Community Herbal Projects
There are many incredible herbal projects so take a look and get inspired!
If you know of any more please let us know and we will add them.
This is a clinic based in Algiers, New Orleans that was set up be activists and medics a week after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. It is now an integrated health clinic with herbalists and medics working alongside each other to provide low cost health care to the predominantly uninsured.
This is a herb shop set up by some wonderful herbalist friends Amy, Jen, Rachael and Wendy.
The Ithaca Free Clinic is a clinic in New York state which is open to all uninsured members of the community. There are volunteer doctors and acupuncturists as well as the herbal side run by the great herbalist 7 song. It was set up in the belief that access to health care is a right, and not a privilege.
- Street Level Health Project, Oakland, California
This is a clinic in Oakland which offers free health screening to all low-wage workers who do not have health insurance. They offer conventional medical treatments as well as an afternoon a week of free herbal and nutritional consultations.
The Compassion Club is based in Vancouver and is a referral place for people to access medicinal marijuana. Our friend Jasmyn is the herbalist who was involved in setting up the Wellness Centre which is next door and was established to create a model of non-profit community-based health care. They offer low cost herbal treatments amongst other therapies, all subsidized by the Compassion Club.
This is a community health centre in New York that has the most inspiring political focus of any community health project we have come across. Amongst many healthcare options they provide sliding scale individual herbal consultations, workshops and herb walks around Brooklyn.
- Radical Herb Gatherings (no website)
These are gatherings held in North America combining social justice issues and herbal medicine. So far there are 2 regional ones but there were rumblings there is going to be a Southeast one this year. We hope to be able to be part of organising the first UK Radical Herb Gathering in 2012.
This network emerged from an the organizing collective that founded the Annual Grassroots Community Herbal Convergence, a gathering in the Northeast US which brings people together to discuss social justice and anti-oppression issues within herbalism. They now facilitate incredible health justice trainings which are cultural competency trainings geared towards herbalists, health care providers, and educators whose are involved in creating inclusive health care projects.
- Nothwest Pacific Radical Herb Gathering (no website)
The first one was in 2010.
This is a free herbal walk-in clinic set up in 2008 by herbalists wanting to offer time, energy and training so that anyone, regardless of financial situation, can have access to herbal health care.
- First Herbal CSA (Community supported agriculture)
Goldthread Herb Farm is a Medicinal Herb Farm in the hills of Conway, Massachusetts. They run a Herbal CSA which provides an opportunity to collaborate with the growers of medicinal plants. When you purchase a share, it helps support the growing and processing of the herbs into medicines. In return, a buyer will receive a variety of herbs in exchange.
