Greetings!
We (Elise Rudolph and Daniela Myers-Guzmán) are students in the Community Herbalist program at the California School of Herbal Studies in Sonoma County, CA. Our extensive knowledge of medicinal plants and passion for helping people heal through plant medicine, has led us to creating this herbal mobile clinic, the Herbal Care-Van.
As climate change rages on and the people are left to fend for themselves with little help from the government, as healthcare costs increases and access to quality healthcare decreases, as wealth inequality reaches an all-time high, as racism is upheld within all systems of this society, it is up to the people and our communities to take care of each other. Sonoma County is home to some of the worst fires in the world fueled by climate change, and will only continue to displace more people and animals as the years go on.
With your help, we hope to complete building out our solar-powered 1991 Ford Econoline van into a functional mobile clinic, as well as raise money for necessary tools of the trade such as first aid supplies, medicine making and apothecary supplies, and of course, the herbs! We will be needing to repaint the van as well!
The goals of this mobile clinic are as follows:
- Providing sliding-scale herbal consultations around Sonoma County, the Bay Area, and beyond
- Bringing herbal medicine to disaster areas (mainly fires due to proximity) in the form of wound care, nervous system teas and broths, electrolyte supplementation, emotional support, etc.
- Setting up pop-up aftercare clinics for protests and police violence, herbal care packages
- Herbal first aid & care at gatherings and festivals
- Provide classes and workshops: how to make fire cider and strengthen immunity, ethical foraging and plant identification, Covid-19 prevention and recovery, and more.
- We plan to set up a once-a-month free clinic at a regular spot. With enough support from our community and beyond, we hope to be able to provide FREE herbal medicine to communities who need it most.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read our story. We are so excited to get started on our mission and please share with your network!
Best,
Daniela and Elise <3
