Cultural Recovery of Medicinal Plants in the Pitayal Region, Sonora

This project aims to recover and document the ancestral knowledge of the Mayo (Yoreme) people regarding medicinal plants found in their territory, specifically in the region known as “El Pitayal” in southern Sonora.

Through bibliographic research and interviews with traditional elders, the project will produce a bilingual field guide (in Spanish and Mayo) that preserves and shares this traditional knowledge.

The guide will include botanical information on local medicinal plant species, such as scientific and common names, descriptions, healing properties, and traditional uses by the Indigenous community. This knowledge—passed down orally for generations—is currently at risk due to modernization, declining interest in traditional practices, and cultural displacement.

Beyond its scientific and educational value, the guide will hold deep cultural and social significance. It will support cultural revitalization and Indigenous identity, and aims to become a local reference that encourages other communities to appreciate their traditional knowledge and native plants. It also hopes to influence public policy that recognizes traditional medicine as part of the region’s biocultural heritage.