Project Description
Health
Health
We promote health and wellbeing by strengthening the practice of traditional medicine.
Traditional Medicine
The Garden’s Edge is creating a network of traditional healers who provide essential health services to their communities. Through research and training, spiritual guides, midwives, apothecaries, and acupuncturists are recovering and preserving their traditional medicinal knowledge.
In Guatemala, we’ve helped build a community clinic, including medicinal plant gardens, a natural medicine processing center, and a temescal, (sweat lodge) where community members can receive treatments and learn about natural medicine.
Community Knowledge Exchanges
Each year we bring traditional healers from Guatemala to New Mexico and California to share and learn with other healers. We have also done exchanges with healers in Mexico and Guatemala. These knowledge exchanges have included medicine sharing circles, acudetox training, midwife exchanges, training in temascal, cupping, massage and other traditional healing modalities.
We support Guatemalan healers who teach and take classes at the summer Curanderísmo (traditional healers) Course organized by the University of New Mexico. The cross-cultural connections made by participants in this course lead to exciting opportunities to share knowledge and skills.
These exchanges were inspired by the enthusiasm and collaboration of the late Dr. Arlo Starr of the Cherokkee nation, who came to Guatemala with his partner Dr. Monica Lucero to help re-awaken these traditions. They both continue to be an inspiration in our work.