Indigenous Knowledge and Sustainable Community Human Health in Chivi, Zimbabwe

This chapter examined use of Indigenous knowledge on herbs to ensure sustainable health lives during COVID-19 pandemic restrictions on Indigenous communities in Chivi, Zimbabwe. The study used an interpretive research paradigm in which a multiple case study design was adopted. Data was collected from ten herbalists through open-ended interviews and site visits. Findings show that communities were no longer fully accessing their conventional medicines due to the restrictive movements imposed by the COVID-19 disease. Data show that community members had a rich knowledge of herbs which they believed were useful to cure various human diseases within their locality inclusive of stomach aches, skin wounds, high blood pressure, and common cold. The chapter concludes that Indigenous people have useful IK that they can use to sustainably manage their health challenges when movement is restricted by COVID-19 disease. It is recommended that IK methods of curing diseases be integrated into mainstream health systems to ensure sustainable healthy societies among Indigenous people.