April 16, 2007
Field of Dreamers
Chien-Chi Chang
Kyampure Bates takes a short break from tilling to feed her 3 month old daughter Alnebyona Fortunate. Her son Ahsimbisbwe Naboth, 3 years old, sleeps in front of her. Chien-Chi Chang/Magnum on Malaria
It’s 9:30 am when Chien-Chi and I hit the main road on our way to the fields where people are planting shrubs that when processed into a drug, is a proven life-saver. The plant is called artemisia and Africans are now producing it for themselves. It is the essential part of ACTs,or artemisinin combination therapy, the first line of defense against malaria which claims more than 3,000 children’s lives every day in sub-Saharan Africa.
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We’re in Kabale which lies in the south western tip of Uganda. At this time in the morning a mist envelops the city like a halo, as if enshrining a holy land. Winding between giant green hills, I look over and see farmers buzzing with activity. Here are a few photos from the field, and the factory where they process the plant.
Women dig small holes in the ridges then insert artemisia seedlings. At peak season, as many as 60 people work the land rented out by the Afro Alpine Pharma factory which processes the plant into its purer form, artemisin. In just 4 months, the artemisia plants will be ready for harvesting. “That’s the beauty of the plant, it doesn’t take much effort and it grows fast,” said Ashok Chauhan, the managing director of the factory. “Farmers can cultivate it twice in a year.” Chien-Chi Chang/Magnum on Malaria.
Workers at the Afro Alpine Pharma factory drain a solvent mixed with artemisia to separate it and create a purer, crystallized form. The factory has been operational for about three years. This May, they plan to be at full capacity, able to process 500 tons of artemisia. Chien-Chi Chang/Magnum on Malaria
Published on the Magnum Blog on April 16, 2007
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