Feral Herbalism

[SOLD OUT - PLEASE GET IN TOUCH TO JOIN THE WAITING LIST: 90milartschool@gmail.com] In this course, we'll explore making herbal remedies with foraged plants. Each session will introduce you to a range of wild medicinal plants easy to find across Berlin, and a different herbal remedy technique to make use of their properties. We'll use foraged herbs to create these simple but powerful medicines, and you'll take home your own additions to your home apothecary as well as the skills to continue foraging and creating these remedies alone. Session 1: Tinctures In this session we'll meet plants which we can turn into tinctures – potent, concentrated liquid herbal extracts with a long shelf-life – to help with depression, anxiety, digestion, hormone regulation, insomnia, dreaming, allergies, and cramps. We'll discuss the process of tincture-making, and then prepare our own herbal tinctures to take home. (Please note that in this session we will use alcohol as the base for our tinctures. Though the amount of alcohol involved is very low, if you do not want to consume alcohol please note this when registering.) Session 2: Salves A salve is a herbal oil-based balm or ointment used topically, typically on dry or irritated skin, or to ease muscular pain or inflammation. In this session we'll meet plants that have soothing, wound-healing, pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory effects. We'll discuss the process of making salve and prepare our own skin & muscle relief balm to take home. (Please note that in this session we will use ethically-sourced beeswax as an ingredient in our salves.) Session 3: Wild Fermented Sodas Many healing plants are also incredibly delicious! In this session we will taste various drinks made with medicinal wild plants, and learn how to make wild fermented soda infused with healing herbs and wild yeast for both flavor and medicine. Herbalism adds another dimension of complexity to the questions around land, belonging, tradition, toxicity and perception already present in the context of foraging. Who do we trust as reliable sources of information? How do the horrors of the wellness industry continually change the context in which we practice? How do we stay both safe and sane while attempting to bring relief and ease to our bodies and those of our loved ones? How do we stay playful and flexible with medicine? Beyond identification and process, we'll explore these philosophical areas of foraging and herbalism, developing a practical & practice-based understanding of feral herbalism as we go. This is best experienced as a whole course, with practical and experiential knowledge building each session. However you are welcome to drop in for one or two sessions if you can't make the whole. Please note: Simka is an experienced forager, but is not a trained herbalist. This course is concepted as a peer-to-peer learning experience.