An exchange of knowledge has become the program of strengthening ancestral knowledge that advances the Territorial Directorate of Health in Caldas in seven municipalities of this department, where 20 people including midwives, sobanderos and healers seek that this knowledge does not disappear.
That is why the entity has been advancing a series of technical assistance to the health institutions of the municipalities, with the aim of strengthening the knowledge, practices and traditional means that the Afro-Colombian population has for their community. .
According to Meny Johana Aricapa, a social worker in the area, these meetings are held “within the framework of the Collective Intervention Plan -pictó- in which various activities are carried out such as intercultural meetings, where human talent in health and experts in traditional medicine exchange knowledge through a culture of mutual respect and recognition. “
The greatest fear of the peasant, indigenous or Afro communities in the department of Caldas today, is that with the arrival of new diseases and more technology, this tradition disappears which is expected to pass from generation to generation.
“It is intended that where there are traditional doctors activities to strengthen and promote these traditions, as in many regions these people to feel persecuted, criticized or judged have stopped practicing their knowledge, which puts at risk this knowledge, “Aricapa concluded.
These strengthening activities are developed especially by the indigenous reserves of Caldas, which as in the case of Riosucio, from the organization Cabildo Cañamomo Lomaprieta in conjunction with the indigenous EPS of this town, has been executing the process of plant transformation which include scholars, ancestral physicians, students of traditional medicine, obstetrics, health and life groups, youth association, women’s association, and community at large.
Marta García, a traditional doctor of this indigenous protection, explained that “the importance of plant transformation is that all people learn from them, know how to use and cultivate them in medicinal gardens, and that children and young people are interested in reclaiming ancestral practices for the benefit of the family. “
These processes of transformation of medicinal plants into creams, ointments and essences, are accompanied by one of the spiritual guides of the community that guides the workshops where they identify the plants and their uses.