Grassroots Healthcare: A Conversation with David Crow by Ann Armbrecht

Herbalist and aromotherapist David Crow is another plant lover using the web to create an on-line community for plant-based medicine, ecology and spirituality. His site, Medicine Crow.com, includes audio and video of interviews, classes and more, some available for free and some for members of Medicine Crow. I was especially interested in David’s vision of grassroots healthcare and how he sees the internet as a way to further this vision.

Ann: There are a lot of different terms used to describe the connections between human and environmental health: ecological medicine, environmental medicine, sustainable medicine. Perhaps first, define what you mean by grassroots healthcare?

David: I define grassroots healthcare as plant-based, locally available, nontoxic, cost-effective healthcare. It is synonymous with the terms “folk medicine,” “kitchen medicine,” and “home herbal pharmacy.” “Grassroots” means that it is a return to community-centered medicine, which in the case of herbs means locally grown and available through local apothecaries, which then implies local economies and sustainable organic agriculture. “Grassroots” also means that it is based on individual, family and community empowerment, where people relearn the traditions of self care and preventive medicine, thereby freeing themselves from being overly dependent on allopathic medicines and the associated costs, economically and health-wise.

Ann: What is your vision in creating the grassroots healthcare network? How can this network help accomplish your vision of grassroots healthcare?

David: Medicinecrow.com is an online botanical community, with the goal of “sharing the knowledge and wisdom of plant-based medicine.” So far, it is serving to do the following:

1. It is an online resource for educational programs covering a wide range of topics with leaders in the field of natural medicine.

2. It is a way for people seeking advice on health issues to discuss topics with health practiti

oners and other people with similar concerns or knowledge.

3. It is a place where people can share their ethno-botanical adventures and herbal projects a

s written posts, photo galleries, and video uploads.

4. It is a community resource for people to network around a diverse range of topics, including clinical questions, community gardens, herb cultivation, herb product preparation, and so on.

5. It is a venue for me personally, where I can share my writing, audio and video recordings of my classes, and travel adventures.

Ann: There is so much on-line these days, such an abundance of information – and watching and reading that information takes us away from the plants and people who, in many ways, will heal us more directly and deeply than any information we can learn on-line. Why on-line?  What can this enable you to accomplish that you couldn’t otherwise? Is it connected to other work, outside the on-line network?

David: The internet is for our modern culture what libraries and magazines were to the last generation. It is actually a more effective way of sharing and communicating information than past mediums, because it is global and instantaneous. Many people in our community are obviously out in the garden, because they are attending classes on herb cultivation, asking questions about their specific plants and seeds, and posting photos. Many people are not out in the garden or in a direct relationship with plants and the natural world, but the site serves as a way for them to learn and, most likely, to get inspired and involved. If people are going to spend time on the internet, this is probably one of the healthier, more positive and productive places to visit; for those involved in the business of herbal medicine and natural healing, having a presence on the internet is crucial now for growth and sustainability of their enterprises. Until we return to either a tribal or agrarian culture, and even if we do, the internet is now part of human life in most places of the world.

Ann: What signs do you see in the individuals and communities you work with that we are building the kind of grassroots healthcare we need to take care of ourselves and the earth? Any particular stories to share?

Everywhere I travel people are involved with natural medicine at some level. I see this segment of society because this is the nature of my work, and it brings me in contact with those communities and individuals. I see that people everywhere are planting gardens, becoming interested in learning how to use herbs, starting to distill essential oils, and so on. On a larger level, people everywhere are organizing to fight GMO’s in agriculture, to fight mining and drilling in their regions, to find ways to have healthier lives and a cleaner environment. I see this in the form of community gardens, organic farms, farmers markets, clinics of natural medicine, bee sanctuaries, distilleries and apothecaries that are linked to medicinal plant agriculture and wild crafting. I also have the good fortune to spend a lot of time at herbal conferences and events such as Bioneers, where I also see the trends toward a healthier society and environment, and witness large audiences learning and being inspired by world-class teachers, who are the true leaders of today.

Ann: I imagine that simply working with the flowers in your line of aromatherapy products for Floracopeia is gives you quote a bit of hope about the future. But I’m curious how you would answer this question, given that there is so much to feel discouraged about these days, what does give you hope? 

David: Hope and discouragement are transient subjective states of perceptual consciousness. We are surrounded by conditions that are both discouraging and hopeful, so it is mostly a question of where we want to put our attention and how to interpret our experiences. Right livelihood in a dharmic field of work such as natural healing and plant-based medicine is the best refuge against the collective psychosis we are currently passing through. In the process of working with plants and developing a closer relationship with nature, even if it is just giving or receiving natural therapies as opposed to using pharmaceutical drugs, we are also planting the seeds of better conditions, which means that we may enjoy a harvest of a more joyful and hopeful state of collective consciousness as well. Even if it does not produce collective results on a large scale, we can feel good about our own individual lives and the contributions we have made to the world.