Written by Rhonda Claridge
Published with permission, Abaco Life Magazine

When Nick Miaoulis embarked on his neem tree enterprise on Great Abaco in 1993, he knew that his experience as a former clothing and real estate businessman was not necessarily going to make him a successful farmer. He had researched this ancient East Indian tree years before, while studying at the University of Florida in Gainesville, and he was confident about neem’s medicinal and other beneficial properties and its marketability from the Bahamas, but he also knew that farming is an acquired art, specific to each micro-climate and soil.

With 8,000 seeds from Pakistan started in a nursery, but little experience about what to do next, Miaoulis approached long-time Abaco farmer Albert Albury, asking for advise and instruction on how to work the land. At the time, Miaoulis relates, “Mr. Albert,” as he is respectfully called, had little interest. He was 79 years old, had recently lost his wife of 50 years, and doubted he would live long enough to see any neem trees bear fruit. He also had debilitating arthritis so bad “he couldn’t hammer a nail,” Mialoulis recalls. But when he gave Mr. Albert a young neem plant and encouraged him to take capsulated neem for his arthritis, his attitude took changed.

     “Six weeks after taking neem, the inflammation from his arthritis was reduced and he was more comfortable,” Miaoulis says with a smile. “He started to tend his neem plants, and to get a spark in his eye.” He also began teaching Miaoulis about farming on Abaco. Eventually, Mr. Albert built a house, single-handedly, at the nursery and began distributing neem to elderly people on Green Turtle and Man-O-War Cays. Today, at age 90, he still assists Miaoulis with pressing oil from the neem seeds. “Can you imagine the mistakes I would have made without Mr. Albert?” Miaoulis says gratefully.

     One of the oldest herbs, neem was being used 4,500 years ago as a health and beauty aid by the Harappa culture of East India. Its medicinal attributes are described in the earliest Sanskrit writings, and it has always been prominent in Ayurvedic Medicine, increasingly practiced in the Western world today. Because of its wide array of healing qualities, neem is known as “the village pharmacy.” Every aspect of the tree – roots, bark, seeds, leaves, fruit, gum and oil – can be put to therapeutic use in almost countless ways.

     Extracts of neem leaves can reduce stress and anxiety and occurrences of headaches, migraines and insomnia. They can lower blood pressure and cholesterol, cleanse or detoxify blood, and relax muscles. Dried neem leaf capsules have been shown to reduce, by up to 50 percent, the amount of insulin and hypoglycemic drugs that diabetics are required to use. Extracts are also effective at stimulating circulation to the extremities.

     As an antibacterial, oral doses of neem leaf have proven to be effective in treating stomach ulcers, now known to be caused by bacteria. Teas made with drops of neem tincture can eliminate intestinal worms and other parasites. Neem-based toothpaste and mouthwash can cure gum disease. (Millions of people in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan use neem twigs daily as disposable toothbrushes.) Ingested or used topically, neem products are beneficial in treating a variety of skin ailments, such as acne, eczema, psoriasis, dandruff, cold sores, ringworm, and even, according to some testimonies, skin cancer. Neem oil disinfects and heals cuts or scrapes.

     Neem is used for many other ailments, but perhaps its most important curative property is its ability to boost the immune system and to stimulate the production of T-cells to counter infections. According to The Neem Association based out of Winter Park, Florida, of which Miaoulis’ company Abaco Neem is a member, “unlike synthetic antibiotics, neem does not destroy beneficial bacteria and other micro-organisms needed to maintain optimum health. Some medical experts believe that the over-use of chemical antibiotics is contributing to the breakdown of human immune function. Neem offers a non-toxic alternative to powerful and sometimes damaging prescription medicines.” And, Miaoulis points out, “The beauty of neem is that there are no side effects when it’s taken properly.”

     He initially became interested in neem for its timber, which is termite and worm resistant. “I thought it could be beneficial to boat- and home-builders,” he explains. But then, as he learned about the neem tree’s health benefits, Miaoulis’ vision became more personal and altruistic.

     “I got into neem because my people don’t live long,” he says. Most of his relatives died in their 50s. “Let’s face it; a good life is a healthy life. And being in the clothing business, I was aware of the health problems among Bahamians. Most people can’t afford health insurance,” he says. “This is preventive medicine.”

