<![CDATA[Family Medicinal Plants (Tanaman Obat Keluarga / TOGA) are widely cultivated and used for household self-care across Indonesia. Despite established national promotion programs, the cultural beliefs, intergenerational practices, and social dynamics sustaining TOGA use at the community level remain insufficiently understood. This study explored community members’ lived experiences of TOGA as household self-care, focusing on the cultural knowledge, social relationships, and health-seeking behaviors shaping this practice in Terjun Village, Medan City, Indonesia. An interpretive (hermeneutic) phenomenological design was employed. Twenty-one participants were recruited through purposive maximum-variation sampling. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, household garden observations, and document review. Thematic analysis was guided by the lifeworld dimensions of embodiment, temporality, relationality, and spatiality. Trustworthiness was ensured through member checking, peer debriefing, and reflexive journaling. Four themes emerged: (1) intergenerational transmission of plant knowledge through practice and observation; (2) the home garden as an accessible, trusted, and affordable source of remedies; (3) family and community social norms reinforcing TOGA use; and (4) growing uncertainty when traditional knowledge encounters biomedical guidance regarding dosage, safety, and herb–drug interactions. TOGA self-care reflects a culturally embedded and intergenerationally transmitted household health practice with important implications for community health programming. Public health programs should provide culturally sensitive education regarding herbal safety, herb–drug interactions, and dosage using household measures through existing community health cadre networks to support the safe integration of traditional practices into primary health care.]]>
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