Becoming a Community Herbalist
Just as the flowers grow from the earth, so the remedy grows in the hands of the physician. The remedy is nothing but a seed that must develop into that which is destined to be. ~Paracelsus
Shantree Kacera, R.,H., D.N., Ph.D.
The Path of the Herbalist
Community herbalists are individuals who are deeply immersed in the plant community. They know which native or local wild plants can be used for medicinal purposes and which should be avoided. They use a more traditional approach, which means a more profound, heartfelt approach and an emphasis on the interconnection between the plants, the individual, and the movement of the five environmental elements. The main focus of a community herbalist is on the people, the plants, and the natural landscape, which reflects the healing path with heart.
Community herbalists examine the energetics of herbs—whether they’re warming or cooling, moistening or drying. They deeply understand the energetic system beyond the traditional, allopathic “treat the symptom” approach. They work in their communities and the regions in which they live, knowing how to forage and use the local plants.
My vision for community herbalists is to have well-trained herb specialists deeply connected to the plants that can be grown in their neighbourhoods or grow wild or native plants within the bioregion. They can listen to you and offer sound advice. It is not expected that they can solve every health concern you have, but in my experience, sometimes just listening to somebody is often a great help.
Education is a large part of being a community herbalist – taking people from the community on herb walks, visiting people’s gardens and advising them on which plants to grow for their health. Community herbalists also work in the educational field, sharing their passion and offering classes and workshops. They can establish herb gardens in schools so kids can learn early. Many seek help to prevent and know simple remedies for treating common illnesses today.
My vision for community herbalists is to give them a sense of power and place within our communities. The road to an education in herbalism can branch to many paths, and there is no one authentic way to mastery. A conscious herbalist rooted in local plants promotes the ethical harvest of wild plants and emphasizes the herbalist’s connection to the Earth.
An Energetic System of Herbal Medicine
Almost every culture has relied on plants for sustenance and healing. At The Living Centre, we understand and appreciate the power of nature and have been integrating various herbal traditions, including Indigenous Herbal Wisdom, Ayurvedic Plant Medicine, and Ecological Permaculture, for over 45 years. Our Practical Herbalism – Energetic Medicine Mentorship program takes this field to a whole new level. As interest in complementary herbal medicine continues to grow, many people want to live healthier lives, and their use of herbs will increase in the coming years. People who know how to grow, sustain, harvest, produce, and prescribe these natural medicines are highly valued in communities, industries, and among herbal practitioners and educators.
Our mentorship program provides participants with an in-depth understanding of the whole plant by teaching them how to grow and ethically forage for medicinal herbs. We use an energetic formulation model to focus on hands-on learning in medicine-making and case studies. We aim to train individuals to become Community Herbalists, introducing them to the incredible world of plants and their medicinal uses. The program offers a practical study of herbalism through an in-depth examination of over 100 medicinal plants, including native and wild plants, covering the seasons and studying herbal medicine for the body systems. A wholistic herbalist treats people, not diseases, and our mentorship program teaches essential skills so that each mentee can achieve that objective. We focus on differential diagnosis skills, materia medica, and therapeutics essential to individualizing treatment, helping patients resolve symptoms, and creating constitutional changes necessary for physical, emotional, and spiritual wellness, deepening the connection with the local bioregion.
In the modern world, there is often an allopathic approach to herbal medicine, focusing on using a specific herb for a particular condition. However, in the world's traditional systems of medicine, we see how appropriate herbs are chosen for a particular person based on their disease patterns at the time. This is a system of energetics, with taste being the simplest way to determine the energetics of the plant. For an herbalist, it's essential to have a deep understanding of the plant, including its taste, action, and potential adverse effects. Throughout my career as an herbalist using herbal energetics, I've always focused on a hands-on approach, and I believe there are multiple ways of understanding plants. We can use science, tradition, personal experience, and intuitive or spiritual understandings. Combining all these approaches is much stronger than any of the components alone.
As an herbal elder and mentor, my younger mentees and students often inspire me with their new ideas, thoughts, and information. We are all learners here, and admitting when we don't know something is okay. The knowledge of herbs is part of our inherent knowledge, deeply embedded in our cells, and it is our birthright as human beings on this planet. The Path of the Herbalist is to master the craft of engaging with herbs and our own lives. I encourage everyone to begin recovering the wisdom within their own wild heart and become an active, participating member of the herbal revival!
Our Practical Herbalism mentorship program is designed to give participants an in-depth understanding of the whole plant by teaching them how to forage ethically and where the plants grow. We believe in using an energetic formulation model to focus on hands-on learning in medicine-making and case studies. We aim to train individuals to become Community Herbalists, introducing them to the incredible world of plants and their medicinal uses.
Our program offers a practical study of herbalism through an in-depth study of over 100 medicinal plants, both native and wild, throughout the seasons. We also focus on the study of herbal medicine for the body systems. As wholistic herbalists, we treat people, not diseases, and our mentorship program aims to teach the essential skills required to achieve that objective.
We focus on developing differential diagnosis skills, materia medica, and therapeutics essential to individualizing treatment, helping patients resolve symptoms, and creating constitutional changes needed for physical, emotional, and spiritual wellness. We also emphasize deepening the local bioregion.
In the modern world, we often see an allopathic approach to herbal medicine, where herbs are prescribed based on specific conditions. However, we follow the traditional system of medicine, where we consider which herbs are appropriate for each specific person and their unique disease patterns based on energetics. Taste is the simplest way to determine the energetics of the plant, and we believe in understanding the plant through science, tradition, personal experience, and intuitive or spiritual understandings.
As an herbal elder and mentor, I have found that my younger mentees and students often inspire me with new ideas, thoughts, and information, keeping me fresh and on my toes. We are all learners here, so don't fear saying you don't know something. The knowledge of herbs is inherent in us and is our birthright. The herbalist's path is to master the craft of engaging with herbs and our own lives, recover the quiescent wisdom within our wild hearts, and be an active, participating member of the herbal revival!
“Those who dwell…. among the beauties and mysteries of life are never alone or weary of life. Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.”
~Rachel Carson