     Neem oil is also a natural insect repellant and makes a safe and effective alternative to DEET and other chemicals we commonly spray on our skin to deter biting bugs. But perhaps even more important is its use as an environmentally-friendly pesticide. Two U.S. based companies, Agridyne and W.R. Grace Co., both currently sell neem-based pesticides. These products are now being used on commercial-scale crop management in Canada, according to the Neem Foundation website, which promotes the tree. Miaoulis uses neem pesticide on his farm, and many Abaco gardeners who have had the opportunity to use it will testify that it works.

    At present, Abaco Neem produces hand and body lotion, eight varieties of soap, oil, shampoo, salve, a bug repellant gel, and Vegicaps, which are non-gelatin capsules for ingesting. All of these are produced with the farm’s organically-grown neem, as well as organic aloe and coconut oil, in a commitment to quality and environmentally-friendly farming, Miaoulis says.       He has done no marketing for Abaco Neem, other than creating a website, although he says doctors from all over the world – especially Germany, France and Canada – are demanding these products. “Europe is way ahead in preventive medicine,” Miaoulis says. Abaco Neem’s success so far is also a result of high-quality standards: “we don’t harvest off the ground, which is why our product is superior. And we only pick fruit when it’s ripe and has its full medicinal qualities.”

     Although damaged by three hurricanes over the last decade, the Abaco Neem farm has fully recovered and, presently, about 8,000 trees are under cultivation on 128 acres. Miaoulis expects to gather two tons of leaves this year, one of which will be exported, the other kept for local consumption. The business employs four full-time employees and up to 18 part-timers during the July-to-December, fruit-harvesting period.

     Because of its many positive qualities, neem was elected by the United Nations as the “Tree of the 21st Century.” The tree is an evergreen grown in many Asian countries and in tropical areas of the Western  Hemisphere. It is a highly adaptive species and survives – sometimes as long as 300 years – in semi-arid conditions with as little as 18 inches of rainfall. Neem trees will grow to 60 feet, but Miaoulis keeps his pruned to 12-15 feet, because the short, stocky trees survive hurricanes better. In the spring, trees abundantly produce a pretty flower, much like a small jasmine. Fruits are drupes that Miaoulis describes as “similar to miniature mangoes.” A neem tree takes three to five years to begin producing fruit, and by 10 years is optimally productive, yielding about 10 pounds of fruit per year.  “If we harvest 100-150 pounds of fruit in a day, that’s a good day,” Miaoulis says.

     Miaoulis is convinced that small agricultural or cottage industries like Abaco Neem will benefit Abaco and other islands in the Bahamas economically. “This is the type of diversification needed in the country,” he says. “For every Yankee dollar spent here, 80 percent goes out. By producing more here, more of our money stays here. Abaco Neem soaps, lotions, shampoos, and bug repellants, for example, can be provided in our hotel rooms.”

He is a big advocate of teaching basic health and nutrition, as well as farming, to youngsters. “We’re already bringing school teachers and children to the farm. Hopefully, every graduating class will produce a farmer. We need food security. Right now, if all imports were halted, the Bahamas only has a two-week food supply, and that’s just for natives. Farming also produces good character in people.”

Miaoulis hopes one day to host a neem festival annually during the harvest. “I would like to turn the farm into a tourism destination, illustrating environmentally-friendly farming,” he says. He explains that instead of importing fertilizer, Abaco Neem uses mulched seaweed, jumbey bush, and the mainstems of pruned coconut and neem branches. And because they do not use pesticides or herbicides, the farm attracts birds and butterflies. Meanwhile, he says, “We always welcome visitors, so they can see where their product is coming from. We teach people how to use our products; it’s not just about selling.”

In Abaco, neem products are available at the Abaco Neem shop and oil-producing factory – painted orange and green to match the colors of the neem fruit at the Marsh Harbour airport roundabout. They can also be purchased at Guana Cay’s Seaside Villas, or on Man-O-War from distributor Jeffrey Albury. “People are asking how they can get the product in Grand Bahama and New Providence,” Miaoulis says, adding that he would like to develop farms on other islands. He hopes the government will consider planting neem to replenish areas where the soil is depleted, “because neem puts more back into the ground than it takes out.”

He intends to develop a line of mouthwash, animal-rearing products (neem oil is already used abroad in pet shampoos and soaps because it kills ticks, fleas and lice and is nontoxic), and agricultural products, such as fertilizer and pesticide. He is also introducing a program in which customers can adopt a neem tree for $50 and get a 15 percent discount on neem products for that year. To learn more about Abaco Neem  write info@abaconeem.com or call (242) 367-4117.  

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Abaco Neem P.O. Box AB 20317 Marsh Harbour, Abaco, Bahamas Phone: (242) 367-4117 * Fax: (242) 367-4118