Dr. Rodolfo Arencibia is one of the most enthusiastic advocates of the use of natural medicine in Cuba. He has dedicated most of his life to this purpose, in recent years through a Local Development Project. Flora: la antigua Botica de la Abuela (Flora: Grandma’s Old Apothecary), an enterprise born a little more than 4 years ago in the Punta Brava community, in the Havana municipality of La Lisa.
“In 2017, based on the development of medicinal plants in the country, with 16 farms that I helped create, there was a surplus that producers did not know what to do with it and that the Public Health system was not purchasing. So I proposed the creation of a natural products cooperative to acquire that raw material that the farmers were not marketing, and sell it in leaf and dried, which is what I am allowed to do,” he explains.
That is how it all began. First under a Self-Employed license, then as a Local Development Project, although in the future the enterprise could become a MSME.
Dr. Arencibia’s love for natural medicine runs in the family. “At home, any ailment was solved with an herbal infusion, and that stayed with me.” The idea of creating the country’s first natural products cooperative in this field sought to pay tribute to his grandmother Flora, a true herbalist, who used any type of plant as a remedy for illnesses. Arencibia assures that he always knew he had to rescue this tradition, and to do it from his own community.
“In Punta Brava we have this space that is open to the community and where there are possibilities not only to commercialize a product, because we are moving from commercialization to much more integrating, more community-based work. We have a museum of medicinal plants and people who come to La Botica can visit the museum. Not only do we generate employment, but more importantly, we undertake educational work on the benefits of traditional natural medicine.”
In times of the COVID-19 pandemic, and with many traditional medicines lacking in the country’s pharmacy network, people have found relief from their ailments in this venture.
With a wide variety of products (about 60), Arencibia and his workers explain in detail to customers what each infusion should be used for, how to prepare them, mix them and take them. Condiments, seasoning; oregano; infusions for respiratory problems; sweet or sour dehydrated orange used for circulatory conditions; turmeric powder to lower blood sugar, cholesterol and triglyceride levels; petiveria, to improve the body’s defenses; tea for the kidneys; Brazilwood, an anti-inflammatory; passionflower, a relaxant to fall asleep; mints; essences; and wild cinnamon, which improves blood sugar levels, among others, are among the most popular products.
Each sachet marketed in the store has a label, which briefly describes the contents, mode of preparation for infusion or decoctions, the date of preparation and expiration date. In addition, its products go beyond local borders, and are available in other provinces, and in the network of heritage pharmacies of the Office of the Havana City Historian.
“When I told Eusebio Leal about it, he loved the idea. You can imagine, revitalizing the tradition of the yerberos (herbalists), but with science, technology and innovation,” Arencibia recalls.
For this reason, he is currently working with his team and several universities in the country in the preparation of the scientific dossiers of the products marketed in his pharmacy, in order to present them to the Cuban regulatory authority and be able to certify them.
“It cannot necessarily be said that we can live with medicinal plants alone, but neither can we live only with chemistry. We must seek balance, and understand that natural medicine can be an option, and not just an alternative. This is precisely our objective: to demonstrate that medicinal plants can be a complement for any health problem.”
“The first world has no economic limitations, no Special Period, nor the misfortune of the blockade. There, a natural product is more expensive than a chemical one, so it is necessary to look in that direction.” Cuba’s future must also follow that path, Arencibia affirms.
