I steered my little Nissan rental car higher… deeper into Jamaica’s John Crow Mountains. S-curves and switchbacks emerged suddenly out of the sheets of blinding rain.
As the storm finally began to clear, I spotted a cluster of tin-roofed houses and tiny shops. I had reached my destination: the home of Jamaica’s last living Maroon healer, Ivelyn Harris.
For centuries, the Maroons have been among the world’s most skilled herbalists. With just the plants growing in their mountain home, their healers may have already conquered problems that still challenge modern medicine. For example, I’d heard stories that…