BIPOC Future Farmers & Herbalists: Apply for Sponsorship
Apply for Herbalist Sponsorship
The Farmers and Herbalism Program is committed to providing sponsorship for 12 women to pursue their dreams to become Permaculturists, Regenerative Farmers and Herbalists.
We are currently accepting applications to match these BIPOC Future Farmers and students of Herbalism with Sponsors who can cover their costs for training and education.
We need more Women of Color in the healing arts world, sharing the plant wisdom and knowledge with their community and becoming experts in Herbalism. We plan to run this initiative through the summer of 2020.
If you identify as BIPOC and would like to deepen your knowledge of herbal studies or go onto become a licensed Herbalist, and could use support with paying for your program, apply now. In order to be considered, you must fill out this short application and be willing to be in direct contact with your Sponsor who will send you money via Venmo/Paypal.
Questions about the application process? Send us a message here.
Background
When Europeans first began settling the Americas, they relied on the plant wisdom of the indigenous peoples, particularly women, who had the task of identifying and collecting herbs and caring for their families, whether they were designated medicine women or the wives of medicine men. From the 17th to 19th centuries, the medicine of Native American women and African-American slave women had proved often more advanced than European herbalism, teaching European immigrants, African slaves, and later, the 19th-century Eclectics, about a holistic and spiritual approach to wellness.
Although many slave owners forbade the practice of herbalism, thought to be “the devil’s work,” the slave communities of the Antebellum South benefitted from “grannies.” These female herbal healers based their practices on ancestral African traditions, while readily experimenting and collaborating with Native Americans to find herbal counterparts in the New World. As Native and slave communities were discouraged or forbidden from reading and writing, the oral tradition of herbalism became more critical to its survival. Harriet Tubman is said to have used herbal medicine for keeping escaping slaves healthy on the Underground Railroad, as well as on Union soldiers in field hospitals during the Civil War.
I was recently introduced to the work of herbalist Sade Musa, who leads the community education and healing project Roots of Resistance. She spoke in an interview about how Black healing traditions are not just the foundation of White herbalism, but White Western medicine. She helps students reclaim herbal traditions and the lineage they traveled down.
At the center of Musa’s work is bodily autonomy. She says that “bodily autonomy is really key for anti-colonialism resistance, but particularly Black resistance. Whether we’re talking about emancipation from slavery or incarceration or medical apartheid, we’re talking about bodily autonomy. When we give people the skills to heal themselves as much as possible and connect that to how our ancestors would heal themselves as an act of resistance and self-determination, they gain the confidence to push back against the running narrative.”
In my own search for ways that I could support more BIPOC in a way that was authentic and rooted and regenerative... I found myself in a Mutual Aid post which began from Sophias world. She was calling for White Herbalists to donate salves, tinctures and medicine to the Black Community- and a beautiful exchange or asks and gifting was unfolding in the comments. I found myself both heartened and asking how I could support in a way that felt more lasting than just gifting a salve or tincture. Finally I found it. A woman asked- Is anyone open to funding a BIPOC to become and Herbalist? I raised my hand. The old adage of "If you want to feed a man for a day, give him a fish, if you want to feed a man for a lifetime... teach him how to fish" rang in my heart. I am most interested in putting my energy towards spaces that ripple out into communities and this felt like a way to do that. I found on my call with my woman across the country to be so full and rich. She came from a lineage of healers and was now called herself to bring herbalism into the Black Community. Soon I found more messages and requests filling my inbox, of other amazing women who were also wanting to begin a path into herbalism studies. They inquired "Has this sponsorship already been filled?" And this was a moment I found that I could either just simply respond that it has been filled and wish them well... or that I could take the time to be more invested. I decided to reach out to some of my network to see if anyone else was open to sponsoring a woman. Soon we had 11 of the 12 women who applied sponsored and we have 2 herbalists willing to do free online trainings.
The thought of having more Women of Color in the healing arts world, sharing the plant wisdom and knowledge with their community and becoming experts in Herbalism brings a sense of hope and excitement to me. I would like to keep this initiative going through the summer of 2020.
So if you are a BIPOC who would like to deepen your knowledge of herbal studies or go onto become a licensed Herbalist and you could use support with paying for your program, please apply here.
Sponsorship has been between $400-$1200.