OSU UYANA- THE HERBAL PARK
 

On the 147 acre Farm, an area of about 3 acres has been set aside for an Osu Uyana (Herbal Park). From a few indigenous varieties planted in around 1995, today the park has well over 100 species of valuable medicinal herbs and woody species.
 

Apart from providing the people of the area, ready access to frequently used medicinal herbs, it is our intention to promote visitor interest in one of the treasures of the island. The plants have been tagged and a catalogue with useful information is under preparation.
 

Medicine was one of the four sciences which, in the olden days every Sri Lankan citizen of gentle birth was expected to know. As a result it attained a high degree of efficiency in those early times, in both branches of medicine and surgery. According to the Late Dr John Attygalle*  the medicine practiced by the vedaralas (Doctors of Medicine) of Sri Lanka is none other than the Ayurvedic  system of India that has been in force for the last three thousand years or more.
 

Many indigenous people, in spite of the establishment of hospitals and dispensaries where Western medical aid is available within easy reach, have great confidence in the treatment of native medical men and the usefulness and efficacy of their remedies.
 

A commercial plot of aloe vera is being grown to supply demand from the personal care industry.
 

 *The Late Dr John Attygalle: Qualified in the western tradition, is an authority on the ayurvedic system and has compiled a book titled Sinhalese material medica.