When people in Gulrez, a small village in eastern Tajikistan, feel unwell, they don't always travel to the nearest town for medical care. Instead, they often turn to Dzhamolov Mahmadali, a local healer in their community, who offers natural treatment using plants from the surrounding mountains.

"I prepare medicine from what grows near us," he says. "People come to me because they trust these remedies. They've known them since childhood."

Inside his workspace in a small room in his home, Mahmadali sorts dried herbs into open wooden compartments, each labeled and carefully arranged. The scent of mountain thyme, seabuckthorn and wild carnation (Mahalaska) fills the air. A small grinding machine sits next to an oil extractor—modern tools that have changed the way Mahmadali works.

For some of his herbal blends, Mahmadali uses wild carnation and Chi boy, a plant he says helps cleanse the blood. His seabuckthorn oil is one of the most requested remedies.

Across Tajikistan, traditional healing is closely tied to the country's rich agrobiodiversity. Dozens of native medicinal species grow here, including ferula, licorice and seabuckthorn. These herbs have long been part of daily life, used in household remedies local diets and passed down through generations.

Born and raised in Gulrez, Mahmadali, 39, learned everything he knows from his father, who had himself been trained by a well-known healer from the region.

"I grew up next to my father," he says. "Watching him mix oils, grind leaves and give advice to neighbors."

But this agrobiodiversity is under threat. Climate change, overharvesting, overgrazing and land-use changes are making many plants harder to find or even disappearing completely. At the same time, younger generations are growing more distant from local culture, leading to greater loss of the knowledge itself.

Recognizing the important role of agrobiodiversity in rural diets, livelihoods and traditional knowledge, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), with support from the Global Environment Facility (GEF), is working with local communities to promote biodiversity and the sustainable use of local plants through training and awareness raising of its value for food, health and income.

In this mountainous area, where roads are rough and clinics are hours away, people have long depended on traditional medicine. In fact, in many rural parts of Tajikistan, medicinal plants are still the first line of care. Local healers use their knowledge of herbs, roots, and extracts to treat common ailments.

Mahmadali formalized his knowledge in 2015, completing a six-month course in traditional medicine at a medical training center in Dushanbe. After that, he received a license from the Ministry of Health to practice officially. But even with the training, he faced serious limitations.

"All the preparation was done by hand," he says. "Cutting, drying, and grinding took too long. I couldn't always help people quickly enough. Sometimes I had to send them away."

The work was slow and physically demanding. Without equipment or support, Mahmadali often felt stuck.

In 2023, Mahmadali received training through the project on safe harvesting, drying and storage methods. FAO also provided him with basic equipment: a herb grinder, an oil extractor and simple tools for planting and fieldwork, including a manual seeder and sprayer. These reduced the physical workload and helped improve the consistency of his remedies.

"We collect herbs during the season, after September," he says. "Then we dry, clean and prepare them. With the new tools, I can do in hours what used to take days."

Today, Mahmadali serves around 10 to 15 patients per week. Some come from nearby villages and other districts, drawn by his reputation as a skilled healer. His herbs are sorted and labeled in a shaded, clean workspace. The drying area is protected from direct sunlight, and he prepares each mixture with care, adjusting ingredients based on individual needs.

In some areas, FAO is also promoting the use of diverse, locally grown nutritious plants to support rural diets and livelihoods. These efforts help conserve healing plants while giving communities practical reasons to protect and pass on their knowledge.

When communities continue to grow, gather and use local plants, they help keep that knowledge alive. Agrobiodiversity supports not just food and health, but also identity and resilience in rural areas.

"Tajikistan is the homeland of valuable crop varieties and their wild relatives," says Carolina Starr, FAO Agricultural Officer. "By reconnecting with these naturally growing species and the knowledge tied to them, communities like Mahmadali's are helping conserve this diversity and strengthen nutrition and resilience."

Mahmadali also noticed that fewer young people were interested in learning. He started to think more seriously about what might be lost if things didn't change.

"We were losing not only the plants, but the knowledge," he says. "And once it's lost, it's hard to bring back."

For his part, Mahmadali is teaching his own children these methods, continuing the family tradition. "I have five children. One of them is really interested. He watches me work and asks questions."

The support has made a difference in his family's life too. Thanks to better tools and training, his income has improved, and he has more time for his family.

Mahmadali is proud to carry on the work of his father. He sees traditional healing as not just a livelihood, but as it's a way to care for both people and the environment.

"If we protect these plants and pass on the knowledge, our communities can stay healthy for generations," he says. "This isn't just my work. It's part of who we are."

The story and photos can be found here: https://www.fao.org/newsroom/story/healing-hands-and-healing-plants-of-tajikistan/en