Wild harvesting of Jamaican medicinal plants for trade to the UK

Description of research proposal
The focus of this project will be ethnobotanical research into Jamaican harvesters of wild medicinal plants
to supply the trade of root tonics to the UK. It will provide accurate documentation of the plants used in
root tonics, explore how they are selected and contextualise the practice of wild harvesting within the
social and trade networks of the Jamaican diaspora. This will contribute to discussions of both
ethnobiological knowledge systems and migrant ethnobotany by accurately documenting the plants used
at source and understanding the development of environmental-medical knowledge under conditions of
globalisation.

Questions
This research will seek to answer the following questions:
Which plants are used in root tonics and how are they selected? Which parts are harvested and what is
the cultural significance of the emphasis on roots and on wild harvesting? How does this relate to
documented use of root tonics and their ingredients in West Africa and the Caribbean?
Who harvests wild plants for root tonics? What is their relationship to their environment? How is
knowledge about the selection, classification, harvesting method and medicinal use of these plants
transmitted in the communities that harvest these plants?
How are these processes affected by commercialisation? What links can be made between this 'local'
knowledge and the global networks it is situated within? How is this affected by local and global power
relations?