Abstract:
Soil is a natural resource and a mixture of many varied abiotic and biotic components, which give its true identity
and value as the main component of the earth's ecosystem and a precious “skin of the earth” with interfaces
between the lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere. The concept of “medicinal soil” is well
recognized since pre-historic times. Nevertheless, full potential value of soil in the mainstream of either
traditional or conventional sense has not been realized, may be due to lack of evidence-based research results. It
supports, holistically, all kinds of earthly livelihoods, either directly and/or indirectly. The value of soil to
livelihoods is comprehensively evaluated with focus on its raw active ingredients applicable in pharmaceutical,
agricultural, health and cosmetic industries. In this manuscript, medicinal value of soil and its influence to human
life is reviewed with special emphasis of author’s experiences from Kenya. To understand comprehensively the
full potential of soils to human livelihood, interdisciplinary research collaborations and networks are greatly
needed to discover the underlying science and spearhead the subsequent discussions with a focus on impacts of
climate change and contaminate wastes such as e-wastes, heavy metals, chemicals and radioactive/hazardous
materials on soils and their composition.
