Association Mélisse

Association Mélisse is a French Guiana nonprofit dedicated to promoting and preserving the region’s ethnobotanical knowledge and traditional herbal medicine practices. It brings together researchers, practitioners, local communities, and others interested in documenting and sharing the plant-based knowledge of Guyana’s diverse peoples, including Creole, Indigenous, Bushinengué, Hmong, Brazilian, and Haitian communities. Its work recognizes medicinal plant traditions as both cultural heritage and a valuable field of study.

The association’s activities span the territory and include creating medicinal plant gardens, organizing conferences and training, producing scientific and accessible publications, and arranging exchanges of plants, seeds, and cultivars. It also coordinates mayouri, or collective work gatherings, and leads guided ethnobotanical walks that introduce participants to local plants and their uses. Members can take part in events, training, seed and plant exchanges, walks, and community planting projects. Association Mélisse also highlights Pharmacopées métissées en Guyane, a book by its founding president Marc-Alexandre Tareau, documenting plant-based practices across 19 communities. Through these programs, the association supports the living transmission of Guyanese botanical knowledge.