Medicinal Plant Laboratory
We are in the process of building a medicinal plant laboratory to the specifications required for a government issued hygiene certificate. This is being funded by our allies at Big Canopy Campout (BCC), through their work with our youth organization, the Sëra Foundation. Our medicinal plants products are created by the community women’s association, Keñao.
We have long dreamed of creating a medicinal plants laboratory in our community, to bring our ancient knowledge of plant medicine into the 21st century, to experiment with plant extracts using modern techniques, and to provide us with a sustainable source of income.
Our dream was given a big boost in 2021, when the members of the Sëra Foundation participated in a distillation workshop given by Juan Arcos at the Bosque Escuela Pambiliño, as part of a tour funded by BCC.
This was so inspiring for us that when BCC chose to support the Sëra Foundation again in 2022, we asked them to raise funds for our own distillation equipment, which was handmade for us by Juan Arcos.
Juan has visited the community several times to install the distillation equipment and conduct experiments with our wise elder Fanny, an expert in medicinal plants who created a successful plant cure for covid in 2020.
These experiments produced essential oils of citronella and ñata kërë. We are pioneers in the creation of the latter which, as far as we know, has never been distilled before. Traditionally, the leaves of ñata kërë are used to cure “mal aire” or bad energy, which is the result of a bad spirit entering the body. This can cause discomfort, fever, chills, depression and fear. Our elders cure this by making a bouquet of ñata kërë leaves and sweeping them over the body.
When we experimented with distilling it, we were excited to discover that ñata kërë oil has a delicious scent. It can be used to get rid of bad energy and spirits, or as a massage oil. We are excited to keep experimenting and discovering new essential oils! With our ancestral knowledge of over 1000 medicinal plants, the possibilities are limitless!
Thanks to our allies at Amisacho, we have also obtained a cold press to extract oil from the fruit of the morete and ungurahua palms. For centuries, the Siekopai have used these oils on our hair and skin. Traditionally, we extracted them by cooking the fruit pulp over a fire, which used a lot of firewood for a small yield of oil. Our cold press results in a much higher yield, allowing us to sell the oils outside the community. Happily, they are selling like hot cakes!
We have also invented an insect repellent using morete oil blended with citronella essential oil.
When BCC chose us as their cause to support again in 2023, we asked them to raise funds for a plant laboratory, built to the specifications required for a government issued hygiene certificate. This will enable us to sell our products in stores and have them delivered by courier throughout the country. We have the funds and the design - the next step is to build it!
We are working with expert herbalists from BCC to create a range of natural products based on our plant extracts. We’re currently experimenting with face masks made with clay and a powdered medicinal plant that has acne-fighting properties. We’re also infusing oils with medicinal plants to make face creams, using cacao butter as a base. All ingredients are sustainably harvested within our territory. We’re excited to see what else we can create!
See Siekopai Products for the full list of our medicinal plant products.