Mosquito Repellent Candles

CSIR BioSciences is currently finalising plans to launch a commercial mosquito repellent. The successful development of this novel natural method for repelling mosquitoes, including species which carry malaria, resulted from the ongoing collaboration between the CSIR's bioprospecting specialists and traditional healers, initiated in 1991. The repellent is derived from a plant, which the leaves have long been hung inside houses to keep the insects at bay.
After being contacted by communities in Mpumalanga province, the CSIR isolated and formulated the plant's effective constituents. Olfactometer tests by the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) established that it was far more effective than other products on the market (nearly 100% effective compared with about 40% among other repellents). Now it has been patented with a view to commercialising it worldwide. The indigenous plant - the species name has not yet been disclosed by the CSIR - is being cultivated and distilled, by community-owned businesses in three provinces, to produce the active ingredient used in the mosquito repellent candles.

The CSIR signed a benefit sharing agreement with traditional healers during 2003, which dictates that future income and other benefits accruing to communities, as owners of the indigenous knowledge that led to the research, will be channelled through a trust. On the first community-owned farm, established by CSIR and funded by the Department of Science and Technology, the plant is cultivated and processed in a commercial scale essential oil distillation unit and the construction of a candle-production and training facility has been completed.
The creation of small, medium and micro enterprises, such as the production of mosquito repellent candles, are a great step towards endorsing the value of indigenous knowledge. National self-confidence is boosted and Africa gains material and moral wealth.