Jungle Medicine Doctor in Philippines

May Gallego, Jungle Medicine woman, Santa Fe, Tablas, Philippines

I’ve spent the last six months listening to the plants as a therapeutic process.

I was able to meet May Gallego, who uses Jungle Herbal medicines in her daily practice to help local villagers. She lives in a rural area of the Philippines and when someone gets ill in her community, they cannot travel to a doctor, due to the distance to the nearest clinic. This is where May helps out. She uses local native plants to help heal anyone who lives in the area. Patients walk to the nearest track, where May passes on her motorbike daily. They wave her down and she is able to treat many of them there and then with the plants readily available in her jungle surroundings. We shared ideas and herbal recipes and we might even work together one day. She deals with acute illnesses, whereas I mostly deal with chronic illness. Her knowledge and expereince is something the local villagers rely on, and has been a way of life for centuries. Let's keep herbal medicine at the forefront of healing in 21st century.