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.

This project is run by anarchist organiser and herbalist Nicole Rose (she/her) based in the Westcountry of England. My lineages are English, Welsh and Irish. I have been studying herbal medicine for over 15 years. I completed a four-year clinical training with The Plant Medicine School in Ireland to develop my skills as a practitioner and am committed to continuous learning.

As a herbalist, I focus on supporting people experiencing state violence. This includes prisoners, ex prisoners and their families, refugees and asylum seekers, organisers and defendants experiencing repression and more.

For better or worse, prison has shaped my adult life. I’ve been supporting partners, friends and comrades in prison for the last 20 years. I did a 3.5 year sentence myself after a huge wave of state repression against a campaign to close down Europe’s largest animal testing company. Plants sustained me through my sentence and many years later I finally wrote the Prisoner’s Herbal book which is now distributed to prisoners worldwide.

My goal as a herbalist is to contribute to developing healthcare infrastructure that builds autonomy beyond the state, capitalism, white supremacy and patriarchy.

I believe the joy, pleasure and nourishment that plant medicines gift us can help support people survive state violence while we work to tear oppressive systems down and rebuild anew. I believe in a world without cages. I believe in collective care, autonomy and responsibility to each other and the land. I am continuously inspired by movements, revolutionaries and organisers around the world, especially Black and Brown feminists and abolitionists that share frameworks of healing justice, abolition, mutual aid and liberation. You can read more about my values here.

Anarchists have always been dedicated to mutual aid – from smuggling food to prisoners to providing safe houses for people on the run from fascist regimes. The Solidarity Apothecary is herbal medicine as mutual aid. The time for revolutionary medicine is now.

Offerings

Herbal Care Packages

The main focus of the Solidarity Apothecary is making and distributing plant medicines to people experiencing state violence and repression. 

The project started off with informally gifting comrades little herbal care packages. Now medicines have been gifted to people all over the world. From court support packs for the Kill The Bill defendants, to medicines for prisoner family members to herbal first aid for thousands of asylum seekers experiencing border violence in Northern France. Learn more here.

One to One Herbal Support  

I offer one-to-one support via an online clinic. Witnessing so much burnout and trauma around me has propelled my journey as a herbalist. I truly believe that people contending with isolation, chronic illness, fatigue, deteriorating health, trauma and distress need support, not abandonment. Yet high quality healthcare is out of reach for most. 

For this reason I created a sliding scale clinic to support burnt out organisers with herbal medicine so that they can engage in struggles for liberation for the long-haul. I also support people 1:1 such as prisoner families and former prisoners, amongst others. 

The clinic offers in-depth personalised herbal support. Sessions are offered online and medicines are sent in the post. Medicines are grown and made nearly entirely from the land where I live. Learn more about the clinic here.

Grassroots Herbal Projects including the Mobile Herbal Clinic Calais  

Since 2019, the Mobile Herbal Clinic Calais has maintained a presence in Northern France supporting refugees and migrants risking their lives to cross the British Border. Before having my son, I would regularly visit Calais most months as a Field Coordinator and Herbal First Aider being mentored by senior herbalists and doctors. Since October 2019, we have seen more than 10,000 people with upper respiratory conditions, skin complaints, digestive issues and more, as well as injuries from police violence. Our medicines are made by a dedicated network of grassroots medicine makers and growers. Together, we made and distributed more than 6,000 medicines at the beginning of the pandemic. Learn more here.

In 2022, I was involved in starting Ukraine Herbal Solidarity which is sadly no longer active. The grassroots project distributed more than 17,000 medicines to people fleeing Russia’s genocidal re-invasion of Ukraine.

The Prisoner’s Herbal Book 

A large focus of my work is distributing the Prisoner’s Herbal book to people in prison worldwide. The book shares the medicinal properties of plants commonly found in prison courtyards. It contains ten detailed plant profiles, as well as instructions on how to prepare plant medicines in a prison and low resource environment. It is based on my experience of using herbs through my prison sentence. Learn more here.

More than 3000 copies have been sent to prisoners via different prisoner book and support projects. Please get in touch if you can help get copies to people inside or request copies here.

