Radical Remedies

Please come and join us for the Winter Warmer workshop session at LARC (London Action Resource Centre), Whitechapel, LDN on Saturday November 19th 2022 at from 12-4pm.

Address:
62 Fieldgate Street
London

We are bulk batch making immunity supporting potions, discussing what solidarity through herbal medicine looks like in practice and help plan a distribution of the medicines we make.

Some ingredients to bring a long if you are able!

• For the cough and flu syrup: rosehips and thyme
• For the fire cider: chili, garlic, turmeric, lemon, horseradish, onions
• Any 100ml/200ml glass medicine bottles also welcomed!

Love, rage and plant power

RR XX

Rad Rems welcomed all to celebrate the changing of the seasons on 26/27th of March for a Spring Equinox(ish) herbal gathering.

We foraged natures Spring bounty and discussed how nature provides an abundance of plants to cleanse, detoxify, awaken and re-energise the body after a restful long winter (please see more info in earlier blog posts ref Spring time).

We discussed our connection to plants and to one another, there was a beautiful workshop on plant meditation where we drew, sat with and observed a particular plant of our choice to gain deeper insight into its ecology, surroundings (insets, other plants, growing habits ect) and its energetics.

There was a workshop on co-counselling, a grassroots method of reciprocal peer counselling. A beneficial skill for anyone in any moment of life trying to support loved ones and comrades throughout crisis. We reflected on how working with plants and soil is part of holistic healing of the collective, within ourselves and with the natural world. Our reintegration and connection to the natural world and its knowledge systems that are contained and captured within its cells, histories and roots begin to become apparent as we pay closer attention. We can pay closer attention when we have time and space to feel and think more freely; escaping and moving through trauma, smashing through constructed boundaries and holding one another through these processes.

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We all did some birch tapping, where the sap is collected from the tree using a straw funnel and collected in plastic bottles. This must take place in the early Spring when the nutrients are being released after being stored during the winter.

Birch (Betula) is infamous for its anti-inflammatory, analgesic (pain relieving) and antiviral activity actions in the body hailed for centuries as a medicinal plant. The water is full of nutrients. It is thought to be good for cystitis and UTI’s. It is fresh, clear and tastes a little bit like coconut water (drink up quick though as it has a short shelf life even in the fridge). It is also used in skin care products and made into syrup, beer and mead. Black tar made from birch bark is one of the oldest adhesives known to man [Woolf, 2020:44].

Birch (Betula) grows commonly throughout Britain, with successive uses over millennia in carpentry, utensils, tools, tanning leather, whisky distillery, thatching and sometimes bedding. In Lancashire it was carved into bobbins, spoons and reels for the cotton industry. Birch improves the soil in which it grows and birch woods are biodiverse in flora and fauna. The original broom known as besom was made from birch with hazel branches attached, stereotypically used by witches to “fly”. It was thought to drive out malevolent spirits. Maypoles were traditionally cut from tall, straight birch trees.  [Woolf, 2020: 43]

The papery bark of the Betula papyrifera has served as natural writing paper throughout history, it is mystical and intriguing to think of the inscriptions that lay within the Betula’s trunks and what stories and wisdom they hold.

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Practically, the main objective of the weekend was making medicine in collaboration with the Solidarity Apothecary. We made a nutritive tea blend for distribution on the Poland/Ukraine border where the Ukraine Herbal Solidarity currently have a mobile herbal clinic (https://solidarityapothecary.org/ukraine/).

Nutritive tea blend:

• Nettles (Urtica dioica) (see plant profile for more info)
• Dandelion root (Taraxacum officinale)
• Raspberry leaves (Rubus idaeus): uterine tonic, hormone balancer, high in antioxidants and bioflavonoids.
• Oat straw (Avena sativa): high in iron, manganese, and zinc, claimed to improve brain function, reduce inflammation and improve mood.

We managed to make 5,000 tea bags with a production line going into the early hours of the morning.

Making big batches of medicine is no joke! I think we all had greater respect for the time and physical exertion of producing tea bags by the end. But, we were driven and energised in the knowledge that the recipients were in vulnerable and dire situations and the little help we could provide we did with love.

We received word a few days later that the medicines had been received on the border, went very quickly and were gratefully received. Thank you to everyone who made that happen, international herbal solidarity! Plant power!

