The remoteness of Adivasi villages from health centres, public or private; the problems of accessible transport; financial constraints; availability of services on demand – these are just some factors that call for a community-based health system in which the Adivasi communities’ traditions of indigenous health remedies are respected and integrated with the government and private health care systems.
JSM thus supports the indigenous health movement in the villages. We have played a significant role in the research and documentation of medicinal herbs and plants by working with Adivasi herbalists, locally known as Vaidus. Multiple editions – in Bhili, Marathi, and English – of a book based on this research have been published over the years.
JSM has also helped set up Jeevan Vidya, the Adivasi Women’s Centre that, as part of its many activities, holds regular meetings to enable Vaidus to share their traditional knowledge of herbal remedies.
Health communication is another important activity. Specially designed posters and audio-video material are used to create health awareness among school children, women’s groups, and other village groups. Notable among these materials is a kit comprising 10 charts and a video programme: the charts display elementary causes, remedies, and preventive information related to common illnesses; complementing these charts is the video entitled Sarvansaathi Arogya – Health for All. This kit is widely used in the JSM learning centres as well as by other organizations.
