History + Current State: Technology & Foraging + Herbalism
There isn’t much on foraging in the digital sphere beyond blogs and a few websites. There are even less on herbalism that are true, up to date resources. My website would definitely be the first of its kind. An important step will be to have actual practicing herbalists read over my research to make sure I’m not giving false information (I have two in mind I could contact). It’ll be important to source all of my information from actual books as well as medical studies. The biggest community of active online wildcrafters is likely Instagram, which has huge foraging, herbalism, and homesteading communities. This wouldn’t be a viable source of info but if I were to try to spread the word that would definitely be my outlet.
For next week I plan having a rough outline of my website layout as well as a list of plants to put in the booklet(s)/pamphlet(s). I intend on having a pamphlet on wild food + medicine (the weeds including poisonous), and if I have time I’ll also have a brochure for medicine you can find in your mom’s garden. Once I acquire the books I anticipate a shift in layout but brainstorming possibilities will still be helpful and a good start.
Websites:
Books that I have:
- Making Plant Medicine – Richo Cech
- Volume I + II of Earthwise – Matthew Wood
- Herbal Dispensary – Matthew Wood
- Stolen Harvest: The Hijacking of the Global Food Industry – Vandana Shiva
Books to invest in:
- Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine (550+ remedies) by Andrew Chevallier
- The Forager’s Feast: How to Identify, Gather, and Prepare Wild Foods by Leda Meredith
- Wild Edible Plants: A North American Field Guide to Over 200 Natural Foods by Thomas Elias + Peter Dykeman
- The Wildcrafting Brewer: Creating Unique Drinks and Boozy Concoctions from Nature’s Ingredients by Pascal Bauder