Community

Today has brought a gentle rain to the parched hills. It has been a real scorcher in Ireland this summer, as we are under a drought warning and the typically green hills have faded to a crispy yellow.

The rain comes to us like the most precious gift, a soft and steady sprinkling, slowly working its way into the land, quenching her thirst and our own. But around the world, extreme heat is still ravaging communities and landscapes. Our hearts also feel the flames, anxiously responding to the relentless aggression of war and greed.

The study of herbalism has taught me that everything has a season.  And that every season brings characteristics or qualities that paradoxically challenge us, while also offering us the potential for wondrous gifts.

Summer opens our hearts. And while this can create feelings of desperate vulnerability and anxiety, it also allows for deep love and radical caring.

The practice of community herbalism and community care is a choice we can make every day. Doing the herbwork, inspired by deep love for our neighbors and the land, offers real protection against the burning inferno of ____________ (your choice fill in the blank: militarized techno-feudalism; hyper-capitalism; corporate imperialism; ecocidal oligarchy, etc.).

The rains today are slow and steady, as is the path we can walk together. When we garden alongside one another, when we create remedies together to share across the kitchen table or in the streets, we are building a community beyond commodity.

Thank you rain. Thank you passionflower and rose. Thank you seaweed and blue vervain.

Herbally yours,
Lorna

P.S. You can view all this month’s happenings in our newsletter here.

The sun is high, the blossoms are heady, and I hope you all are getting plenty of time to sit with the plants and walk through the woods. The most healing medicine happens when we take the time to watch a squirrel scamper through the branches of a linden tree or to notice a lovely swath of mallow growing along a sandy path.

I’ve spent the past few weeks doing a lot of plant rambling and flower gazing and am thrilled to once again be heading off to the wild west of Ireland on the Wild Routes Tour. This will be my 10th tour with what is a lovely crew of herbalists, foragers, craftsmen, storytellers, and stewards of this sacred (and vulnerable) land. I’ve gathered my herbal first aid kits, field guides and walking stick and look forward to the start of our next adventure.

And now a request to our Herbalista members ––

When we first built the online Toolkit, the dream was simple: to share the recipes, forms, and project protocols that worked for us with all the other folks out there, trying to do community herbwork. Whether you’re running a mobile clinic or brewing kitchen medicine for your neighbors, this Toolkit belongs to all of us.

And just like a garden, it needs a little tending to thrive!

We want to make sure these tools are serving you just as you need. If you have about 5 minutes to spare, we would be so grateful if you could share your feedback with us. Which resources are your absolute go-tos? What’s missing from the kit? How can we make things easier?

Please help us support all y’all herbalistas working the streets, the fields, the kitchens and the apothecaries by completing this short survey.

Thank you so much for your feedback, your generosity, and for being such a vital part of this growing community. It takes a village. ????

Herbally yours,
Lorna

P.S. You can view all this month’s happenings in our newsletter here.

Remember when we actually believed that the digital revolution was going to benefit the environment and save the planet? No more cutting down trees for all that paper! No more burning all that fossil fuel to deliver all that mail!

It turned out quite differently. Instead of benefitting the environment, the digital industrial complex is now the biggest threat to it.

Here in Ireland, while we were trying to move towards renewable energy and away from fossil fuel, our electricity grid has been hijacked by data centres whose electricity usage has quadrupled in the past 10 years. They are now sucking close to a quarter of our electricity which is more than all residential households combined.

We are at 141 data centres and counting. And with the AI boom, this is only going to get worse. Much worse.

Ireland will never be able to keep up with this demand, much less using renewables. The tech companies know it, the ecologists know it, the government knows it, and the people know it.

Cue rising energy costs for you and me (all the while data centres get subsidized electricity).

Cue desperation and fuel protests (and the protesters being ignored for days on end and even vilified for daring to voice their grievances)

Cue the government refusing to address the real issues because at this point they are completely dependent on the tech industry. (The stats are mindboggling – 40% of Ireland’s entire corporation tax take was paid by two tech companies alone)

Cue the people coming together to defend this incredible island.

Cue the Friends of the Earth Ireland suing Ireland’s Energy Regulator for allowing the continued expansion of these data centres at no matter the environmental cost. https://www.friendsoftheearth.ie/…/friends-of-the…/

Cue the Stop the spin on Maughanaclea campaign working to protect the Maughanaclea hills in West Cork from a massive industrial wind farm that will dig up and destroy upland blanket bog, one of our most important carbon sinks.

Cue us all taking a look at our own relationship with the digital world. And no, it’s not lost on me that I’m doing this post on my website. I suppose there are times that we have to work through the very system we are critical of, in order to create the change we need.

While I want nothing more than for you to join us at one of our offerings this month, even more important is that no matter where you are, you are able to simply enjoy the gifts of spring.

May you all know the joy of spending a sunny afternoon picking chickweed to make a lovely herbal pesto or harvesting dandelion leaves, nettles, and violets to set up a quart of Spring Lymph Vinegar Tonic. 

May you feel the excitement of ephemeral meanderings through the countryside, discovering the delicate blossoms of bloodroot and hepatica.

And may you be able to do these things without fear or foreboding.

And knowing that there are so many who do not have that chance, who are living under siege, whose lives have been shattered and loved ones ripped away, may the spring awaken us to the choice that lies before us and inspire us to action. 

