By Alejandra Rosado | CEO
"My name is Elsa, I am 49 years old and I am from Asunción Ixtaltepec, Oaxaca. I choose to take the natural medicine workshop to initiate my career as a healing guide. I had my first approach to ancestral wisdom because of my mom, she used to make “limpias”(spiritual cleaning) for the newborn children through the preparation of teas and oils. When I was a girl I liked to watch her working as curandera and I learned a lot from her. When I became mom of my two children, one of them was born with bronchi sickness. I was very worried about administering pharmacs to him because of the secondary effects.
That was when I heard about the Una Mano Para Oaxaca workshop, I thought it was an opportunity to learn about medicinal benefits from plants and herbs. I have participated in many workshops and I am very grateful about all the learning that has amplified my vision about ancestral medicine and increased my interest to investigate more about them.
After the healer training, I decided to launch my own products such as soaps, creams and medicinal syrups. I like to be sure about the effects and reactions of the products I make, so I am the first user before putting them up for sale. I also sell some products to my family according to their needs such as tinctured passion-flower as a remedy for insomnia, I explain to them how to take it and I make sure they consume it correctly to witness the benefits. Due to the pandemic I have not been able to continue sales and have focused on family-friendly products.
With the learnings I have gotten, I feel more confident in using herbs and recommending others which plants and how to use them. For me It is very satisfying when people come and tell me about their illnesses and I can recommend herbal teas or baths for their improvement. I think that traditional medicine was in my genes but my love for plants woke up when the herbalism workshops began.When you really like to do something, you start asking, observing, and then you can apply all your knowledge to help your family and your community."
Thank you, for thank you for allowing us to create this network of women to heal our communities. We wish you strenght and health.
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