Preparación de "Vicks"

This past Monday we helped Vicente and Dominga make a homemade, cost-effective, all-natural version of Vicks VapoRub as a treatment for stuffy noses associated with the common cold. The ingredients are: petroleum jelly, Eucalyptus leaves, Cypress greens, wood chips of an aromatic pine called "Ocote," which according to Wikipedia is known as the "Montezuma Pine" in English. Here is how we made it:

1. First, we helped to separate the Eucalyptus leaves and Cypress greens from their stems. In this photo you can see the Cypress (left) and Eucalyptus (right).



2. At the same time, Dr. Kate helped by chopping up the pine wood into little chips with a machete (Go, Kate!).

3. Dominga melted the petroleum jelly on her wood-burning stove, then added the leaves and wood.

4. After the mixture has boiled for a bit, it is put through a strainer and then the liquid is poured into containers that the health promoters can then sell for 1 quetzal (about 13 cents, U.S.) to their neighbors when they come down with "la gripe" (a cold).