References

Woolf, Jo., Britain’s Trees, 2020.

https://cedarmountainherbs.com/the-magic-and-medicine-of-the-birch-tree/

Now spring is almost upon us the forager’s basket is quivering with anticipatory delight. Cleavers, nettles and bittercress might be already gracing your plate and a bounty of other delicious leafy greens and flowers are about to adorn a hedgerow, verge or wayside near you!

With the rising popularity of foraging in recent years it is important to consider how our practices will impact the environment around us. Although careful foraging is unlikely to cause much damage to any given habitat we ought to consider our relationship nature is one of mutual support and respect.  This is especially relevant in urban areas where green space is even more precious. It is imperative we are not depleting our plant friend populations when we forage.

Indeed, as foragers we atune ourselves to our environment, it comes naturally to seek to support those habitats that so sustain us. It is important that we do not fall in to the mindset that capitalist consumer society breeds in us, to take all that we can for ourselves. In part, harvesting mindfully will come hand in hand as we travel our respective paths through the botanical world. However, for the novice forager that has just discovered an exciting new free food source it is easy to become a little over zealous when harvesting.

A few foundational principles can be kept in mind when out on a foray to ensure we are practicing sustainable foraging. Firstly, if you find a very small population in certain place, a single primrose for example, it is far better to leave it be and allow it to flourish. In addition, a degree of common sense on what part of the plant you are taking can impact your judgement as to what will not harm the plant too severely. Leaves for example, are recoverable and grow back whereas buds, flowers and fruits are essential to the reproductive cycle of the plant so should be picked with due consideration.

Another guideline some foragers reccommend is the rule of a third. Should you find a healthy density of an edible plant harvest only up to a third of the plant mass as to not cause lasting damage to its overall health. While this rule of a third might be helpful in a remote hedgerow, it is not necessarily helpful when applied to a vicinity that is well frequented. Say an individual takes a third of all the wild garlic in an area of a woodland and the next artisan pesto maker does the same the following day and so on, our poor ramsons are left considerably depreciated. While nature is ever resilient and more than we give credit for, we must gather gratefully and not with greed.

A most helpful idea I have come across is to ensure the area one gathers from is left unnoticably touched. The premise is to harvest lightly in relation to what would not cause harm to the health of each plant population respectively and it be hard to tell you have reaped from the area at all. In addition, we should only take plant material that we will actually use for cooking or medicine etc, rather than taking more than we need in the flurry of a find.

Perhaps most of this goes with out saying for people interested in foraging but is always worth considering how our practices can be better aligned with the vitality of our favourite nature spots. Ultimately, foraging itself emphasises our symbiotic existence with plants and so breeds a greater inclination to sustain and restore the health green spaces. So with this in mind, healthy and happy gathering to you this coming season!

 

 

 

 

On a blustery evening on February 7th 2022 we headed down to Grey’s Inn Road, LDN where the Autonomous Winter Shelter has been holding down a dry, warm and friendly squatted space to house people over this cold winter. We went down to distribute the medicines we made at the Winter Weekender back in Nov.

Labelled, packaged and with an accompanying zine we proudly showed and shared the medicines and recipes to anyone interested passing by and living in the building. Medicines were distributed on a donation basis and what wasn’t taken has been left for people to use as they want, to support healthy immune function during these cold, drizzly months. Granted, we are on the flip side of winter now and getting the remedies out a little earlier would have been good but it’s been a huge learning process; bottling, labelling and distributing the medicines and creating an accompanying zine. We now have templates for everything and hope to get the medicine distribution process somewhat smoother! We thought it was really important that the zines should be readily available and accessible to anyone who would be interested in making the medicines themselves. We want to keep knowledge sharing open, accessible and horizonal.

We drank some of the delicious nervine blend and felt sleepy (:, had some great discussions @ AWS from local community gardeners, community kitchen volunteers, compost fanatics and fellow herbalists. We learnt what medicines were useful for those in the shelter and what people would like more of. We smoked some of our nervine tea blend which was not what we were expecting but was a very nice tobacco alternative! And we swapped seeds for the incoming Spring.

Big up the AWS and thanks for having us! Thank you to everyone involved in making the medicines over the winter.

We also distributed the rest of the medicines and some more zines to 56a info shop @ Elephant and Castle.

love, rage and plant power

XX

Thank you to everyone who came to the winter warmer weekender!! <3 <3

It was magical. We had such a lovely time sharing knowledge, relaxing, watching films, tasting herbs, foraging and medicine making!

