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ABOUT OMIECH ...
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​OMIECH was created as a civil association in 1985 in San Cristobal de Las Casas in the Chiapas State. It was created to save and promote traditional Mayan medicine. At the beginning, OMIECH was principally devoted to reinforce the herbalist part of Mayan medicine thanks to courses of experiences exchange, creation of gardens with herbal medicine in communities who are members. Then they collect those plants to make a herbarium. Later, more specific works were elaborated with women and midwives from the organization.

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ACTIVITIES OF OMIECH' S

WOMEN AND MIDWIVES AREA

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OMIECH’s courses and exchange program led them to a project called: “Save of the traditional practice of Maya midwives in indigenous communities in Chiapas, Mexico” This project took place in 11 Indian communities from the State of Chiapas and it consisted in making communitarian training courses. In these courses they talk about sexual and maternal health (pregnancy, childbirth, post-partum, baby, familial planning, diseases and specifically feminine problems). It realized from the point of view, the feelings, the perspective and the cosmovision of traditional Mayan medicine in order to transmit knowledge and competences to young traditional midwife apprentices. The methodology employed is the exchange of knowledge and experience between experimented traditional midwives who have a profound knowledge of herbal medicines, secrets and rituals.

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“Thus, our customs and traditions that we are preserving for centuries, would never disappear”.

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 Two women per community will be able to become midwife apprentices in order to save and reinforce therapeutic practices from experimented midwives. They will learn how the later accompany childbirths and how they solve possible complications.