Herbal Solidarity: Reflections on Fire Cider Making & Community Hope

Rad Herb Australia invited all herb lovers to host a Fire Cider Making event in May with their communities, as part of a Herbalists for Palestine event.

This day was about getting together with Palestine in our hearts and minds, and a space to invite how we can better redistribute our wealth in a time where so many are suffering.

Over 25 people joined on the morning, with the invitation to bring along ingredients for making Fire Cider collectively. The morning started with harvesting fresh Horseradish roots from the garden and chopping and slicing herbs as rain fell outside. This casual morning enabled group and one-on-one conversations while sipping on Palestinian-inspired ‘Shay bil Maramiya’ (Black tea, Sage, Sugar) and nibbling on sweet Maamoul (Semolina and butter cookies).

Short readings were shared from the book ‘Land In Our Bones’ by Layla K. Feghali, sharing the beautiful teachings of plants native to the Levant region from Syria to Sinai, many of which grow in gardens here in so-called Australia, from European colonisation. This book centres around ‘plancestral remembrance’, and the healing cultures through these lands with food and plants. Every herbal library needs a copy.

Reflecting on the day, I think of the radical, yet simple act of being in a space with others, engaging in practices that generations of people have done on lands all over the world: coming together with food, drink, and plants, preparing ourselves and communities with foods and medicines for later seasons.

Many who attended this morning are part of our wider activist group ‘Celebrate Palestine South West’ and later reflected that amongst activist work and action for Palestinian liberation - days like this are vital for our collective energy, relationships and hearts. As many have said, “hope is a muscle”.

This day showed me the beauty and power of people coming together with a common care, rage, love and heartbreak over the long genocide we are continuing to witness in Palestine. I’m grateful to the Rad Herb team for making this call-out, we will host more events inspired by this action in future.

Here’s to collectively shaping our herbal practices with solidarity, collectivism, hope, decolonial and radical herbalism. ✊

MUTUAL AID FOR GAZA

Call to action: How you can support those organising with an immediate relationship on the ground: Funds will be directly redistributed to Gazan families in need of basic survival support. Head to givebutter.com/river2sea to donate (Organised by herbalist Layla K. Feghali).

Take a screenshot of your donation and send to tamara@fromthsoil.com.au and I’ll gift you 50ml jar of Comfrey leaf salve.