Plant Medicine and Social Justice Grassroots Remedies

Why Herbalism and Social Justice Cannot Be Separated Grass Roots Remedies Co-op

Grass Roots Remedies Co-operative is a small workers’ co-op based in Edinburgh, with the aim of making folk medicine— the medicine of the people —more accessible. Our co-op members come from a range of backgrounds including Medical Herbalism, herbology (two of us having studied the wonderful Diploma in Herbology programme with Catherine Conway-Payne at RBGE), ecology and permaculture, therapeutic gardening, social and environmental justice, and grassroots organising— a mix demonstrating that the threads of holistic healing and social justice activism are tightly woven into the same tapestry, and cannot be separated.

At the core of our work is our Wester Hailes Community Herbal Clinic, situated in the southwest of Edinburgh, in an area of multiple deprivation; an area that over the past few months has felt the effects of COVID-19 acutely. Our clinic survives on suggested donations and outside funding, when we can find it, with a free education programme running out of a local community garden. Our aim is that local residents should be able to find one-to-one confidential appointments for medical herbal advice, and also come along to our workshops to connect with other like-minded residents, their local green spaces, and the herbs— both wild and cultivated —that grow there. We feel this connection to be a form of community empowerment: given a solid foundation, there is no limit. At the onset of social distancing restrictions in March, our clinic closed for face-to-face consultations and our community workshops were put on hold, making things feel pretty bleak. At this time, we were incredibly lucky to receive some funding to support the communities we work with, so set about making lots of herbal teas, syrups, creams and balms in the hope these would be helpful for folks during the stress of the pandemic. We teamed up with local crisis food provision services to distribute our free herbal remedies. Over the last few months, we have also been able to have a wee stall alongside these takeaway meals, allowing us to chat face-to-face with folk once again. The local people we already know have helped no end, by taking small batches of remedies to people that know them, but don’t know us—their connections helping to convince others to try this weird looking herbal stuff and see if it can be of support.

Why do we so often accept that nice things are only for those that can afford it? How can we expect someone to pay for an ‘alternative’ health treatment at the expense of heating their home, or stocking their fridge? How is the widespread degradation of our environment any different from the degradation of our human society and how do we think we can stop one crisis without tackling the other? The biggest determinant of health in our society today is socio-economic status. We should not be persuaded to focus on how well we look after ourselves individually, by this modern world of ‘self-care’. What about community care? Divide and conquer: the more capitalism can individualize us, the more easily it can sell us things and the more distracted we become from what really matters. The more connected we are, the more we understand each other; the more we value diversity, instead of being scared of it, the more we can support one another.

GRR co-op are delighted to have been asked to write about herbalism and social justice in Herbology News. Over the months, we aim to bring different voices and perspectives to these pages, to inspire readers to think, discuss and to act.

To find out more about us, visit our website (www.grassrootsremedies.co.uk) to watch our wee film about community herbalism in Wester Hailes, or simply get in touch.

www.grassrootsremedies.co.uk Facebook: Grass Roots Remedies Co-op hello@grassrootsremedies.co.uk

Photos: Grass Roots Remedies Co-op