Ethnobotany and Exchange of Traditional Medicines on the Southern Bolivian Altiplano

Abstract

Research conducted on the collection, use, and vending of traditional medicines by rural Bolivian women indicates that it is an important economic activity as well as having a place in the health system of high altitude inhabitants. The aim of this paper is to discuss the intersection of an approach that focuses on the exchange of traditional medicines with an ethnobotanical perspective that considers the medicines themselves. Women are the focus of this intersection because they are central to the enterprise of collecting and selling traditional medicines, which is an expanding business opportunity due in part to demands by urban consumers. In moving toward an ethnobotanical analysis of the plants themselves, it is important to consider how this focus will enhance our understanding of the marketing and use of traditional medicines and women's roles therein, but researchers must also understand the problems related to the potential use of ethnobotanical data to create new pharmaceuticals.