The work team of the Afro-Botany Conference has created a format in which academic, technical and policy presentations take place concurrently with traditional and Afro-centric models. These include elder hierarchy, creating community, respectful relationships, meal sharing, song, dance, honoring elements of nature and story-telling.
Instead of the conventional strategy of one-way knowledge harvesting, our model includes returning information to its rightful owners or their kin. This is achieved through inviting community members to activities, posting information digitally, offering free online classes, and encouraging ethnobotanists to turn over copies of interviews with Afro-Costa Rican elders if they contained ancestral wisdom.
In addition, the conference serves as a space for policy creators to educate themselves and each other, with the goal of sensitizing the health and education systems with respect to traditional Afro-based wellness strategies. The team invited a number of community members representing politics, health care, law, traditional medicine and advocacy. The Conference budget covers the costs of participation for these community representatives, as well as any family members that they choose to bring.
Meet Our Supporting Organizations…
