Herbalista Blog: Community

The world is full of medicine. 

But given the state of things, you might not believe me.  I mean, if the medicine is everywhere, why are we all so sick?  This is exactly the sort of disconnect that made my tummy hurt as a child and sent my teenage rage spinning out.

Well, I’m sure I don’t have the answer. That would require the world to make sense, for it to be just and predictable.  Well it’s not and it doesn’t and we might have a better chance of survival if more folks would just admit that.

But leaving the chaos that is the human experience aside for the moment, what I think I can say is that no matter the ills, or the grief, or the terror, we can find a medicine that helps us on our journey. 

Because our medicine chest is greater than a pill bottle.  It is filled with wise weeds and with nourishing people, it holds the stars and the blue heron. 

It’s a medicine of place.  And it’s strong.

Herbally yours,
Lorna

Spring is popping! 

Check out what’s happening in this month’s newsletter!

https://mailchi.mp/herbalista/spring_2019

It has been 50 years since the Poor People’s Campaign. Reading these historic demands we might realize that after 5 decades we could simply copy, paste, and resubmit them to the government. Our demands haven’t changed in these 50 years because the situation hasn’t– we still live in a country of great health disparity.

Herbalista believes health care is a human right. And since our government has failed to secure that right for the people, we will begin the work ourselves, serving the people, the land, and creating the world we seek.

Health Demand #3

(Poor People’s Campaign Statement of Demands for Rights of the Poor presented to the US Government, 1968)

“We demand that action be taken to assure that poor people have access to presently existing health services—either through sending medical teams or mobile health units into rural and urban areas…”

Full Statement of Health Demands
https://drive.google.com/…/12xLzorjQUfW1GVdtpmtVbwfWPK…/view

Health Care is a Human Right
https://herbalista.org/resources/links/#healthrights

The photo above was taken at a protest at the Georgia State Capital when the people demanded our state not strike down the Medicaid Expansion of Obamacare (aka the Affordable Care Act.) It shows the Rev. Raphael Warnock, a pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church where MLK used to preach. The quote he holds was made by Dr. King when addressing the 2nd Medical Committee for Human Rights in 1966.

Join the Healing Wheels: Herbalista Community Fundraiser!

Herbalista believes healthcare is a human right.  We provide free, mobile herb clinics in Atlanta and around the world.  With your help, we can continue to put herbal medicine in the hands of the people!

Our goal for this campaign is $15K, which is the average cost for one year’s programming.  Our free clinics serve hundreds each year and with your support we can keep the wheels turning on this important community resource.

We are thrilled to be able to offer a few extra incentives to help us meet our goal, including:

* Matching donations up to $2,000 raised in the first week by the Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine

* Early Bird Perks— such as online herbal courses graciously donated by the Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine and Herbalista Community Project Consultations.

* For all our donors – your name engraved on the hubcaps for the Bus, so no matter where we go, we will be carried by the love and support of our community!

In the United States and in much of the world, quality healthcare is difficult to access. Together we can build a more inclusive model of care, one that acknowledges each person’s unique experience and affirms their humanity.

Herbalista uses mobile medicine as an affordable and practical way to reach and care for underserved communities, and have served thousands since their first clinic, a mere 5 years ago!  Please consider a donation or a share with your friends to help spread the word and keep the wheels turning on this important resource!

Much appreciation to the communities who welcome us into their folds, love to the friends and family who share our journey, and gratitude to the mighty crew who holds it down in the ATL and now DUB to make it all possible.  

And the crew I speak of is larger than Herbalista.  It is larger than the Big House or the Open Door Community or the Apollo House.  Our crew rolls deep.  We may not always know each other, but we are headed in the same direction.  We may not have realized we had each other’s backs, but we defend the same rights and stand by the same ideals.

A big shout-out to the urban agrarians; the homesteaders and humanitarians; the craftsmen and caretakers; the teachers and radicals; the permaculturalists and pacifists; the wellness warriors and earth champions.

Thank you friends of the field, the forest, the street, and the subway.

May we continue to rally together, for health and community!

Posted by November 3, 2014 Clinics, Community, Education, Medicine Making, Projects No Comments

November Herbalista Happenings

Here at Herbalista Headquarters we are always striving to come up with creative ways to make our endeavors sustainable and effective. Being flexible, allowing projects to shift and change over time as new needs are identified and methods realized, encouraging broad participation, focusing on training up the next set of helping hands and new leaders— all of these things are vital ingredients. We borrow often from the principles of “permaculture,” working to minimize waste and valuing feedback and diversity. Being a grassroots healthcare project means not only are we born of the community but must consistently reaffirm our relationship with it. And what better way to weave that web than to encourage active involvement in the day-to-day needs of our clinic. In October we tried out a new workshop model. The theory was simple – combine learning with service. We spent the day learning to make the remedies we use the most on the Bus, with special attention towards wintertime remedies. The supplies fee went towards our herbal ingredients, and 7 hours later folks had acquired new skills and the Bus had new medicines!! A win-win! You can read more about this amazing day here. Thanks to everyone who participated!

For those of you who have been following the work of the Bus, you might have heard mention a service project that has been in development over this past year. After lots of dreaming and scheming, I am pleased to finally announce the start of Herb Cart. This pop-up herbal first aid station will set up at soup kitchens and other marginalized communities around the Atlanta area. This project will offer BOTH healthcare to those in need and an educational opportunity for those looking for more hands-on clinical training. If you are interested in learning more, please read about project details and upcoming Herb Cart Training Workshops.

In this month of Thanksgiving, let us balance giving thanks with taking action. There is a lot of need in our world. I give thanks that there is also a lot of opportunity to address that need. We have many bodies, many brains, many hands, and many hearts. Let’s do this my friends. Together.

~Herbalista Lorna

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