Community Herbalist Training — Raíces de la Tierra

Community Herbalist Training — Raíces de la Tierra

About the Program

The Community Herbalist Training is a free, hands-on intensive for community members who want to go deeper into traditional plant medicine. Over the course of the summer, participants explore the roots of herbal knowledge — from plant constituents and culinary uses to folk traditions, ceremonial practices, and the rich differences between Mexican and Western herbalism. The program culminates in hands-on skill building: a guided herb walk and a workshop where participants make their own tinctures and teas to take home.

This training is part of Raíces de la Tierra, a bilingual community program at Friends Farm honoring Indigenous foodways and building resilience through traditional plant knowledge. It is offered in English and Spanish and is designed for community members without formal training. Your lived experience and cultural knowledge are exactly what this program is built around.

Program Schedule

August 5 — Introduction to Herbalism Constituents, actions, and uses: how plants work in the body and why. We’ll build a shared foundation for the rest of the program.

August 12 — Wild Herbal Foods From the field to the table — exploring the wild edible and medicinal plants growing all around us and how to incorporate them into everyday food and healing.

August 16 — Herb Walk (part of the general Raíces event series · Sunday) A guided walk through the herbal learning garden and surrounding landscape. Learn to identify plants in the field, understand their growing habits, and connect to the land they come from.

August 18 — Plant Folklore & Practices Stories, superstitions, and wisdom passed down through generations. Exploring what folk traditions reveal about the deep relationship between people and plants.

August 22 — Meet the Herbs: Hands-On Tincture & Tea Making Put it all together. Participants meet the plants up close, then make their own tinctures and herbal tea blends to take home. A celebration of everything we’ve learned.

September 2 — Earth-Centered Healing Practices: Building Allyship with Plants An exploration of how to build a living relationship with plants as healers and allies — rooted in earth-centered practices, reciprocity, and deep listening to the natural world.

September 8 — Mexican Meets Western Herbalism A conversation about two rich traditions: the legacy of Mexican and Mesoamerican plant medicine alongside Western herbalism — where they overlap, where they differ, and what each has to teach.

✦ One-on-One Mentorship

In addition to the group sessions, each participant receives two individual mentorship meetings with a program facilitator. These are your dedicated time to go deeper on what you’re learning, ask questions you didn’t get to in the group, and get personalized guidance on your herbal practice and peer educator journey. Scheduling is flexible and can be done in person at Friends Farm or by phone.

Tickets & Pricing

This program uses a two-tier ticketing structure to ensure access for everyone:

• 🌿 10 Free spots — needs-based or BIPOC community members Free registration for community members who self-identify as BIPOC or for whom cost is a barrier. No income verification, no questions asked.
• 🌱 5 Paid spots — $300 for the full program Paid tickets help subsidize free spots for community members who need them. All materials are included for all participants.

We believe no one should be priced out of this knowledge. If cost is a barrier and the free spots are full, please reach out — we will do our best to accommodate you.

Details

• Total spots: 15 participants
• Location: Friends Farm, Lafayette, CO (on traditional Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Ute territories)
• All materials provided for all participants

Register / Más información: friendsfarm.org/events Questions: oliver.aurand@gmail.com · 757-971-3416