Hoodia: Savior of the Bushmen
The days of hunting and gathering are just a tattered memory for the Bushmen of South Africa. The once warrior-like tribe is now ravaged by poverty, high rates of unemployment, and alcoholism.
Their hopes for a prosperous future now lie in the hands of Westernized Pharmaceutical Companies - and the diet product "hoodia". The San Bushmen's cure for hunger could be the Western World's cure for obesity. Thus they wait for payment.
They have waited and waited and have yet to see a single dime of profit. They have grown frustrated, but their ways have yet to push them overboard. They know that there is much value in their knowledge of medicine. The irony herein lies - the cure for their hunger is the cure for the world's obesity.
After the Pfizer deal with Phytopharm was abandoned, the Bushmen welcomed the opportunity to get the commercialized use of Hoodia back on to the market. Once Unilever, a British based firm took on the product the Bushmen's reaction was one of contentment and excitement.
If and when the Bushmen's stake of Unilever's hoodia-driven millions reaches them, it may very well stand as a cure for their poverty and unjust history. They have been oppressed for much too long and this stands as a release to their oppression.
This hunting tribe has a history dating back thousands of years. Taken over and exploited by many warrior tribes and white colonists, their land was taken and their security was dwindled to a little of nothing. As of today the total number of Bushmen population is around 100,000 people and they consist of three main tribes. The tribes associated (and should receive benefit) are the Khwe, Xu, and the Khomani.
As an effort to make up for the injustice that was done to the Bushmen, South Africa made an effort to grant the Bushmen a little over 40,000 hectares. The fact is that the tribes and their culture is broken much like Native Americans. The Bushmen who are lucky are the ones that have some ability to scrape by with what they can.
To add to all of the injustices that have been done to them as a people, many seek to exploit and steal the Hoodia plant from them. Unilever and Phtyopharm are making an effort to stop the exploitations though. If the outsiders are not enough to raise turmoil amongst the tribe, many of the tribesmen fear that their leaders could very well pocket the riches for themselves.