Costa Rica Medicinal Plants PDF Download

Caño Negro is a relatively isolated community geographically, and the health care situation reflects this. The available modern health care establishments (defined as those services endorsed by formally educated practitioners and accepted by the general public as quality health care) do not offer complete services, each one lacking one or another of the qualities necessary for premium modern health care such as qualified personnel and well-supplied facilities, regularity, or convenience. Traditional health care, treatment with medicinal plants, has been used in Caño Negro in the past and many women and families still use these plants. This study examines the health care situation, the use of medicinal plants, women's roles in family and community health care, and the effect of medicinal plants on women's roles. The work measures the interest of Caño Negro women in a communal "vivero", nursery, and includes medicinal plant remedy recipes which will be compiled into a small book for use by the Caño Negro community.