this knowledge alive and sharing it with the younger generation, ensuring the tradition continues to thrive.

Source abc.net

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