I avoid the temptation of the beach resorts at Montego Bay's glamorous Montego Bay and instead head to the Rastafari Indian Village in Montego River Gardens. Here is where I meet Queen Bee.Queen Bee, an energetic member the Rastafari Indigenous Village community invites me to take off my shoes and cross the Montego River's shallow stream. I feel an increased awareness of the natural world as the cool water laps at me. The opposite bank is home to trees of every variety: blue mahoe, bamboo groves and coconut palms.RELATED: Meet the man who preserves indigenous grains at India's living rice museumThe music is birdsong with Queen Bee's words as the only punctuation. Queen Bee is a walking encyclopedia of local plant life.She points out the noni, a small evergreen tree. The juice of the noi is rich in anti-oxidants, she says. It can be used both as a cleanser and tonic.Next, she'll show you how natural rouge can be made from the Annatto fruit, also known as the lipstick plant.
