Segredos da Floresta / Environmental knowledge / Príncipe

A living plant archive built to keep local knowledge visible.

Segredos da Floresta turns knowledge about medicinal plants on Príncipe into a structured public reference, connecting botanical names, local names, photographs, preparation context, and the people who carried that knowledge across generations.

Visit the live site Back to HAAM Africa

Príncipe plant record

One plant, several names, one shared memory

Knowledge lives when people can find it.

portfolio year

2017

The project entered the HAAM portfolio as a digital home for environmental and medicinal-plant knowledge.

plant records

The current public directory presents twelve medicinal plants found on the island of Príncipe.

naming systems

Records connect botanical classification with Portuguese and local names including Forro, Angolar, and Lung'ie.

current role

Archive

The live site preserves research, photographs, films, and attribution as an accessible public record.

The premise

The interface had to organize knowledge without flattening where it came from.

Medicinal plants are not generic content objects. Each record carries scientific classification, several local names, visual identification, uses, preparation knowledge, precautions, and relationships to people and place.

The website therefore needed to behave like a careful field guide while keeping the wider purpose visible: preserve a natural and cultural inheritance that remains important to residents of Príncipe.

The interaction model

Orient first. Identify next. Read the knowledge in context.

01Understand the project
The opening explains why traditional plant knowledge matters and identifies the research and community context behind it.
02Find a plant
A repeatable directory lets visitors scan botanical, Portuguese, and local names rather than rely on one vocabulary.
03Open the record
Photography and structured details turn each plant into a reference that can support learning and preservation.

Knowledge architecture

Design around the many ways a person may know the same plant.

A scientific name may be useful to a researcher while a local name may be the only meaningful entry point for a resident. The structure makes those vocabularies coexist instead of forcing one to replace another.

Repeatable records create consistency across a varied knowledge set
Botanical and vernacular names remain visible together
The directory supports recognition before deep reading

Attribution

Keep the knowledge holders inside the story of the product.

The project identifies FORBIOSTP, local organizations, ethnopharmacologist Maria do Céu Madureira, ATTRAP, and traditional therapists involved in the collection. That provenance is part of the interface's trust layer.

Community participation is named rather than implied
Research coordination and institutional support are recorded
The website acts as an archive of relationships as well as plants

Responsible use

Make preservation useful without presenting the archive as medical advice.

Plant knowledge becomes more valuable when people can find and understand it, but health-related content also needs persistent context, source confidence, and precautions. The product should make those boundaries clearer as the archive grows.

Separate cultural and educational records from clinical claims
Keep preparation and precaution information close to each use
Create a review model before adding more records or languages

What remains

The strongest outcome is a reference people can return to.

The live site already holds a coherent collection of plant records and source context. Its lasting value is less about campaign traffic and more about whether the knowledge remains discoverable, attributable, understandable, and cared for over time.

Next product decision

Add synonym-aware discovery and visible governance.

Support search by scientific, Portuguese, and local names, then show who supplied, reviewed, permitted, and last updated each record. Safety notes should remain visible throughout the reading journey.

Project record

A digital layer for knowledge gathered with local practitioners.

This case study focuses on HAAM's role in shaping the public website and information experience. The knowledge itself comes from the research, organizations, and traditional therapists credited by the project.

Project: Segredos da Floresta: Plantas medicinais da Ilha do Príncipe
Location: Príncipe, São Tomé and Príncipe
Research context: FORBIOSTP
Coordination: Maria do Céu Madureira
Community partner: ATTRAP and participating traditional therapists
HAAM role: Website, information architecture, and digital knowledge presentation

Continue exploring

See the other projects shaped by African contexts.

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