a time in the rainforest and he taught her about the plants and the Maya belief of spiritual healing. Together they treated the Shaman’s large list of clients, many of them living with Elijio for months (Gerber and Marandino WWW).One day in 1991 Don Elijio Panti was telling Arvigo how the forest used to be ten minutes from his hut, and now it was a two hour hike to get there because of the destruction of the forest. Arvigo came up with an idea to keep the plants safe from destruction. The plants would be harvested and made in to medicical tinctures. The tinctures last seven times longer than dried herbs because of the humidity. From this plan resulted a company called Rainforest Remedies. Rainforest Remedies produces a collection of nine different formulas based on the knowledge and research of Don Elijio Panti and Arvigo. The remedies treat ailments such as back pain, PMS symptoms, stomachache, colds, and flu. Half of the profits from Rainforest Remedies go to the Belize Traditional Healers Foundation to fund local healers (Gerber and Marandino WWW).Besides running the business of Rainforest Remedies, Arvigo and her husband have established a six thousand acres plant sanctuary, where visitors can see the healing plants up close. She likes to share her knowledge as much as possible. Arvigo has seminars in both Belize and the United States about herbs and shares the teachings of Don Elijio Panti with the local healers (Gerber and Marandino WWW).The preparation for an expedition takes months. The ethnobotanists must gather the correct tools and supplies and study the remote villages and dense tropical forests of where they will be. Researchers must also gather information. A regional study is done on epidemiology, traditional medicine, culture, and ecology of the people and environment. Databases are searched for already known information about plants used in the region (King and Veilleux WWW).Once in the field thousa...
