This study aims to explore such local knowledge by focusing on Faloak (Sterculia quadrifida, R.Br.), a medicinal plant endemic to Timor Island. The objective is to understand how the Atoin Meto people consume and conserve medicinal plants—particularly Faloak—through practices rooted in traditional knowledge that reflect an inherent readiness to protect these plants from disaster-related threats. Using an ethnographic approach and interpretative qualitative analysis, the study reveals two key findings: (1) the consumption of medicinal plants is carried out with close attention to sustainability, employing specific methods embedded in spiritual beliefs and ritual practices; and (2) from these consumption and conservation practices emerges a deep understanding of the complexity of the human relational trilogy—between fellow humans, nature, and the Divine. These relationships are characterized by mutual respect and equality, interdependence and contradiction, care and potential harm. Such relational dynamics constitute a form of disaster preparedness within the Atoin Meto community, addressing intentional and unintentional disasters. This study contributes to the advancement of interdisciplinary approaches in disaster studies, promotes the recognition of local knowledge as a vital component of disaster risk management systems, and opens pathways for the integration of Indigenous knowledge into more inclusive and sustainable formal disaster risk governance frameworks.