Announcing Open Hours: Community Mutual Aid and Accessible Herbal Learning

I’ve been dreaming about the possibility of working closely with other people to expand the mutual aid apothecary projects I’m working on. Last year, I joined a local group of herbalists to do things like offer tea and remedies to local unhoused folks and campesinxs in south county, as well as offer medic support at public events. This has been a wonderful experience, and we are continuing to work on projects together. But what I really wanted was to spend more time preparing herbs with other folks in person. I also saw the potential for the work put into each of these projects to also be an experiential education opportunity for folks wanting to look further into the realm of herbalism especially from a liberation-focused lens. Plant medicine has so much it can bring to the struggles we face today – for better housing conditions, warding off state repression, facing climate catastrophe, etc. I wanted a way to get more folks involved while also growing the work I and other local herbalists are already doing.

That’s why I’m so excited to announce that I am beginning to offer Open Hours, a time when we can get together outdoors to do garden, apothecary, and distribution tasks. This includes doing plant cultivation work, creating herbal medicines, and doing things like bottling, labeling, and boxing up remedies for distribution.

Who is Open Hours for?

This offering is primarily for folks local to what’s colonially known as Santa Cruz. I’m offering this as a way to give people a chance to access free/low-cost herbal education, while also helping me do the things that need to get done to keep my apothecary stocked, so I can keep donating medicines and providing herbal aid.

This offering is intended to serve the purpose of providing experiential education to folks who may have economic difficulty accessing herbal experience and education, either because they can’t financially afford classes, or because they lack access to garden space, materials, and supplies. Open Hours are not structured as a class, but more as a collaborative work session. Participants learn by doing, whether that’s how to press out a tincture or how to harvest mint leaves to encourage plant growth.

This offering is also for folks who are interested in getting involved with herbal mutual aid! If this is something you want to learn more about and collaborate on, I am so excited to meet you and work together.

COVID-19 Safety Info

Please note, due to household safety precautions, I am only allowing folks who are vaccinated to come to Open Hours. I respect that there are a multitude of perspectives on the vaccine, particularly in relation to structural racism. This is a personal choice I’m making to preserve the health of my housemates and myself, not a denial of differing points of view. 

How Do I Come to Open Hours?

The first-ever Open Hours are scheduled for next Thursday, July 29th from 2-4 pm. RSVP by contacting me! Then you’ll get an email confirming your attendance. There will also be some notes on location and further info about COVID-19 safety.