Herb Class

Since I'm in Mexico with the specific intent both to learn Spanish and to learn about traditional medicine, I decided to take a three-day medicinal herb class (in Spanish!) at the Botanical Garden in Tuxtla Gutierrez, the capital of Chiapas.

The class was very informal and fun. (Sound familiar?) During our breaks we ate fresh fruit (mangoes, jicama, melon--all with chili salt), cheese (Chiapas is like the Wisconsin of Mexico...'the dairyland'...), and we drank pozol, a corn-based chocolate drink served in half a dried gourd. If you drink it you are destined to return to Chiapas. I have, so far, had many cups.



Here's a quick description of what we made and the ingredients we used. And no, I didn't catch everything. Or most things. Remember in my past life as an herbal student when I could make jokes during class?

On Day One, we made a salve and a massage oil.

Salve: aloe, purple agave, camphor, Peruvian Balsam, beeswax, oil (we used vegetable cooking oil)
Oil: rosemary, the skin of a grapefruit, oil

On Day Two, we made a revitalizing, anti-dandruff shampoo.

Shampoo: some soap base that I don't know how to translate (texapon and dehiton), mamey seeds, avocado seeds, ginger, guava leaves, two whole jalapeno chiles

And, on Day Three, we made a cough syrup.

Cough Syrup: bugambilia flowers, ginger, Mexican oregano, one head of garlic, one purple onion, water, honey, the insides of a gourd (?)
You can add tequila or posh to the syrup to conserve it.



It was an interesting experience; my first formal herbal class outside of the United States. It reminds me how lucky we were at the Pharm; everything was glass or wooden or steel, organic and local and pure. Here in Mexico the ingredients I'm used to using are expensive or unavailable, and learning to make do without things is a good lesson.

Also, in the US, because of a messed-up healthcare system and an excessively capitalistic definition of wellness, herbalism can seem like an expensive route for most people. Big corprate stores sell expensive remedies that cater to wealthier people who can afford to shop there. Here, it seems that wealthier people use pharmaceuticals because they can afford them, and poorer people use herbs because it's what's available.

I think it's important that "traditional" and herbal medicine and knowledge is made avaible to everyone.

The class instructors were nutritionists and ethnobotanists who go to tiny indigenous villages to have people point out medicinal plants to them, and describe how they use them. The information is compiled and re-distributed to younger generations and to people who haven't been taught this ancestral knowledge. Like us.



I'm really grateful to be able to pursue herbal education while I'm traveling in a new place. I'm also grateful to have found a good resource for materials in downtown Tuxtla. And I'm grateful for all of you, for your inspiration and encouragement.

Sending you good vibes, and letters if you email your address. Just bought loads of wonderful stamps (Mexican flowers/revolution/dance).

love, moonrose
xoxo

PS: Did you feel that full moon yesterday? Yow!