Mayan Traditional Medicine
In Guatemala, Mayan Traditional Medicine is the most approachable system for the prevention and cure of the community’s sicknesses, with much focus on the common and cultural illnesses. Challenges for the practitioners of Traditional Medicine include recognition and practice on a national and global context.
Local hero Anabella F. Perez is a medical doctor who recently completed her Masters in Social Anthropology and conducted extensive research on Mayan Traditional Medicine. As part of her research, Dr. Perez studied indigenous communities in the western highlands of San Juan Ostuncalco and Nahuala, and met with Mayan community leaders who shared their experiences and dreams of preserving Mayan Traditional Medicine. She identified the significant role MTM plays in the Guatemalan healthcare system in conjunction with western medicine.
Through this, the Mayan Traditional Medicine Project was born! Dr. Perez is developing materials for each of the ethnic communities where the study was conducted. This project’s goal is to support the conservation of Mayan cultural resources by making the information she gathered available in an accessible form to indigenous communities with little schooling and low literacy rates.
With the help of the Mayan Traditional Medicine project, traditional healers have developed a storefront where they can sell indigenous remedies and herbs while also educating the community on these important traditions.
Donate to Mayan Traditional Medicine to support the growth and empowerment of indigenous culture and systems!