In January 1993 whilst on a shopping trip to Mombasa, Kenya, Michael Calan, an Australian now resident in Kenya came accross the root of an old tree. This old root which had lain hidden under 20 years of accumulated soil and rubbish turned out to be the root of a very old Neem tree dug up and thrown into the street to make way for a new building. The Neem tree known around swahili Africa as Marasubaini or the cure of forty diseases is fame for its remarkable healling

properties. But Michael saw more than just a hidden panacea. Over the next two weeks with much headache this monster root was transported back to Micharl's house in south Mombasa. Here a friendly Mkonde carver from Mocambique named Bernard Mated Ntumba spent another full year rleasing through his chiel what Michael had seen from the beginning, the migration of the endanged African elephant. A piece now simply know as 'the elephant table' A truly remarkable work and arguably one of the most beautiful pieces to emerge from Kenya in recent times.

The people of India have long revered the neem tree (Azadirachta indica). For centuries, millions have cleaned their teeth with neem twigs, smeared skin disorders with neem-leaf juice, taken neem tea as a tonic, and placed neem leaves in their beds, books, grain bins, cupboards, and closets to keep away troublesome bugs. The tree has relieved so many different pains, fevers, infections, and other complaints that it has been called "the village pharmacy."

The neem tree (Azadirachta indica) is a tropical evergreen related to mahogany. Native to east India and Burma, it grows in much of southeast Asia and west Africa. A few trees have recently been planted in the Caribbean and several Central American countries.

Outdoors, in locations where temperatures don't drop much below freezing, it may reach up to 50 feet tall. It will grow where rainfall is as little as 18 inches per year and thrives in areas that experience extreme heat of up to 120 degrees F. They are reported to live for up to 200 years.

To those millions in India neem has miraculous powers, and now scientists around the world are beginning to think they may be right.