Amazon tribe saves plant lore with ‘healing forests’ and encyclopedia

In a bid to safeguard knowledge the Matsi(C)s in Peru have been planting "medicinal agroforestry" plots and written a 1,044-page two-volume book.

The seven indigenous Matsi(C)s elders were slowly meandering through the forest. They were explaining how different trees and plants are used for medicinal purposes, exchanging stories about how they had acquired their extraordinary knowledge and put it to good use. There were memories of an encounter with a jaguar and someone's father struck by some kind of pain in the eye - "not conjunctivitis!" - while claims were made for successfully treating women haemorrhaging, snake-bite, a swollen leg and constipation.

The forest we were in was actually more of a garden - or "healing forest" or "medicinal agroforestry" plot - planted late last year by six young Matsi(C)s men under the expert guidance of elder Arturo Tumi Nicca Potsad. "There are all types [of trees and plants] here," Arturo told the Guardian, holding a spear made of peach palm and looking about him. "About 100 types, 3,000 plants."