The book has been translated into Spanish and distributed across Spain and Mexico. Read more about these editions here. Italian, Greek, French, German and Arabic translations are all in progress. Check out the prisoner testimonials about the book.

Other Books

Overcoming Burnout, 2019 – This book dives into my personal recovery from burnout while exploring wider systemic forces such as classism, sexism and power dynamics in groups, poverty, chronic illness and ableism, as well as grief and trauma from prison and state repression. It is a call for models of mutual aid and collective care beyond capitalist ideas of consumer self-care. Learn more here. 

The Medicinal Herb Colouring Book, 2020 – This book shares 50 beautiful illustrations of common plants and descriptions of their medicinal properties. Learn more here. 

Herbalism and State Violence, 2024 – From herbal care for handcuff injuries to healing from incarceration, this book looks at examples from around the world of herbal solidarity in practice. Learn more here.  

Just to make it clear – all of my ebooks are available for free to anyone who needs them, just get in touch. They can also be requested for prisoners. 

Learn more about the books here (and where to buy them).

Courses and Workshops

Courses

The Herbalism, PTSD and Traumatic Stress Course is a self-paced course with eight comprehensive modules exploring the politics of trauma and how it can affect our bodies and health, as well as individual and collective responses to traumatic stress. Learners will develop an in-depth knowledge of plants, herbalism and nervous system physiology, grounded in an anti-oppressive analysis. There are 60 video lessons in total including 32 in-depth plant profiles about herbs with an affinity for the nervous system. Learn more here.

Making Herbal Medicine with Glycerine Workshop – this online workshop explores how to make herbal glycerites in simple and effective ways. Learn more here.

Practical Medicine Making Intensive – this is a three day face to face course that introduces many of the incredible ways we can make medicine with plants. Learn more here.

Free Workshops

These are recordings of workshops I’ve given that are available for free – including the slides as a pdf download. 

Herbalism and State Violence – this workshop aims to explore herbalism’s role in revolutionary movements working for the abolition of the state and the prison industrial complex, while sharing tangible, practical medicine making recipes and tools to take care of each other for the long haul. Learn more here.

State Repression, Trauma and the Body Webinar – introduces the traumatic dynamics of state repression and the important role of solidarity and care in mitigating the violence of the state. Learn more here.

Herbalism, Incarceration and Abolition Workshop – this workshop explores the role of herbalism in supporting prisoners, families and communities affected by incarceration, and herbalist roles in the abolition of these systems of oppression. Learn more here.

The Solidarity Apothecary can offer herbal clinics at sites of resistance such as occupations, protest sites, gatherings and events. Site life can take its toll, from physical injury, PTSD from police violence, or simply the physical endurance of living outside. I like to offer immune and stress support to people whose bodies are on the line, as well as those doing invisible labour behind the scenes to make ongoing resistance a reality.

I can also work as a street/action medic bringing my kit to demos on request or organising a crew of trusted comrades to hold space together for health needs at mobilisations. 

Finally, I’ve been grateful to be invited to do speaking tours on various anti-repression, abolition and herbalism themes over the years. Definitely get in touch if you’d like to organise something.

The Frontline Herbalism Podcast

The Frontline Herbalism Podcast is a show for people who love plants and care about liberation. Plant knowledge, medicine making tips, interviews and advice on how to skill up to strengthen collective autonomy, self-defence and resilience to climate change, capitalism and state violence. Learning and inspiration from grassroots healthcare initiatives and frontline herbal projects worldwide. Listen on your favourite podcast player and check out all the shows here.

Support the Solidarity Apothecary

All of the above work is supported by people enrolling in my online courses, buying books and donating! I massively appreciate folks who support this work by becoming a monthly supporter. Click here for how to donate!

If you’d like to be kept updated about all of these different things, events, courses, solidarity shout-outs and more then please join my newsletter (very low traffic).

You can also follow me on Instagram @solidarity.apothecary

Also, don’t be afraid to send me an email at info@solidarityapothecary.org Building relationships is one of the most revolutionary things we can do.