Our History

Where we came from
Any dream starts with a vision – a spark – and NDI was no different. Sitting in a living room in Portland, Oregon in the summer of 2003, Tabatha Parker, Michael Owen and Laurent Chaix brainstormed about how naturopathic medicine could be offered to at-need communities around the world. Our goal was to build an organization dedicated to bringing healthcare to all while at the same time creating socially responsible opportunities for naturopathic physicians and other providers of natural medicine. We realized there was a gap in international medical relief – no organization was dedicated to natural medicine. No organization that is, until now.

Our pilot NDI clinic is in Nicaragua in the Moyogalpa Health Center. Volunteer ND's live and serve on the island of Ometepe, the second poorest  country in the Western hemisphere. As primary health care providers, NDI doctors work side by side with MD’s in the only 24-hour healthcare center on the island.  Everyday NDI physicians provide free healthcare and utilize their full scope of practice, which may include minor surgery, IV therapy, naturopathic midwifery, pharmaceuticals, nutracueticals, homeopathics, botanical medicine, or physical medicine. Our docs provide house calls for elderly patients and others unable to come to the hospital and are encouraged to lead and participate in an NDI community project.

                                                             Our vision for the future
Our vision for the future is to have NDI clinics and volunteers worldwide. We wish to work with the larger global health community to bring issues of health equity and equal access to medicine. We work to give the poorest people in the world the choice of healthcare that is people centered. We are physicians who listen, and in every community we become a part of, we are committed to listening to the needs of the people we serve to improve health on a global scale. Our vision is to work collaboratively with global health agencies like the World Health Organization and others to bring natural medicine into the global health model.