The Importance of Social Capital in the Promotion of Community Development and the Enhancement of Local Health System

Despite the interest in social capital, the value of this concept for health promotion and inequality reduction has yet to be firmly established. Although it has been suggested that the concept of social capital may be useful for exploring factors within individual and social health and for identifying different approaches to community-based healthcare, the interlinkages between primary healthcare, social capital and community development have yet to be considered in much detail. The purpose of this article is to analyse, through the examination of a case study from southern India (Tamil Nadu), how far social capital can trigger community participation and an effective process of enhancement of basic health system in rural areas, while conserving local medicinal knowledge. The case study is represented by Gram Mooligai Limited Company (GMLC), an innovative female community enterprise of tribal herb gatherers which commercialises medicinal plants and produces phytomedicines, using their traditional knowledge in ethnomedicine.