acupressure barefot doctors

July 31, 2002

Dear List,

This Friday will hold a talk for "promoters de slud" health promoters although suspect the English language term does not denote the same thing. Either way health promoters are people from all walks of life mainly rural and sub-standard economically speaking.

The main bodies that promote this aspects is the cat-o-holic church (in does seam like an addiction here the church aspects)

And NGO's most which grow out of the resistance and or popular moment.

I mention this in the sense that this explains some of the "particularise" that exist within the "persona" (Xing?) of the health promoters.

They have been related to the Barefoot doctors movement in China but think this is more a promotional scam then similiaries in infrastructure. Since less I am mistaking in mainland China the government promoted and "veto" what was deem necessary-acceptable and such wonderfull historico-practical documents such as A barefoot Doctors Manual Hunan Traditional Medicine Institute (I think was the publisher). Also, there was actually some training in terms of a course that maybe lasted from 6 months to 3 years? (very much in interested in the history of the barefoot movement and specially with regard to training just in case any one cares to comment)

At a glans although traditional theory was downplayed to the point of apartheid the book has evidence of traditional theory or reminisce there of.

Whereas at the moment in Guatemala most work done for health promoters has up till now been ignored and certainly does not consider the slightest possibility of a paradigm other then the western cosmovision has regarding health and illness i.e. total exclusion. Hence the didactic material is very disjointed and remote from the general conceptualisation of the majorities of the health workers and it seams to be interpretated differently from those that promote the didactic material and those that receive the material.

This total exclusion policy by the church well meaning ongs and the state has render Maya medicine totally out side the scope of health promoters although they sometimes live side by side and on day to day basis will have some sort of interaction hopefully turning for the better.

Also,In 1979 the first document that I am aware of states that acupuncture(recipes) should be thought to the health promoters because it is seen as acheap resource, but nothing concrete has come out of it.From personal communication The doctors that where in the resistance at somestage had interactive experience with Cuban doctors that thougth some toneedled also recipe acupuncture. i.e. some doctors in CPR i.e. Peoplescommunities in Resistance mainly "impenetrable mountain forest" areaspracticed some form of acupuncture mainly:

"This point for that".Hence acupuncture up till now has not been taken seriously (or Chinese medicine which can possibly contribute vastly on how to use drogas naturales in Guatemala), probably becauseit has had no theoretical ground work to relay experience and to furtheronce practical knowledge from. There has been in the city also since the late seventies some individualsfor reasons currently unknown to me, that have promoted them self asacupuncturists and doctors there of. My initial impression is that they haveand are directing there efforts to the wealthy classes (nothing wrong withthat but why to the exclusion of others, if we are dealing with medicine?)and as such acumoxa and or Chinese medicine has not taken root because bydefault the needs of the general population has never been on the agenda forthe second main category involved in so call acupuncture in Guatemala.

Coming back to the subject "acupressure" is there a Chinese term for it and or does Chinese medicine see this as a half hearted interpretation of Tui Nai and or other therapeutic message?

Any interesting comments that I can forward this Friday at ASECSA - Asociacion de Servicios Comunitarios de Salud with regard to say "acupressure" and its use in a community orientated setting are most welcome.

Marco Apologies if this letter is out side the topic of this list server if so please comment of line i.e. the list owners.