Chris Kilham

Chris is my beloved husband and a most amazing intelligent optimist with a heart as big as ever : ) I work and travel with Chris so I see him in action. The work sounds romantic and in many ways it is -- but it also very challenging work. Being on the frontline means witnessing first hand some of the most difficult examples of the human being's destructive tenancy. Remaining optimistic within this line of work takes a special sort of character. Chris' hope is inspiring to many.

In Chris' own words: "My job is to accomplish three things: to deliver healing benefits to the market, to help preserve the natural environment by keeping areas agriculturally based and, to enhance living conditions for indigenous people."- Medicine Hunter Chris Kilham

In a nutshell:

Medicine Hunter Chris Kilham travels the world in search of traditional, plant-based medicines and works with shamans, healers, growers, harvesters, scientists, trade officials and other plant medicine experts in dozens of countries.

These people adore him. He is like a hero from another world. I've seen it.

Plant medicines are used by over 5 billion people worldwide. With Chris' gift for communicating, he helps people understand the important role of plant medicines in the world.

Currently, global health care is in crisis, the natural environment is undergoing widespread devastation, and indigenous people and their knowledge are disappearing at a rapid rate. What can we do to help? Chris' focus is on traditional plant-based medicines and their sustainable trade as a way to contribute to a better world.

CNN calls Chris “The Indiana Jones of natural medicine.”

Chris Kilham is a medicine hunter, author and educator. The founder of Medicine Hunter Inc., Chris has conducted medicinal research in over 20 countries including India, China, Siberia, Brazil, Venezuela, Peru, Chile, Vanuatu South Pacific, Lebanon, Syria, Ghana, Austria, Germany, Thailand, Malaysia, Morocco and the US.

Chris is Explorer in Residence at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where he teaches the popular ethnobotany course, The Shaman’s Pharmacy™, through the department of Plant & Soil Sciences. Chris also conducts botanical educational programs for the natural products trade.

Chris is the host of Medicine Trail™, a series of television specials on medicinal plants shot on location around the world. The first two programs, shot in Peru and Malaysia, are currently in international distribution. More Medicine Trail specials are scheduled.

Chris has worked with numerous companies to develop and popularize traditional plant-based food and medicinal products into market successes. These successes include kava, maca, horny goat weed, catuaba, tamanu oil, herbal beverages and dozens of other plants.

Chris is the author of fourteen books, including Hot Plants, The Five Tibetans, Psyche Delicacies, Tales from the Medicine Trail and Kava, Medicine Hunting in Paradise. Chris also writes articles on plant medicines for several publications.

He held the diplomatic post of Honorary Consul to the United States for the Republic Of Vanuatu from 1997 through 2000. Chris has been featured in numerous newspaper and magazine articles. He hosted his own health-oriented talk radio programs in the Boston area for five years.

Chris has appeared as a guest expert on over several hundred radio and television programs including news programs on ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN, MSNBC, BBC and NPR. As a guest he has spoken about medicine hunting, traditional botanical medicines, nutraceuticals, environmental and cultural preservation and other related topics for a wide variety of audiences. Chris has appeared on over 1500 radio programs and more than 500 TV programs worldwide. He is a regular guest with America’s Doctor™, Dr. Mehmet Oz on Oprah & Friends. Over the past 12 months Chris has been featured in Psychology Today, The New York Times, International Herald Tribune, CNBC Power Lunch, HD Net World Report, Prevention Magazine, ABC 20/20, NBC Nightly News, PBS Healing Quest and Fox News (in order of appearance.)

An avid body surfer and adventure traveler, Chris lives and works in Massachusetts with his wife Zoe Helene and their dog Boo. Chris and Zoe travel the globe on Medicine Hunter expeditions, and work together to promote plant medicines, environmental protection and cultural preservation.