In November, I accompanied a group of herbalists from the US and Canada on a traditional and herbal medicine trip to Northern Nicaragua. The mission was to learn from fellow Nicaraguan community health workers including herbalists, the plants and each other. It was inspiring to see the effectiveness and extent to which natural medicine is build into the culture and structure of many communities as well as Nicaraguan health care laws.
First, we visited the poor and welcoming rural community of Miraflor, a two-hour pickup ride up a rough mountain road from the town of Esteli. Our gracious host families welcomed us with open arms, humbly providing hearty Nicaraguan meals, good company and simple sleeping spaces for a few nights.
First, we visited the poor and welcoming rural community of Miraflor, a two-hour pickup ride up a rough mountain road from the town of Esteli. Our gracious host families welcomed us with open arms, humbly providing hearty Nicaraguan meals, good company and simple sleeping spaces for a few nights.
With my family, I had evening conversations about the history of the Miraflor community and the surrounding nature preserve. We also discussed non-verbal communication in Nicaragua and I learned how to recognize when my Nica friends were politely trying to say its time to go while hanging out with a group of friends. I also learned how Nica parents hold firm boundaries with their children using just their eyes or a finger tip without breaking the flow of communication within the larger group of adults.
Soon after arriving in Miraflor, the mist and cooler mountain temperatures brought on some congestion in my sinuses so my host mom quickly went into her backyard to harvest a handful of herbs including orange tree leaves and wormwood. She boiled the herbs with garlic cloves and made me a strong tea that kicked out my sinus congestion in just 3 glasses. Below is a picture of Rafaela making the tea for me while she prepares corn tortillas in her kitchen. Everything was cooked and re-heated on the wood fired stove top to her left. The chickens and dogs running around would frequently get shoed out as she cooked and her 3 year-old grandson Jonatan played on the dirt floor with a handmade toy truck.
Soon after arriving in Miraflor, the mist and cooler mountain temperatures brought on some congestion in my sinuses so my host mom quickly went into her backyard to harvest a handful of herbs including orange tree leaves and wormwood. She boiled the herbs with garlic cloves and made me a strong tea that kicked out my sinus congestion in just 3 glasses. Below is a picture of Rafaela making the tea for me while she prepares corn tortillas in her kitchen. Everything was cooked and re-heated on the wood fired stove top to her left. The chickens and dogs running around would frequently get shoed out as she cooked and her 3 year-old grandson Jonatan played on the dirt floor with a handmade toy truck.
During the day our group of herbalists and naturopathic physicians conversed with Nicaraguan herbalists, community health workers and botanists from across Nicaragua. It was a unique gathering of many open hearts and minds to share this special place and medicine. The community herbalists and people who knew the local herbs shared with us how they had brought healing and saved lives in their community, especially throughout the contra war of the 80’s when the United States had placed an embargo on all medical supplies going into Nicaragua. The nearest basic hospital is hours away by bus so even now this herbal knowledge and these healers continue to play a very important role in the community. They described many common illnesses and the manner in which they treated them through various herbs growing nearby. Many of the herbs they use are prescribed in a similar way to what I learned in Naturopathic medical school and some are very different.
Many herbs were made into teas to drink throughout the day. Some leaves were heated and applied topically and one herb, rue, was mixed in alcohol and spit on children. One major difference in prescribing between Nicaraguan herbalists and what I learned in medical schools was regarding how herbs are measured and dosed. Often times the American herbalists would ask how they prepare and dose a particular herbal tea. The response often involved seemingly vague measurement such as 2 handfuls in a liter of water or a "hemi," which is merely a piece of bark the length of the distance between ones index finger and thumb as shown in the photo below.
Some of the herbs used here are; wormwood, cornsilk, parsely, peppermint, lemongrass and many more that I will add with the latin names once I am reunited with my field notes.
Some of the herbs used here are; wormwood, cornsilk, parsely, peppermint, lemongrass and many more that I will add with the latin names once I am reunited with my field notes.
The mountain air was refreshingly cool and we spent hours exploring the jungle, the roadside and the high pine forests learning the traditional medicinal uses and superstitions regarding many shrubs, trees, orchids, ferns and other plants growing in the Miraflor nature preserve.
We also saw the potent datrura stramonium, a very effective acute asthma remedy when used correctly in low doses. We heard stories of local teenagers who had taken some and ran around mad and crazy for three days. There were many croton species trees that have a red sap that looks like blood as shown in the accompanying picture. The small fern below is placed in newly pierced earholes for 10 days to aid healing of the punctured tissues.
We also saw the potent datrura stramonium, a very effective acute asthma remedy when used correctly in low doses. We heard stories of local teenagers who had taken some and ran around mad and crazy for three days. There were many croton species trees that have a red sap that looks like blood as shown in the accompanying picture. The small fern below is placed in newly pierced earholes for 10 days to aid healing of the punctured tissues.
