1: Do you remember using or do you still use any traditional remedies?
During my childhood, homeopathy provided remedies for all little (and bigger) ailments. However, I’ve grown quite skeptical of it and stopped using it a long time ago. Apart from that, I remember little traditional remedies. I used plantain whenever I fell into nettles (which happened a lot), I would drink ginger tea with honey against cough, sage tea for a sore throat, and lemon balm tea always helps to balance my mood.
2: Note down a few herbs which you see for sale locally (therapeutic herbs).
I found that some Surinam and Indian supermarkets have large assortments (e.g., dried rose/lavender/jasmine flowers or petals, and much that I don’t recognize). I also know of Jacob Hooy’s herbal pharmacy in the center. They seem to have pretty much everything for cosmetics, tea, spices, etc.
4: Briefly describe what you understand the Doctrine of Signatures to mean.
The theory is that plants are shaped according to their healing properties (e.g., lungwort is shaped like lungs, therefore it should help with lung-related issues). I read that the belief behind it is that the Christian god wanted to show humans which plants are used for what. I find that somehow both endearing but also a bit infantilizing. Of course, a plant’s shape is unrelated to its healing properties; it might sometimes align but only by chance. Relying on this theory can be dangerous.