CHAKUMA is a project intended to encourage the usage of medicinal plants for primary symptoms instead of farmaceutical products.
A profound investigation was made at first to proceed with the elaboration of this product. First, an interview with Jose Salamanca, a well-known Shaman of the Tsachila ethnic of Santo Domingo-Ecuador was done. His high expertise and ancestral knowledge in medicinal plants helped to understand the healing benefits of the different amazonian plants. Added to this, an extensive research through several books and papers related to Ecuadorian healing plants was integrated into this investigation.
After gathering the required information, the selection of herbs were categorised according to their healing properties and benefits. From here, six different combination of herbs were selected for different medicinal properties: Emmenagogue, Carminative, Pectoral, Antispasmodic, Digestive and Stimulating.
To proceed with the production of these herbal medicines, a total of 53 herbs were acquired at indigenous centres. Next, the herbs went into a natural sun drying process and then ground and distributed into individual containers. After this, the herbs were mixed into the correspondent symptomatic container.
Finally, handmade containers and brand design were produced, giving the final product an original image. Two different presentation of the product were displayed. A designed hexagonal box with handmade pyramidal teabags. A second option was a container of the herbal mix with an infusion strainer.
