Medicine Tree Seeds

The Neem Tree is also called the medicine tree because most of its parts are used for some kind of traditional medicine. They are also a valuable shade tree. They are an evergreen with regular leaves (not needles). The leaves are constantly falling and new ones growing. I the heat of the dry season they provide shade in areas where no other shade trees can grow. They are all over the compound I live in.

I had been picking up the seed to see how hard it is to make Neem Oil which sells for a high price in Natural Foods stores. It is used on the skin. The school kids saw me picking up the seeds one day and started to help me. My little pile multiplied as their little fingers are more efficient at picking up the seed. Late Farah told about a lady that makes Neem Oil. She brought her over the other night and we discussed the process. They use the wet process that makes a liquid oil. I bough a 3 ounce bottle for 200 naira ( $1.25). What I have seen at Lakewinds Coop is more of a one ounce container of creamy butter for around $10.00. I gave her all the kernels I had removed from the seed shells since the pile on my porch was bigger than I could handle.

The trees fruit at the end of the dry season. The birds and the flying dogs (fruit bats) seat in the tree and eat the sweet fruit and drop the large seed on the ground. My pile is a tiny fraction of the seeds around the compound. I would bet I could get 10 gallons of seeds from the trees on this compound.

The girls noticed that I was opening the seeds and taking out the kernels. Friday I looked out the door and they had found some rocks and where crushing the seeds to separate the kernels from the seed. This was their last day of school for this term. So they made a big mess of seed shells and crushed kernel. I slowly picked through the mess for the next four days. The shells will make a good mulch to hold in moisture. Many insects stay away from the Neem products because it is known to make them infertile. Natural selection has left the bugs that stay way from the Neem trees.