Rosa's Story - Coady International Institute - St. Francis Xavier ...

AUTHOR’S NOTE
I have to admit that I used to be highly skeptical about
traditional medicine. While doing research for this case
study, however, I had an experience that has made me
less so. In the middle of the project, I had a bad flareup
of chronic eczema on my hands and wrists. I had
forgotten to bring steroid cream and could not find any
in Riobamba. One evening, the cook at the house I
was visiting, saw my hands and asked if I had been
exposed to dirty water. I replied that exposure to pond
water has set off eczema episodes in the past. An
hour later she beckoned me into the kitchen. She took
my hands and, before I knew what she was doing,
poured olive oil over the affected areas. She then
grabbed a steaming pot on the stove (which I later
learned contained a tea made from chamomile and
another plant she found in the garden) and poured the
hot liquid over my hands. Before I could object, she
began to vigorously rub sections of fresh limes over
my affected skin. I was horrified because exposure to
fresh citrus juice is also one of the factors I associate
with eczema episodes. My hands began to tingle but
they didn’t feel irritated so I allowed her to repeat the
process a few minutes later. I went home to bed and
awoke to find that most of the skin on my hands was
peeling off, almost like wax. Underneath was a fresh
healthy layer of skin. Within two days my hands looked
normal. I left Ecuador with several Jambi Kiwa products
in my bag.
It is precisely this ancestral knowledge of Andean
medicine, ignored by conventional Western medicine
that becomes a development corner stone for the
Jambi Kiwa story. It was an asset, owned but yet to be
developed by the community, which the women of
Jambi Kiwa have capitalized on to create a cooperative
business which responds to their vision for improving
their livelihoods and reclaiming their Andean knowledge.
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Gord Cunningham