Our rough plan was to make 4 winter remedies to help support immunity through the winter months, for distribution with Pie & Mash and other collectives providing solidarity and support through the colder months. We wanted to incorporate what could be seasonally, locally foraged or sourced or from what we already had. We came up with 4 preliminary ideas, subject to change as other herbalists joined the potion making session!

• Cough syrup (Rosehips, Thyme, Plantain, Ginger)
• Cough and sore throat tea (Mullein root, Dandelion root, Plantain, Mallow root, Liquorice)
• Warming balm for achy joints and muscles (Nettle seed oil, St. John’s wort oil, Lavender, Rosemary oil, Calendula oil)
• Fire cider (Ginger, Chili, Garlic, Horseradish, Birch Polypore mushroom, Lemon, Turmeric)

On the Saturday everyone arrived bright and early for a cuppa, introductions and a browse at the herby books and zines, then we wrapped up warm for a wintery forage!

   

We were hunting for the ruby red gems that line the hedgerows at this time of year, the potent and powerful fruits of the Wild Dog Rose (Rosa canina); Rosehips. Fruiting from the start of Autumn but best harvested after the first frost, these little fruits are gifted to us as medicine when the winter begins to creep in and our immunity becomes compromised. Packed full of nutrients to support immune function, our plan was to make a soothing cough syrup with them, perfect for this time of year to prevent fevers and colds and sooth the symptoms if they do take hold.

We were also searching below the surface for roots which are storing all the nutrients underground for the plants to use to spring up when the Spring comes. Close to home we had Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) and Mullein (Verbascum thapsus) roots.  Roots of plants are great to forage at this time of year when most growth is slowed down and mostly dormant. However please be conscious when foraging as when roots are removed there is no regrowth of the plants.

We used both these roots in our tea blend for coughs and sore throats. Mullein’s demulcent quality helps to soothe the raw, irritated respiratory linings that come with flus and colds. It also has expectorant and antiviral properties (White, Foster: 2000). Dandelion root is full vitamins and minerals to help boost a healthy immune system.

We also found some Feverfew (Chrysanthemum parthenium) still in full bloom! Which was a great discovery for some of the foraging folks that suffer from migraines and headaches. Feverfew contains parthenolides that help prevent the constriction of brain arteries (White, Foster: 2000). As well as some Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) we were picking mainly for its nervine and mildly psychoactive effects (:

Our favs the wonderful bright Calendula (Calendula officinales) were still somewhat in bloom even into this cold wintery afternoon with their little sunny faces lining the browning and decaying terrain, turning a softer yellow colour as the colder seasons take hold.

Some of the Calendulas were foraged from our friends Community Apothecary. We wanted to use the Calendulas in the tea for flavour, in the winter warming balm to sooth skin and also used some in the cough syrup….(we love Calendula).

We came back inside to warm up and hide from the incoming storm! We had a herb tasting session. Hot infusions of lavender, calendula and mugwort discussing their flavours, constitutions and our preferences. We ate some amazing wintery soup lovingly prepared by a couple of caring comrades and soon were snuggled up with fully belly’s watching a film screening of Juliette of the Herbs.

We arose, a little weary eyed for another brisk morning walk, this time into the woods for some mushroom hunting!

One of the best finds where the Trooping Funnel or Monk’s Head (Infundibulicybe geotropa), identifiable due to its creamy white colour, gill formation underneath, funnel like shape and importantly its protruding umbo (small lump) in the centre. They grow mostly in woodland in ring formation hence the name trooping and can grow up to 20cm wide in diameter. They are very tasty! Fry well for a crispy tasty mushroom you can have on toast or add to risotto!

We came across some delicious Wood Sorrel (Oxalis Acetosella), with beautiful flowers come Spring and trefoil leaves.

Some Hedgehog fungus (Hydnum Repandum)…

And we found Birch Polypore mushrooms (Formitopsis betulina) a highly medicinal mushroom which absorbs nutrients from the Birch host tree. We used it in our Fire Cider for its anti-inflammatory, immune boosting properties.

LOTIONS & POTIONS

Cough syrup:

Ingredients

• Rosehips
• Ginger root
• Plantain
• Thyme
• Calendula

Infuse hot water (aprx. 5L) with ginger and rose hips for about an hour simmering away, add the dried plantain, thyme and calendula and infuse for a further 15. Strain organic matter from the liquid using muslin cloth. Add brown sugar at a 2:3 ratio, slowly cook for another hour until colour darkens and liquid just starts to thicken. These timings and measurements are approximations in relation to the amount of herbs we had.

