The mother of three runs her business from the side of Old Paarl Road in Kraaifontein, Cape Town.
Phumza said her herbs not only help cure various illnesses but her family relies on them to survive.
She told Daily Sun she collects herbs from the bush and cliffs in East London and King Williams Town, in the Eastern Cape.
She said her customers buy buchu leaves to bring their high blood pressure down.
“Buchu leaves kidneys clean and relieve symptoms of high blood pressure.”
She said one of her best sellers is garlic as it helps fight infections.
“Garlic kills fungus and relieves gout pain,” she said.
She said when customers come to her with internal wounds she makes them drink mathunga, as it’s a good detox herb.
“It also helps women to heal quicker after giving birth.”
Phumza has a herb to lessen period pain and can also increase fertility.
Her advice to parents whose kids have rashes is not to use dangerous chemicals.
She said her herb, mthombothi, is soft on the skin and shows results fast.
There is medicine that helps infants who suffer from constipation and colic and Phumza said residents flock to her stand because she always knows which herbs will help them.
She said she tells her customers to listen to the advice of medical doctors too.
“If the doctor prescribes medication and says they must take it in the morning and at night, I always recommend that they take my herbs in the afternoon so they don’t clash with the doctor’s medicine.”
She said she learned about herbs from her husband, who is a Rastafarian.
The herbs that are the most popular are buchu leaves, garlic, mathunga, mononono, thangazana, mthombothi and msentsane. — Online