Because in the words of Dr. King (delivered at Riverside Church in the spring of 1967, a year to the day before his assassination),

“We still have a choice today: nonviolent coexistence or violent co-annihilation. We must move past indecision to action…If we do not act, we shall surely be dragged down the long, dark, and shameful corridors of time reserved for those who possess power without compassion, might without morality, and strength without sight. Now let us begin. Now let us rededicate ourselves to the long and bitter, but beautiful, struggle for a new world.”

Bitter but beautiful...a phrase that not only captures the struggle for justice, but I imagine might also be a bit of a rallying call for us herbalistas. ????

Herbally yours,
Lorna

P.S. You can view all this month’s happenings in our newsletter here.

Herbalista doesn’t recognize a line between herbal medicine and politics. When practicing as a community herbalist, we see first hand that political decisions have real world consequences and can have dramatic impacts our health.

If we truly believe in preventative and holistic healthcare, we must not only face these issues, but put on our critical thinking hats and get involved.

The roots of ill health have been repeatedly linked to the challenges we face in our daily lives. I’ve always appreciated these words by Dr. Sandeep Jauhar, written in a NYT’s article entitled When Blood Pressure is Political.

“The body doesn’t so much defend a particular set point as allow it to fluctuate in response to changing demands, including those of one’s social circumstances…Today it is clear that chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and heart-failure are inextricably linked to the state of our neighborhoods, jobs and families. We must use this information in the fight against rising income inequality, high imprisonment rates and other social problems.”

In order to promote vitality and wellness within our communities, we must become active participants in untangling the social barriers that stand in the way of respectful and loving interactions. We must honestly assess the economic, environmental, domestic and foreign policies that are polluting the earth while creating unbreakable cycles of poverty and oppression. We must stand together as community herbalists for a more vibrant and equitable world.

From time to time I receive responses to my newsletter that tells me either I have no business bringing politics into the world of herbal medicine or simply throws venomous insults my way, which I assume to mean they disagree with me. In case there has been any confusion about my understanding of what it means to be a community herbalist, to be an HERBALISTA, I would like to state clearly my definition

herbalista noun

US /ˈhɜː.bəl.ˈiːs.tə/ Ireland /ˈɜː.bəl.ˈiːs.tə/

a person who practices the healing uses of herbs within their community; AND addresses the root causes of illness and imbalance (including societal and political factors); AND freely shares their knowledge with others; AND works to keep herbal medicine accessible to all.

Now, if this perspective isn’t for you, you are under no obligation to work with us, to study with us, or to read our newsletter. The choice is yours. Because in addition to believing in freedom of access, I also believe in the freedom of chioce

Herbs not Bombs

On March 20, 2003, the Earth’s tilted orbit shifted us into spring, kids everywhere tried balancing eggs on tabletops, and I should have been celebrating my 25th birthday. But that was also the day that the United States of America invaded Iraq, starting an oily war that led to a million dead, millions more wounded, intergenerational trauma, the normalization of torture, the severe mental degradation of combatants on all sides, environmental destruction…and well, the list of the horrific consequences of war is long.

I was living in New York City at the time and I remember feeling so betrayed by that news, having joined the 10 million people who took to the streets around the world, just one month prior, in what is still considered the largest protest in human history. Millions spoke in unison to tell their governments: NO TO WAR. 

And still, we went to war. 

On March 20, 1951, the democratically elected government of Iran nationalized their oil, freeing themselves from decades of British economic control. They moved decisively towards the creation of labor rights and worker protections. They protected free and fair elections. They started land reforms, redistributing land previously held by the few to be shared by the many. They strengthened press freedoms and expanded political participation.

Within 2 years they were overthrown by a CIA- and MI6-orchestrated coup. And a year later, the 1954 Oil Consortium Agreement gave half of Iranian oil revenues to western companies. The US got 40% of the foreign shares.  

And now here we are. Another spring. Another war.

And another birthday….

And while I’m keeping my birthday wish a secret (per standard birthday-wish protocol), I will boldly ask for a gift from you all: if you would kindly roll up your sleeves, gather your comrades and join me in doing some community herbwork, wherever you are.

Plant rambles, community medicine making sessions, herbcare stations, seed swap parties – let’s celebrate spring through acts of herbal mutual aid. Let’s build community through herbalism. Let’s make and share herbs not bombs.

Herbally yours,
Lorna

P.S. You can view all this month’s happenings in our newsletter here.

With all that is happening around the world and in our hearts, this was never going to be a short newsletter. And with a community of over 22,000 people strong, I’m so very grateful for this opportunity to share with you all.

I have filled this newsletter with an array of tools – some to mend our hearts, some to bring us closer together, and hopefully, plenty that will help us offer herbal support in meaningful ways during these unsettling times.

And speaking of togetherness – we’ve lots of opportunities to gather this month, from the Fire Cider Brigade to the Learning Garden to our online Member meet-up. Herbalista also now has a Member Map, designed to help people find herbal comrades in their neck of the woods.

So please reach out to your neighbors. Help a stranger in need. Create community one herbcare pack at a time. Because we are always stronger when we stand together.

You can view all this month’s happenings in our newsletter here.

Herbally yours,
Lorna