The Kani people belong to one of the poorest tribes in the southern Indian state of Kerala. Rain-forest dwellers, they live in flimsy shacks, sleeping each night with the fear that a passing herd of wild elephants could trample them to death. But even in poverty, the Kanis haven't forgotten their mythical past. They believe they are the descendants of Agastya, chief physician to the gods, and that his wisdom of healing has passed down to them through the ages.

This wisdom may turn out to be the Kanis' modern-day salvation. One of their medicinal discoveries has been developed as an energy powder by a team of Indian scientists, who have agreed to pay the tribe a portion of royalties they receive from commercial drug companies. This novel agreement is viewed by many conservationists as a model for how both sides can benefit when researchers agree to abide by the 1992 United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity and share profits with indigenous people.

It all began around 10 years ago when two tribesmen, Mallan Kani and Kutty Mathan Kani, were hired as guides for botanists from the Trivandrum-based Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute (TBGRI) on a research trip in the coastal hills. The trek was arduous--the hills are known for their gluttonous leeches--and the exhausted scientists kept pausing for breath. Their guides, though, were unfazed by the exertions. Asked why, the tribesmen produced a stash of pale-green berries and offered them around. "I felt a sudden flush of energy and strength," recalls S. Rajasekharan, an ethnomedicine expert. He and his colleagues decided to check the plant for its medicinal properties.

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