PROMETRA

Promoción de la Medicina Tradicional Amazónica

Puyo – Pastaza – Ecuador

Written by: Skyler Jess

Recipient: People and Plants International

 

Mission

 

Despite international efforts over the past 30-40 years to protect the Amazon Rainforest and its native peoples, ecological and cultural degradation continues at an alarming rate. In many areas of the Amazon rainforest, rivers and their surrounding ecosystems continue to be contaminated by mining and petroleum industries, while both legal and illegal deforestation strips landscapes of their essential biodiversity. Simultaneously, aggressive privatized and governmental land colonization efforts force indigenous people force people from their ancestral lands, and urban migration draws indigenous communities away from their lands and traditional cultural heritage.

 

As a result of complex and interconnected pressures, indigenous people are at risk of losing much of their land, culture, and medical tradition. One area of particular concern is the widespread decline of public health. Communities that have been exposed to toxic waste dumped by large corporations have experienced an explosive increase in episodes of cancer, infant mortality, infant mutations, skin diseases, premature organ failure, among other severe health conditions. Other major health concerns of poor sanitation, malnutrition, intestinal parasites, common colds and flues, burns, lesions, infantile dysentery, and birthing complications are not being addressed at the level that is needed.  Traditional medicine practices are being left behind by newer generations, and as a result the Shared knowledge of health and healing is diminishing. Many communities in need of western medicine are days from the nearest treatment center or health post; therefore access is limited at best.  Furthermore, concepts of dosage and application are not well understood, and there is a lack of trained medical professionals to diagnose illness and to administer medicine.

 

With the goal of remediating some of the health issues faced by native Amazonia, PROMETRA works in the Ecuadorian rainforest to promote the re-vitalization of traditional health systems and ancestral medicine among indigenous communities, and to conserve medicinal plant species and their natural habitats. Additionally, we support and participate in the development of integrated health strategies that combine traditional Amazonian medicine with western medical treatments to improve public health conditions among indigenous and rural populations in the Ecuadorian Amazon.  It is our concerted hope that our efforts for years to come will generate sustained inter-cultural solutions to major issues of public health and well-being.  

 

A Brief Introduction to PROMETRA

& Its Founder

 

Didier Lacaze, a trained natural medicine practitioner, educator, herbalist, and director of FLORASANA Herbal and Medicinal Products, originally founded PROMETRA in the year 2007. PROMETRA, which stands for; Promocion de la Medicina Tradicional Amazonica, or, The Promotion of Traditional Amazonian Medicine, is the culmination of Mr. Lacaze’s work in the Amazon for over the past 25 years. Didier Lacaze has collaborated with scientific organizations, not-for-profit initiatives, governmental agencies, and indigenous Amazonian communities in Peru and Ecuador, addressing public health issues and the preservation of traditional ancestral medicine.

 

Between 1985 and 1995, Didier Lacaze worked to address public health as a project and program advisor for AMETRA 2001  (Application of Traditional Medicine) with the Native Federation of Madre de Dios, Puerto Maldonado, Peru. Alongside indigenous collaborators he was able to influence the integration of traditional medicine within the framework of public health services. With Didier’s help, indigenous communities were able to reconnect with the value of their medicinal tradition and come to a consensus regarding its importance in cultural fortification.  In 1987 Didier worked to establish an ethno-cultural center in the Madre de Dios region of Peru, which empowered an indigenous community to create a self-sustaining center through the management of their own natural resources and land. This center is still in operation.

After his time with AMETRA, Didier Lacaze maintained a position as an administrator of the Tambopata Wildlife Preserve in Tambopata, Peru, between 1994-1998. Simultaneously he became involved with the Indigenous Health Program (PSI) and the Asociación Interétnica de Desarrollo de la Selva Peruana, (AIDESEP, Lima, Perú).Inter-ethnicity Association for the Development of the Peruvian Jungle. With these two organizations he worked to promote traditional indigenous medicine in rural communities of the Tambopata region.

 

In 2000 while working as the mission chief of primary health care for the organization Pharmacists Without Borders in Puyo, Ecuador, Didier helped to found the Department of Traditional Medicine (DMT) in the health center of the Shuar Indigenous Federation, (FICSH). Additionally, he helped to realize the construction of an intercultural health model in the community of Shinkiatam, which is the base of the Shuar Federation. Collaborators working for DMT continue to operate and design programs around traditional Shuar medicine.

 

Since the year 2000, Didier Lacaze has focused his efforts developing the medicinal plant business and pharmacy FLORASANA, as well as designing the organizational framework and programs necessary to start PROMETRA. Mr. Lacaze’s extensive work experience in the field has made him a valuable leader in the grassroots movement to reintroduce, revitalize and promote traditional medicine among marginalized indigenous communities and nation-wide public health systems alike.

 

A Focus on Public Health, Education, & Conservation

 

Currently, PROMETRA directs its activities from a cross-cultural educational center outside of Puyo, Ecuador, where they focus our efforts and activities in the areas of public health, education, and the conservation of medicinal plant species. Their two-acre facility is open to the public, and it includes a small library, greenhouses, botanical gardens, a research and production lab, facilities for workshops and training programs, office space, and a guesthouse for visitors and students. This established two acres of land simultaneously supports the related ventures of FLORASANA, an herbal and medicinal business associated with the projects of PROMETRA.

