The mission of the Solidarity Apothecary is to materially support revolutionary struggles and communities with plant medicines to strengthen collective autonomy, self-defence and resilience to climate change, capitalism and state violence.
Each year I review my work in an annual review post – find the 2024 review here. I also share my goals publicly to help create accountability for myself and the apothecary.
2025 major focus: the overarching focus of the year is to invest in the Solidarity Apothecary ecosystem and long term offerings.
What does this mean in practice?
Developing systems and structures:
- Creating a learning.solidarityapothecary.org website that can serve learners better e.g. with easy instructions for logging in, accessing content etc.
- Ensuring all systems are set up for book sales which fund the Prisoner’s Herbal work. This means getting all Ebooks sorted with IngramSpark (a distributor) and getting better things in place for people selling hard copies of books. There are also some exciting things happening behind the scenes with a publisher keen to republish the books at a bigger scale.
- Completing the redesign of our Prisoners Herbal database and reconnecting with folks who’ve received books to see if they can distribute more.
- Investing in my herb shed – potentially building a second storage shed, making a fancy inventory system, tightening up my GMP practices.
- Redesigning my herb garden – oh my poor neglected herb garden! To be honest, I’d like to rebuild the entire garden now the project has evolved so much to make it much lower maintenance and with “proper” raised beds that are easier to manage.
- Email templates – continuing to systematise my inbox with filters and templates so that it’s easier to manage with how little time I have right now as a new mum.
- Documenting my “standard operating procedures” of how I do things so that folks can more easily help in future (sending newsletters, updating my website, medicine making etc).
Investing energy in creating long term offerings:
- Finishing and launching the Do No Harm course.
- Doing a deep design of the Frontline Herbalism Membership. Planning, organising and working on content.
If either of these offerings sound exciting to you, please join my newsletter for updates!
I also want to focus on increasing enrolment in things that already exist:
- Doubling enrolment in the Herbalism, PTSD and Traumatic Stress Course
- Increasing sign ups to the making herbal medicine with glycerine workshop
- Increasing ebook sales
- Building my newsletter list
As well as continuing on with important aspects of the Solidarity Apothecary:
- Continuing to respond to requests for Herbal Care Packages
- Continuing to post out Prisoners Herbal books to folks in prison
- Teaching the practical medicine making intensives
- Creating regular podcast episodes. I’ve just surrendered to the fact that interviews are really hard right now while trying to navigate breastfeeding and contact naps (basically booby to sleep!). So there may need to be more solo series until Lee is a little older. Id love to do seasons this year about herbs and harm reduction, as well as herbalism and climate change. Any recommendations for guests welcome!
I’m trying sooooo hard to not indulge in shiny object syndrome by getting excited about new projects before systematising existing ones (Gemini ascendant anyone?! 🤣)
However there are a couple of things I’d love to do this year if I’m able to organise childcare:
- Create a Herbs for Liberation group program for burnt out organisers that involves herbal support in a collective way. For example, group calls and a group chat to create community and accountability for working with plant medicines, making nutritional changes etc.
- Volunteering with the People’s Apothecary – a new herbal project near me in Somerset
- Seeing one to one clients again
- Developing distance learning workbooks for prisoners who want to keep learning after reading the Prisoners Herbal
- Be involved in some kind of herbal harm reduction project locally
Beyond the Solidarity Apothecary
Other organising goals
- Support the Mobile Herbal Clinic Calais to receive £3k per month in monthly supporters
- Organise an online prisoner solidarity training
- Continue to amplify calls for solidarity on my networks
- Work with my partner to do a fundraiser for his rehab (it’s a charity)
Personal goals
- Get fit postpartum!
- Go to more local things to make more local friends as traveling to Bristol just isn’t possible right now with Lee
- Build my confidence in getting out of the house with Lee more
- Participate in some online family anon meetings
- Get surfing and paddleboarding in Cornwall
Learning pathway goals
- Enrol in functional medicine training
- Complete my foot health diploma theory course
My word of the year: root systems
Don’t be afraid to get in touch if any of the above speaks to you and you’d like to collaborate in anyway!
