From the Ground Up Modern Herbalism Is a Grassroots Movement by Patricia Staino
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s long as herbs have grown, their cultivation, gathering, preparation and sharing have synergized a kind of grassroots movement, spurred by neighbor helping neighbor and “hyped” by word of mouth. Herbalism goes back thousands of years, to early healers and mystics, although in the last century or so, its purpose was obscured and its practice frequently misunderstood. “I’ve been working as an herbalist for nearly 25 years, and one of the things I hear more than anything else is people don’t know what [herbalism] means,” says Lupo Passero of Twin Star, a New Milfordbased apothecary and school of herbal and energetic arts. “They either think I grow cannabis for a living or that I’m a naturopathic or homeopathic doctor, which I don’t and I’m not. There’s a lot of confusion about what an herbalist is.” 22 Hartford County Edition
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Better Together According to the American Herbalist Guild, herbalists are people who dedicate their lives to working with medicinal plants. They include, but are not limited to, native healers, scientists, naturopaths, holistic medical doctors, researchers, writers, herbal pharmacists, medicine makers, wild crafters, harvesters, herbal farmers and possibly your own grandmother. The scope of related vocations makes sense when you realize how many of their tools are rooted in the soil under our very feet. Joan Palmer, a nutritionist and community herbalist, found the connections intriguing; the symbiosis of food, health, healing and lifestyle motivated her to start The Institute Of Sustainable Nutrition in West Granby. She had completed her degree in human nutrition, but felt that her course of study,
and many like it, focused narrowly on a statistic of what food is. “I was really frustrated because I knew that the nutrients found in a carrot are not the same if they are grown with chemicals in lifeless soil as opposed to being grown by sustainable, regenerative gardening practices,” she says. “I knew we couldn’t talk about nutrition and not also talk about the health of the soil, herbs and what grows in our area, both wild and cultivated. From there it became a whole picture of sustainability.” The one-year certificate program Palmer developed around sustainable nutrition takes her students on a journey from science to gardening and foraging, to culinary skills like fermentation, to herbalism, preparing healing remedies, and even mixing up their own cleaning and body care products. While some students attend to round out their professions, many more attend to educate themselves on sustainable practices to improve their well-being. “This is truly a community movement,” she says.
Back to Basics Herbalism fell out of favor about 100 years ago, but there’s been a resurgence in people returning to the earth, beginning with the counter-culture of the ‘60s and increasing since, especially during the past decade. Passero, an herbalist, educator and flower essence practitioner, was inspired by her grandmother, who was born in Italy and spent her life as a homesteader who wildcrafted her own plants and grew a lot of her own medicines. “She was raised with the old-world ideology of finding your food and medicine in your own backyard,” says Passero. Since Twin Star opened 10 years ago, Passero has seen interest in the field grow and, at any given time, there are around 150 students enrolled in classes and programs. Students—those who attend one-off, drop-in seminars as well as those who attend programs lasting nine months to three years—learn all aspects of herbalism, including how to identify plants, work