Ricinus communis, castor bean and leaf, is used topically for many ailments. One of the most interesting to me was the use of the fire-heated leaf for headaches. It is smeared with chicken fat and placed on top of ones head and under a hat for a few hours to relieve the pain.
After bidding our farewells to the families and herbalists that had shared so much with us, we travelled back to Esteli for a week of Spanish classes and trips to see local herbalists, farmers and community health workers. I was inspired again to learn of the integral role of herbalism and community healers in traditional Nicaraguan medicine, as is true for so many cultures.
Our afternoons were spent visiting two visionary and well-funcioning Nicaraguan herbal companies who buy medicinal herbs from local trained organic farmers. They create many salves, creams, syrups, teas and tinctures that we purchased to bring to our patients on Ometepe island. The profit their farmers make goes to improving and diversifying their land and is also used to buy basic supplies such as soap and cooking oil for their families. We visited very poor communities sustained only by the foods they produce on their small plots of land and saw how communities come together to support each others well beings and how trained community health workers are essential in providing health care to individuals in their community. We learned how traditional knowledge of the use of plants as medicine has saved many peoples health and lives, especially where there is limited access to doctors, hospitals and pharmeceutical medicines.
Isnaya Herbal laboratories, Esteli
One of the inspiring healers we met was a Nicaraguan midwife and health promoter, Mama Liche. This vibrant woman is in her 70's and has been working in Esteli teaching birthing classes, sharing herbal knowledge, performing life-saving gynecological exams and naturally birthing babies for many decades. Her energy and joy was an inspiration to us all and a testimony to the power of natural medicine and healing relationships.
Every morning, I was challenged to slow down my functional Spanish language skills in order to incorporate more appropriate words, details and especially correct verb conjugation. My Spanish teacher, Aura, also helped me by sharing many Nicaraguan beliefs about health and disease. One story that she shared and has been retold by many of my patients in Nicaragua surrounds the long-held belief that the body should not undergo quick changes between hot and cold. For example, women who have been cooking all day (which in Nicaragua means using a wood fire) should not bathe in the evening (because the water here is cold). Even if a woman washes her hands while cooking, she will likely develop inflamed hypothenar muscles in her hands, which is accompanied by much pain and weakness of the hands. I was skeptical until the day I entered class with a very painful and red thumb after taking a cold shower the day I repeatedly used my hand by writing in my notebook all day in the heat.
After a long day of travelling from Esteli, we caught the last ferry to the island of Ometepe where the final leg of the groups journey would be filled with seeing eagerly waiting patients at NDI's naturopathic clinic. I was thankful to be "home" and back to working with my patients.
We had a great week of sharing herbal knowledge in class, case reviews and with each patient the team saw. The herbal team brought with them more than $19,000 worth of donated herbs for our patients! I loved the collaboration we shared in formulating so many great remedies to help a variety of patients dealing with anxiety, body aches, influenza, digestive troubles, insomnia, depression, diabetes, high cholesterol and much more.
We had a great week of sharing herbal knowledge in class, case reviews and with each patient the team saw. The herbal team brought with them more than $19,000 worth of donated herbs for our patients! I loved the collaboration we shared in formulating so many great remedies to help a variety of patients dealing with anxiety, body aches, influenza, digestive troubles, insomnia, depression, diabetes, high cholesterol and much more.
NDI brigade #33
Passiflora incarnata, the beautiful passion flower being visited by a leaf-footed bug is pictured to the left. The fruit that comes from these flowers is delicious and goes by many names, Calala here in Nicaragua and Lilikoi in Hawaii. One of the best parts of this trip was the 6 month-old baby girl named Lilikoi that accompanied us with a warm and open heart to everyone who held her in their arms and every tree swaying in the wind that she passed under.
Below is a link to a video of this 3 week trip with Dr. Tania Neubauer, ND, Paul Bergner, director of the North American Institute of Mecical Herbalism and Herbalist Sevensong, director of the Northeast School of Botanical Medicine. This service learning trip is offered across Nicaragua typically annually. If you are interested in learning more, check out the NAIMH's website by clicking on the name above.
Video Link: www.somebodi.es/hrb/todo.mov
Below is a link to a video of this 3 week trip with Dr. Tania Neubauer, ND, Paul Bergner, director of the North American Institute of Mecical Herbalism and Herbalist Sevensong, director of the Northeast School of Botanical Medicine. This service learning trip is offered across Nicaragua typically annually. If you are interested in learning more, check out the NAIMH's website by clicking on the name above.
Video Link: www.somebodi.es/hrb/todo.mov