food-In the Footsteps of Alfred Vogel
In 1902 in the Basle region of Switzerland, an unique man was born. Throughout his childhood he learned about Nature and its laws from his grandparents and parents. Later he embraced natural healing and exemplified how to live in harmony with Nature, to benefit both Man and Nature. His name was Alfred Vogel.Throughout his life he made a great impact on people, always ready to share his knowledge and with a deep and heartfelt interest in everyone he met. The knowledge he shared he learned from the ‘University of Nature’ as he described it, by travelling all over the world and meeting native peoples, staying with them for extended periods and learning from them.
This particular adventure started in the 1950s when Alfred Vogel travelled to the USA. Before he left he wrote in his diary: ‘I wanted to visit with the Indians, the remnants of the once so large and proud tribes. Together with my wife I went on extensive trips through the reservations and met so many natives with whom I discussed herbs and natural living.’
One of these Native Americans, a Sioux from South Dakota called Ben Black Elk, was to change his life. Alfred Vogel spent many hours talking to this wise and thoughtful man. The revered medicine man told Alfred Vogel much about the Native American herbal tradition and they became close friends. Indeed when they parted, Black Elk gave Alfred Vogel a farewell gift that showed his great respect for his Swiss friend – a handful of seeds from the Echinacea purpurea plant, the most powerful remedy Black Elk knew. This remedy had helped his people through countless infections as they travelled the Prairie in the winter blizzards.
Back in Switzerland, Alfred Vogel extensively researched this amazing herb, eventually creating Echinaforce. The Echinaforce that is sold throughout the world today can trace its origins to that original gift from Black Elk.
Over the years, various attempts had been made to trace Black Elk or his descendents but without success. However, in 2002, Alfred Vogel’s Centenary year, I decided to make one last concerted effort to follow in his footsteps and to learn about native attitudes to herbs and natural healing in the 21st Century.
more:http://www.healthywaymagazine.com/issue27/03_alfred_vogel.html