His parents and their forefathers had learned which plants were good for which ailment – from fever to stomach ailments, and even dressing wounds.
And his father had taught him how to make use of nature’s medicinal abundance, so that when anyone had a stomach ache or a fever, he knew which plant to collect from their backyard.
“Though Kiulu is not that far from Kota Kinabalu, back in the day, it was quite isolated as the road leading to it was narrow and hilly. So our ancestors had to learn how to make use of medicinal plants around us,” said Lasmen, 45.
He recalled that when he was about eight or nine years old, he stepped on a nail and his father immediately took a few leaves of the tarantap plant, mashed them and rubbed them on the wound.
The tarantap plant that his father used was effective in preventing tetanus and acting as a dressing for the wound, he said.
Sabah’s indigenous communities have for generations turned to plants in the forests surrounding them to cure them of their ailments. For instance, the Kadazandusun, such as Lasmen’s family, have long known that the root of the plant they call tulod ulod (Averrhoa hilimbi) is a tonic.
Similarly, the leaves of the manggarut plant (Cassia alata) are good in dealing with ringworm, while the leaves of the sikapapar plant (Justicia gendarussa) are effective as a headache remedy.
These plants were listed in a report published in the Journal of Tropical Forest Science titled “A preliminary survey of traditional medicinal plants in the west coast and interior of Sabah” by botanist Julius Kulip.
The report listed 95 plant species used by the state’s native communities to treat 34 ailments.
As Lasmen grew up, he started working and later launched his own tourism-related business – operating a white water rafting outfit as well as campsite at his native Kiulu – while developing his knowledge about the traditional medicinal plants took a backseat.
However, finding himself with time on his hands with the tourism trade at a standstill amid the Covid-19 pandemic, he decided to relearn what nature has to offer in treating various ailments.
This time, guiding him is his 81-year-old mother, Nouri Goni.
“Her eyesight is not so good anymore but she can identify the medicinal plants just by smelling them. It’s remarkable,” said Lasmen.
Making sure that his own children aged between eight and 18 also benefit from their grandmother’s knowledge, Lasmen brings them along for walks to the forest around their kampung.
It is on these walks that the family collects more than 70 types of herbs and plants which are allowed to simmer overnight in coconut oil, and then used as balm for aches, minor burns and insect stings. They also package and sell them at RM10 a 60ml bottle.
The income helps to tide over the family during the suspension of the tourism business.
As Lasmen sees it, the pause in his family’s normal lives caused by the pandemic has given them an opportunity to acquire knowledge of medicinal plants through his mother.
“This important knowledge has to be passed on to the young. It would be tragic if it is not inherited and preserved,” he said.
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