CTM IN FOCUS
Medicinal Plants and Wild Foods
Celebrating the stories, science, and ancestral wisdom of medicinal plants and foods.
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The Herbal Medicine Project is a long-term effort to document, protect, and share the deep knowledge Indigenous communities hold around medicinal plants and healing food. Grounded in 50 years of research in western Mexico, particularly in the Cabo Corrientes region, this project blends ethnobotany, Indigenous Knowledge Systems, and biomedical science in one evolving, accessible resource.
At its heart, the project honors traditional medicine as a valid and vital system that is both complementary to Western medicine and essential to the future of integrative, culturally-grounded healthcare.
What We’re Building
We are currently developing a culturally-informed database of approximately 250 plant and food entries. Each profile includes:
- Traditional uses and Indigenous knowledge
- Biomedical insights, including active compounds, clinical relevance, and contraindications
- Photographs and field documentation from ongoing research
- Food-as-medicine recipes, gathered directly from healers, midwives, and knowledge keepers
Our work is rooted in ongoing fieldwork with Indigenous communities in Cabo Corrientes, where we are actively recording stories, uses, and experiences with plants, through cultural memory and direct practice.
What We’re Working on Now
We’re in the process of collecting and curating materials for an interactive online catalog that showcases the brilliance of traditional medicine through the voices and worldviews of people who practice it.
TAKE A GLIMPSE INTO OUR WORK
Cafe de Olla
Mexican coffee sweetened with piloncillo Yields: 8 servings
Ingredients
- 4 quarts water
- 4 sticks Mexican cinnamon (each 6 inches long)
- 2/3 cup piloncillo or dark brown sugar
- 2 cups medium-grind coffee, freshly ground
Method
- Bring water to a boil in a 5-quart pot (preferably earthenware).
- Add cinnamon and sugar, boiling for 20 minutes.
- Add coffee and bring back to a boil. Remove from heat, cover, and steep for 5 minutes. Repeat this heating and steeping process twice more.
- Strain if not serving immediately, then pour into small clay mugs to serve.
Why This Matters Globally
The World Health Organization (WHO) has taken a major step in recognizing the role of traditional medicine within global health systems. In its most recent update to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), the WHO has included a dedicated chapter for traditional medicine conditions.
This inclusion supports the integration of traditional healing practices into national health data systems, helping bridge traditional and biomedical approaches to care.
Its inclusion marks an important shift toward the global recognition of traditional knowledge systems as valid, measurable, and essential components of health.
At the Center for Traditional Medicine, we welcome this development as part of a broader effort to document, protect, and elevate Indigenous medical knowledge on local, national, and global levels.
Call for Papers January 2026 and June 2026 | The Fourth World Journal
Special Issue: Women’s Traditional Medicine, Indigenous Knowledge, and Wisdom Ways
We invite submissions exploring the intersections of Indigenous medicine, women’s health, and community knowledge—from clinical practice and feminist theory to food sovereignty and environmental justice.
READ OUR CALL FOR PAPERSThank You to Our Donors
Elina Vesara
Ostern Fund
