NDMU MS Chemistry Students Engage Indigenous Community in Medicinal-Plant Learning

Graduate School MS Chemistry students of Notre Dame of Marbel University (NDMU), together with Dr. Noemi Silva and the Center for Peace and Community Extension, conducted a community engagement activity on 12 September 2026 at the Indigenous Learning School in Sitio Tinuos, Barangay Takunel, Lake Sebu, South Cotabato.

The activity focused on validating indigenous medicinal plants, identifying additional plants known by community members, promoting medicinal-plant gardening, and assessing community needs for future extension programs. A key feature was the two-way exchange of knowledge, with community elders sharing traditional practices in herbal healing while the students connected their chemistry and research knowledge with actual community practices.

• 

• 

The engagement also strengthened NDMU’s continuing partnership with the indigenous community through shared learning, planting activities, and consultation on future needs. The activity supports the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being through attention to medicinal plants and community health; SDG 4: Quality Education through experiential and community-based learning; SDG 15: Life on Land through the promotion and cultivation of medicinal plants; and SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals through sustained collaboration between the university and the community.