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This work carried out a multi-criteria analysis of the medicinal plants grown in the village "Altos de Ceylan," municipality of Viotá (Cundinamarca, Colombia), as a step towards the ecological certification and sustainable use of the existing plant biodiversity in Colombia, combined with the dialogue of knowledge, which is aimed at rescuing traditional knowledge by local communities and building new insights. The multi-criteria analysis allowed us to define the environmental and economic criteria weighted for the selection of the medicinal plants to be certified as ecological products. "The dialogue of knowledge" is a methodology that establishes an exchange of knowledge between the academy --in this case, Universidad Colegio Mayor de Cundinamarca and the National University of Colombia--, researchers and local communities, represented in this study by women belonging to "Seeds of Hope and Peace, Association of Women Victims of Armed Conflict" [Asociación Semillas de Esperanza y Paz de Mujeres Víctimas del Conflicto Armado] (Asepamuvic). The insights built encompassed traditional knowledge regarding the cultivation, management and use of locally-grown medicinal and aromatic plants, making it possible to identify promising species such as sábila (Aloe vera Linnaeus), lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus), prontoalivio (Lippia alba-Verbena), chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla Linneo), mint (Mentha piperita Linneo), thyme (Pectis graveolens Klatt), parsley (Petroselinum crispum (Mill.)), and rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis Linneo), based on the analysis of environmental and economic criteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]