A new year has come, and in typical turn the calendar page fashion, I spent some time reflecting on the past year and dreaming of the future. Much of my experience revolves around the struggle for social change. And this desire for health and equality, for diversity and sustainability, will not be satisfied without the embrace of many hands and hearts. But to truly cultivate this type of community, there must be rewards to service, and not just moral ones. These rewards need to address a persons basic needs, to support their livelihood, and to provide sustenance. Then volunteerism and community service can reenter our daily life, no longer banished to extracurricular activity land. My own journey with the Bus has highlighted a certain discomfort with the current donation based model of most free clinics. And now, instead of constantly asking others to fill my tank, I wonder, how can filling the tank just be a natural act; how can filling the Herb Bus tank mean filling your own in the process, and vice versa. It is these thoughts that were the seeds for our newer programming, for the Herb Cart, the Grow a Row Project, and the Pay-it-Forward Medicine Making Workshops. So to flesh out the dream a bit, highlighting just some of the interplay and growth potential, I welcome you to check out the Herb-Flow sketch pictured on the blog at herbbus.org. And as we work in community, towards dreams such as these, we mustnt neglect our political bonds, those complex relationships that can be both liberating and dominating. We must not forget to always be vigilant, to watch the legislative process of the greater community, and to do the work to protect our rights. A few years back the FDA issued a new set of Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMPs) which regulate dietary supplements, including herbal medicine. These regulations force herbal healthcare practitioners to abide by the same regulations as mass manufacturers. The cGMPs are not only cost prohibitive, they do not address the needs of practitioners. Instead, they cater to the cold world of commerce whose bottom line is profit and not people. These regulations hinder our access to herbal medicine and affordable healthcare. To use the words of my politically-passionate mother, that is unacceptable. As herbalists we must defend our longstanding traditions as good practices too. If these issues touch you, you can read my In Defense of Good Herbalista Practices (GHPs) essay and see the beginnings of our cGHP database at the main Herbalista website (herbalista.org) I am looking forward to an exciting (and busy) year ahead and hope to see many of you on the road and in the field. Herbally yours, Lorna
Posted on: Sun, 04 Jan 2015 01:09:36 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015