via: Boracay Island News Network

San Pablo, Laguna- Unknown to many, a group of women living in the communities at the seven lakes of San Pablo, Laguna have revitalized the use of herbal medicine to lure tourists.

Marilyn Maghirang said that she has been advocating the use of herbal medicine throughout her life. She said that the use of herbal medicine has been inculcated to her by her ancestors.

Herbal medicine involves using plants for their therapeutic properties to maintain or improve health. It is a form of ancient medicine practiced worldwide. However, because of the current advances in technology in medicine and with the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) , the practice of traditional medicine has been forgotten mostly in cities.

But for Maghirang, she said that most of the medicines came from plants and have helped their communities use them generally for first aid. She said that herbal medicines are abundant in their communities.

“Many of us use herbal medicines to survive the COVID-19 pandemic,” she added.

Among those that Magharing showcases are plants such as malunggay, ginger, among others.

She presents how to use these organic plants for tourists visiting the famous seven lakes of San Pablo, Laguna.

The seven lakes of San Pablo include Bunot Lake, Calibato Lake, Mohicap Lake, Palakpakin Lake, Pandin Lake, and Yambo Lake.

The women of San Pablo in Laguna are being supported by Hijos Tours, a tourism program of the CARD MRI.

CARD MRI, a group of 25 mutually reinforcing institutions, has been dedicated to poverty eradication through financial, non-financial, and social development initiatives since 1986. The organization is serving more than 9.1 million clients nationwide as of October 2023.