Winter warming balm:

Ingredients

• Shea butter
• Nettle seed oil (Olive oil carrier)
• St. John’s wort oil (Sweet almond oil carrier)
• Rosemary and Calendula oil (Sweet almond oil carrier)
• Lavander
• Black pepper and basil essential oils

• Melted the shea butter
• Added the infused oils at a ratio of roughly 1:1
• Whisked for 5-10 mins
• Added the lavender petals and essential oils

• Placed mixture into measuring jug and poured into metallic pots
• Left to cool over night
• Popped lids on in the morning and stored in a cool, dry spot.

Fire Cider:

Ingredients

• Apple cider vinegar
• Horseradish
• Ginger root, turmeric root
• Garlic
• Birch polypore mushroom
• Lemon
• Chili (3 types)

• Chopped all the ingredients
• Placed into large, sanitised kilnder jars
• Leave for 8 weeks to infuse
• We will then drain the liquid and store in jars ready for distribution

Tea blends:

Dry all herbs in cool dry place or in oven, crush and blend in a bowl or clean surface, store in a air tight jar/tea bags.

Coughs

• Mullein root
• Plantain
• Dandelion root
• Mallow root
• Liquorice

Nervine and calming tea

• Skull cap
• Rose petal
• Calendula
• Passion flower
• Lavender
• Chamomile

The Herbal Drugstore, 2000, White and Foster.

As the Autumn is fully under swing and the winter soon approaching, we take a moment to reflect on the heat, high energy and buzz of the long summer days. The leaves are turning a magical golden shade against the moody sky and the dark nights stretch for longer allowing moments of pause, reflection and hibernation! We wanted to take this time to look back over the medicine making of the summer and to share some of the harvesting and lotions and potions we made over the summer months.

An Ode to the Almighty Nettle

As the female Nettle plant turns to seed or flower in the late summer, the leaves are no longer suitable for human consumption because of the effect on the liver. However, we can enjoy the energising and warming effects of the seed. The female plant can be distinguished from the male by the heavy-laden catkins drooping from the top third of the plant, also the frosty appearance of the seeds.

The seeds can be eaten raw or dried. They are packed full of nutrients supporting the kidneys, strengthening the adrenals (best if you have hypothyroidism, an underactive thyroid), full of vitamin-c and essential fatty acids. The energising effects of the seeds is caused by neurotransmitters acetylcholine and serotonin, choline and histamine and is often prescribed as a tonic for people who need a boost in life. They are known as adaptogens, which is a term used to describe a herb that provides the support to the body to adapt to physical, chemical or biological stress and helps return the body to the balanced state of ‘homeostasis’.

They are “full of oil high in polyunsaturated fatty acids – predominantly linoleic as well as linolenic, palmitic, oleic and stearic acids. Our bodies use linoleic and linolenic acids to make the important essential fatty acids omega 3 and omega 6″(1). Incorporate the seeds into your daily diet if you need a boost, you can eat them as they are, add them to soups or salads or make a nettle salt! Just add dried nettle seeds to salt a long with other herbs to make a tasty flavouring.

“Acetylcholine binds to the mood receptors in our brains. It stimulates the autonomic nervous system, improves mood and heightens sensory perception, attention span, vigilance and intuition. Acetylcholine disruption may be a primary cause of depression. Serotonin acts on the central nervous system. It regulates mood, appetite and sleep, influences memory and learning. It is serotonin, along with histamine and formic acid, in nettle spines that causes the pain when you pick them! Incidentally, acetylcholine in nettle venom may well explain why the ancient practice of urtification for pain relief actually works! Nettle seeds also raise dopamine levels, creating pleasurable feelings.”(1)

Nettle seed oil! I have simply added olive oil (you can use your oil of choice depending on the use) to nettle seeds and allowed an infusion for 8 weeks. This is a very warming oil that can be ingested externally and also applied topically to warm muscles and ease pain. We are going to use it in our winter warming balm. It also contains a lot of vitamin E so is good for skin complexion.

(1)https://napiers.net/blogs/news/nettle-seed-uses

WINTER WARMER WEEKENDER 27- 28 NOVEMBER

Join us for a medicine making gathering in a beautiful location nestled in the South East.

Email us for more info!