 

PROMETRA Prometra recognizes that education is an essential tool for reassigning value to traditional medicine.  Education is also necessary to preserve the traditional practices and ensure that new generations keep the knowledge alive. The educational programs offered at the center range from basic herbal workshops, internship programs, and multi-year trainings in natural medicine theory and practice. As an organization, PROMETRA hosts a variety of different academic and professional groups from Ecuador and internationally. Most recently, Didier held workshops with classes and groups from UNIDAE: Universidad de las Nacionalidades Indígenas de la Amazonia Ecuatoriana, LEDA (Licenciatura en Desarrollo Amazónico).  PROMETRA has welcomed a diverse array of volunteers and interns, ranging from students and alumni of US colleges and universities to indigenous peoples and international voluntourists.  Volunteers and interns in 2010 have included alumni and attending students from Prescott College in the United States, two women from Scotland , and an indigneous Shuar intern who studies Eco-tourism at a local university in Puyo, Ecuador. PROMETRA has also offered educational workshops on traditional plant medicine preparations to a local high-school in Puyo, and hopes to continue such educational efforts in the future.

 

As a part of their diverse approach to education and promotion, PROMETRA produces multimedia materials such as video resources and practical manuals on the subject of medicinal plants and traditional medicine.  A video documentation program has been made possible by a grant, which provides funding for the production of instructional videos on medicinal plant preparations for common ailments.  These DVDs will be distributed and presented to local indigenous communities with the intention of improving the effectiveness and efficiency of health education in remote regions.  PROMETRA has also published public health promotion journals in the past three years such as a manual on Natural remedies for Primary Healthcare, and “Cultivar Plantas Medicinales para la Salud de la Familia”, A practical manual for family health in Ecuadorian Amazonia.”

 

In conjunction with our education and public health initiatives PROMETRA also offers consulting and technical support to local projects working on the cultivation of medicinal plants; and to promote reforestation of commercial species such as cat’s claw (Uncaria spp.), Chuchuwasha (Maytenus spp.), Dragon’s blood (Croton spp.), Sarsaparilla (Smilax spp.) and others. PROMETRA has recently helped Kichwa families in Canelos to develop cultivation of species, commercial and otherwise, such as frutipan (Artocarpus altilis.), cola de caballo (Equisetum sp.), canela (Ocotea quixos), and guayusa (Ilex guayusa)”.  A noteworthy accomplishment was the planting of a half-hectare plot of land in Canelos with guayusa tea, which is a culturally important plant with a growing potential for marketing in the international tea market. The grounds and greenhouse are filled with a variety of medicinal plant species, which are made available to rural and indigenous communities, which enables them to grow and cultivate in their local landscapes. PROMETRA strives to move beyond supplying communities with medicinal plant materials; the organization promotes community empowerment and encourages indigenous peoples to develop with medicinal plant species, we encourage them to develop their own demonstrative gardens to help promote in-situ propagation and conservation of medicinal plant species.   

 

 

Expanding PROMETRA

 

The organization is in its first phase of expanding its facilities and organizational capacity in order to better pursue and accomplish its guiding mission and objectives. The first aim is to officially incorporate PROMETRA as a legally recognized not-for-profit within the Ecuadorian government, along with a partner organization registered as a 501(c)3 in the United States. Receiving NGO status will widen the scope of funding and networking resources that are necessary for projects to succeed. As a secondary objective, PROMETRA is developing its own internship program and have plans to construct additional housing, plant nurseries, and laboratory facilities on the two-acre parcel of land to increase organizational infrastructure. Thirdly, PROMETRA will develop an interactive website to attract collaborators, and to disseminate the work and vision of our organization.

 

Collaborations with internship placement agencies and established academic institutions will provide PROMETRA with experienced personnel to help run and complete our expanding projects, while additional housing facilities will serve to accommodate residents in the growing internship program. Specifically, we hope to use the help of trained interns to spearhead efforts in public health, education, and conservation.

 

The team also plans to expand the laboratory facilities to increase the production capacity of the natural pharmacy business, FLORASANA. The goal of FLORASANA is to become a model for other traditional and natural medicine development projects in the Pastaza and Napo provinces of the Ecuadorian Amazon. Such pharmacies will not only become hubs for supporting public health in regional areas, but they can also serve as an alternative income means for communities who supply and run their own pharmacies.  The medicinal plant gardens at the center, which supply FLORASANA with the bulk of its herbs, will also be expanded to meet targets of increased production. Similar to the laboratory facilities, the demonstrative gardens will be examples for local and international communities to learn how to cultivate and prepare natural products and medicinal remedies.  

 

The future of health in native Amazonia is deeply dependent on the ability to enliven and preserve traditional medicinal practices while simultaneously expanding access to Western treatment.  The multifaceted nature of issues surrounding indigenous health requires an intense knowledge of medical tradition and the culture of its origin and practice; thus, Didier Lacaze has molded PROMETRA into an adequate force to combat the loss of traditional knowledge and empower communities to address illness using the resource most readily available to them:  the jungle.

 

 

For a Full Project Overview Please See:

PROMETRA Overview: ()PROMETRA document package_2.docx