Growing our own Health

Herbs are different things to different people. They are defines depending on the discipline in which they are used: in botany they are non-woody plants that are under 30cm high; in ecology the herb layer describes a horizontal level in environments such as forests and woods; to a gardener herbs are ornamental plants used in herbaceous borders; to a chef they are the aromatic culinary plants.  Strictly speaking, a herb to a medical herbalist is any plant material that can be used in medicine and health care. Thus, all anatomical parts of plants are used in some form or another: leaves, buds, flowers, fruits, seeds, roots, heart wood of trees and bark.

The use of herbs as a source of healing remedies is inherent in all cultures in all historical times. It is only recently in the scientific, western-influenced countries that such knowledge has been ignored or ridiculed for many reasons, most of them related to profit. Despite the attempts of big pharma corporations to deepen the separation between us and the natural world, harming our lives and making us into "health consumers"[1], at least we are starting to remember and recognize the value of the weeds and the hedgerows, the gardens and the window boxes, opening our eyes to see what really surround and support us.

There are a number of ways in which to use herbs in health and healing. It could be through traditional  knowledge: Native Americans, for example, consider Nature's harmony itself as medicine and the way of relating to the entire world as a meaning of interdependence between human beings and all Earth's creatures. There's the pharmacology of active ingredients, which consider plants as sources of drugs in the fight against pathological processes, limiting their healing power to the context within they are utilized. They can be used within deep and all-encompassing philosophical/spiritual world views that provide a model for health as well as guidelines for life (for example, Ayurveda from India and Traditional Chinese Medicine from China). Lastly, within an holistic framework. [2]

Health is the normal functioning of the organism, performing its own necessities and resisting to disease [3]. This is the core from which to interpret a person's wellbeing as an active and positive state of physical, emotional, mental, social and spiritual expression.

Holism approach is Nature-based and Earth-wise. It attempts to comprehend the whole expression of the sickness in the individual - including the context of his culture, community or family, habits, beliefs and attitude. Then, it is possible to proceed into seeking the  elimination of the disturbance radically, from its root, through lifestyle changes, diet and medication, all of these especially suited to the individual. [4] This holistic perspective includes a greater focus on prevention, or better, the maintenance of health, helping people to understand the importance of education and self-care rather than treatment and dependence. 

With that said, I'm not denying the occasional necessity for swift and authoritative medical or surgical intervention; the response of modern medicine to accidents it is actually extremely efficient and of incredible help. Countless lives has been saved by technological treatment methods; on the other hand, our health conditions are increasingly worse, descending a dark road made of polluted water, air and soil, stress, dead food, autoimmune diseases, infertility, loss of physical contact and belonging, constraints and fear. [5]

It is of fundamental importance to understand that therapeutic approaches, regardless from their nature, are used to mobilize each one's innate capacity for self-healing and create the conditions for them to perform their natural functioning. 

"The natural healing force within each of us is the greatest force in getting well." - Hippocrates

The educational herb garden in Nea Guinea project consists of a series of specially designed cultivation beds that support educational activities on herbal medicine and herb cultivation as well as informative events on the potential of herbal medicine as a tool for the self-management of health. This garden is intended to be a reference point for the identification and study of different herb species as well as a live seed bank for their preservation and propagation. [6]

I am very grateful to have the possibility to participate in the mantainance of the garden itself and the organisation that orchestrates all the process; working with such a knowledgeable person as Fotini, our coordinator, who has several years of experience in natural healing practices, is truly inspiring to me. Being the carer of all the process, from the soil to, for example, the herb tea, makes me feel a strong sense of self-reliance: planting, making cuttings, feeding the beds, watering, harvesting, drying with care and patience the herbs in my room, is such an empowering experience. Hold in my hands a warm cup of Nature's expression to meet our health needs, inhaling the essential oils through my nose, is creating a big awareness of connection, with myself and Mother Earth.

This is what we are looking for: we have to widen the perspective on a global scale, considering human community and Earth ecosystem. Now more than ever.. 

"You cannot have well humans on a sick planet" - Thomas Berry

[1] Todd Haynes, "Dirty Waters" - movie 

[2] David Hoffman, "The herbal handbook"

[3] Manuel Lezaeta Acharan, "Natural medicine within everyone's reach"

[4] Matthew Wood, "The Earthwise herbal"

[5] Charles Eisenstein, "The Coronation" - essay 

[6] neaguinea.org