Traditional Medicinal Knowledge In Cuba
Author(s)
I. M. Madaleno
Abstract
For about a decade the Portuguese Tropical Research Institute has been
investigating traditional medicinal knowledge in Latin American metropolises.
In 2009 a survey was extracted from Havana, Cuba. Data sources were a sample
of fifty interviews extracted from forty-seven households possessing front and
backyards with medicinal species, which Cubans use to mitigate aches and pains,
in two La Habana municipalities, Playa and Plaza de la Revolución, plus three
extensive interviews with La Habana Vieja herb traders. The main objective was
to recover ancient domestic prescriptions among urban gardeners and believers
in plant therapy in order to create a database on ancestral medicinal practices
able to help the less wealthy Latin American populations deal with health
problems.
Keywords: medicinal plant species, Cuba, traditional non-conventional
therapies.
1 Introduction
Traditional knowledge of medicinal and aromatic plant species is essential for
the development of ecologically, culturally and economically sustainable urban
and periurban systems. For approximately eleven years the Portuguese Tropical
Research Institute (IICT) has been interviewing traditional healers, urban
gardeners, periurban farmers, medicinal herb traders and plant therapists in Latin
America, in order to assess usage of local resources and have built-up databases
of local knowledge that might provide future generations with alternative ways
to deal with health problems. Research also focuses on the socio-economic
conditions required for the sustainable management of natural resources, in
particular the native vegetable species. In relation to the usefulness of urban
gardens, it is important to stress that soil cover reduces erosion and diminishes
Keywords
medicinal plant species, Cuba, traditional non-conventional
therapies
Related Book
Other papers in this volume
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