Medicinal herbalist Rasheeqa Ahmad writes about her efforts to co-found, build, and grow a community apothecary in Waltham Forest

I have been practicing as a herbalist for the last eleven years in Walthamstow and since stepping on to this path I have been excited by the possibilities of this ancient practice to transform our relationships with our bodies, with each other and with the earth that holds us.

We can’t live without plants and trees as they enable us to breathe, and they give us love, food, medicine, shelter, fuel, shade and spirit. They produce their own energy without the need for eating; we cannot. They’re our elders and I give them great respect.

Doing this work in one of the biggest, filthiest cities in the world has been so revealing. I’ve learned about ecosystems that are often in challenge, and seen that plant lives seem to have an (almost) infinite capacity for adaptation and flourishing in the midst of damage, destruction, continuous change and interference. They are wonderfully able to find nutrients, water, sustenance in the unlikeliest of spots.

I know many people feel the same, and with the Community Apothecary, we are enjoying being together with the plants and the land to keep learning about and sharing this ancient relationship we have together.

As a herbalist, my interest is in the healing that plants can give us, and at the Community Apothecary, we are propagating and growing herbs in beds on a hillside, nurturing a medicinal forest garden, supporting and encouraging habitats for a diversity of wildlife, all while eating seasonal homemade food.

In addition to weekly garden sessions at Mulberry Close in Chingford, we have a smaller herbal medicine garden off Clyde Place in Leyton, and we offer practical workshops and short courses at different spaces in Walthamstow.

Our courses are happening at Spiritual Healing on Walthamstow High Street this year, while herbal remedies are available from the Hornbeam Café at Bakers Arms.

Community Apothecary is structured into three areas; gardens, learning and medicines and you are welcome to join us in any and all of them. You can come to be part of the garden sessions, you can learn with us, or you can simply access the medicines.

Herbal medicine is rich with history, politics, mystery and magic. Come join us and find your own ancient connection with it.

Find out more and get involved by visiting communityapothecarywf.org or email: [email protected]

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