Haciendas Foundation of the Mayan World - Medicinal Herbs

The Fundación Hacienda del Mundo Maya, A.C. is a group of professional people that works together with 11 rural Mayan communities helping them design and execute programs dealing with education, health, housing, and the environment while always focusing on integrating human and community development.

One example of this is the creation of the project primary health attention being achieved through rescuing traditional and herbal Mayan medicine. A series of studies showed that one of the greatest problems the Mayan people face in their villages is the lack of attention in the Health Centers. The promoters and the Mayas came to the conclusion that reviving traditional Mayan medicine could be the answer.

While working with the Mayan, they discovered that they actually had quite a wealth of knowledge that had been sleeping as they slowly adopted modern medicine that is not always accessible to them. This incredible experience turned everyone’s eyes toward the local “bone crunchers,” the medicine men and a local man, Dr. Gilberto Balam Pereira, (Master’s in Health and Doctorate in Sociology.) Collections of medicinal plants were gathered in 5 communities and the project was born. Health promoters were trained to collect the traditional medicine knowledge from the village people while promoting the rescue of this knowledge that had been lost to modernization.

These efforts brought about the installation of Health Centers in 5 communities: Temozón Sur, Itzincab

Cámara, Santa Rosa, Chunchucmil and Granada. The stars are the health promoters in these villages. They have also instituted a Botanical Garden at the hacienda Santa Rosa de Lima in Maxcanu. These installations had abandoned gardens, aqueducts and water holding tanks that have been rehabilitated. The property is approximately 2.5 acres and has more than 230 species of plants divided into groups according to the use they are given: aromatics, palms, garden, multiple uses and medicinal for various problems including respiratory, dermatological, and digestive problems.

The fundamental object of the gardens is to classify and identify the names of the plants in Maya and Spanish, state the use of each plant, be a site for the propagation and conservation of all the samples and promote conservation and environmental education. The gardens are open to the public.

The Foundation supports the local groups in analyzing the viability, sustainability, financing and bringing the projects to life and then accompanies them as they position their products in the market for fair sale.

We invite you to visit the craft stores where their products are sold. The crafters of these quality products have won 1st prizes nationally for creativity and taste in detail. When you buy one of their products in these stores, you are helping these families break the vicious cycle of poverty. Their two stores, which they run after learning marketing, accounting and inventory control, are located in the Casa Montejo on the Main Plaza of Merida and at the Hacienda Ochil, just off the Merida – Uxmal highway.

Other related articles that might be of interest on this subject:

Hacienda Foundation - Folk Art
Mayan Life
Healthcare in the Yucatan
Hacienda Route
Vegetation of the Yucatan

To read in Spanish click here