30 – Getting involved with the Mobile Herbal Clinic Calais and other announcements!

Posted on 22nd August 2023

This is a short episode sharing several announcements from the Solidarity Apothecary, including how to get involved with the work of the Mobile Herbal Clinic Calais, a free e-book on Overcoming Burnout and more!

Links & resources from this episode

Find them all at solidarityapothecary.org/podcast/

Support the show

Music from Sole & DJ Pain – Battle of Humans | Plant illustrations by @amani_writes | In solidarity, please subscribe, rate & review this podcast wherever you listen.

Transcript
Nicole Rose:

Welcome to the Frontline Herbalism podcast with your host Nicole Rose from the Solidarity Apothecary.

Nicole Rose:

This is your place for all things plants and liberation.

Nicole Rose:

Let's get started.

Nicole Rose:

Hello, welcome back to the Frontline Herbalism Podcast.

Nicole Rose:

, hope you've enjoyed the last three episodes, which were kind of the audio version of a webinar that took place in May about state repression trauma and the body.

Nicole Rose:

Just a reminder to take a listen to those and you can, , find the links in the show notes to watch the kind of whole thing like as a webinar with, with slides and like with all the resources.

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, at your fingertips.

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This is just like a mini, , choppy episode with a few announcements and then I'm coming back very soon with the series all about the medical self-defense network, who an amazing network of medics and healthcare organizers.

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Around the world, people working, , on the frontline in Ukraine, people doing street medic work at riots and demonstrations, people organizing harm reduction work in the so-called US.

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Like I've got whole series of episodes that are amazing interviews with very inspiring people.

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, so I'm super excited to launch that.

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, I just wanted to share a couple of things.

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So one is that we've got an event next week, , about the clinic that we do in Calais.

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So if you didn't know part of a project called the Mobile Herbal Clinic Calais, , we operate a, , dedicated mobile clinic that takes place the first week of each month in Calais and Dunkirk.

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, and it offers preventive medicine, self-care, support, first aid and healthcare access support to hundreds of refugees and undocumented migrants living in the region.

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, yeah, I've mentioned the clinic several times and we're gonna have an interview with.

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, someone I organized with a lot and love a lot Victor, , that will hopefully come out next week so you can hear a bit more about the clinic.

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, but basically we're really, really kind of trying to focus now on building our team.

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So each month, a team of four people like go to Calais and Dunkirk.

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, some people are from the uk, others are from France, or different countries.

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We normally have someone who's like a clinical supervisor, so like someone who's a doctor or a medical herbalist with like five plus years of post-graduation, like active practice.

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, a field coordinator, so that's normally me who like organizes the trip and a communications assistant who supports their translation and sharing information about local health services.

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And finally, like two herbal first aiders who are really, you know, kind of triaging and asking people different questions and giving out medicine and doing like first aid dressings and stuff.

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And they're supported obviously, by the rest of the team.

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And, , yeah, and you know, a person can be in more than one role as well.

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So, , yeah, it is no small challenge trying to find the right, , group of people.

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, We've had three trips canceled this year because of not being able to have, , the right kind of mix of team members, which has been quite devastating.

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So yeah, we'd really love more people to get involved.

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And the info night is just a kind of like no pressure, , you know, like there's just gonna be a presentation talking about the project, and then people couldn't ask.

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Questions that they have.

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, and yeah, everyone is welcome to join.

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Whether you're a super experienced herbalist or a student or a doctor without much knowledge of herbal medicine, like we just.

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Yeah, we really want people to come along.

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So that's next Monday, the 28th of August at 7:00 PM and we're asking people to register their interest and be sent the kind of call link to info@mobileherbalclinic.org.

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, and I've got, I'll put a link in the show notes, but I made a blog post recently about four ways to support the Mobile Hub Clinic Calais which has got links to our donation page.

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We're still really in need of funds.

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, each trip costs around 2,400.

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, And yeah, at the moment we're literally fundraising trip by trip, which is pretty laborious.

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, so thank you.

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If you're one of the people who bought a t-shirt recently, so yes, so that was 0.1 was like, please donate.

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The second one was volunteer in Calais.

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, and then the third option to support the clinic is actually becoming like a remote translation volunteers.

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So, , you know, we've experimented with like everything under the sun, whether it's like having, , in-person translators or just using Google Translate or different apps.

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, but what we've really found effective is having like this kind of pool of people on standby who we can call if needed, and they can do like simultaneous.

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Translation on the phone, , which means they don't have to be there, they don't have to come to Calais for a whole week and only be kind of translating like a couple of those days, depending on the language.

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, and yeah, if people aren't free, they just don't need to reply on the group chat.

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So if you'd like to join the WhatsApp group, , please email us, let us know your languages and we'll add you in.

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And we've also shared a graphic with a bunch of stuff that we need.

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, like regular items that we need, which are things that we can manufacture kind of ourselves, like we make call our own medicine.

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But these are kind of like first aid items and disposable items that are, you know, we have to basically buy every month.

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So if you can blag any for free at work, that'd be amazing.

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, the list includes musculoskeletal supports.

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Mepore, like island dressings, sterile swabs, , saline bottles, that's like wound washing, heat packs, , packaging, Ziploc, plastic bags, , masks, hand sanitizer, , new gloves and socks, medical gloves, conforming bandages, blister plasterers, paper cups, tongue depressors, baby wipes, and Epsom salts.

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So if you can help us out with any of those things.

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Please email us at info@mobileherbalclinic.org and we really love that.

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Another exciting announcement is that I have made my Overcoming Burnout book free for the month of August, like the ebook version.

Nicole Rose:

Yeah, I know people have heard me talk about the prisoners herbal a lot, but this is like.

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A kind of other book that I wrote where basically I got really, really, really sick and then I spent a long time trying to get better, which, you know, led me to kind of do my clinical training.

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But I'll read, I'll read the blurb.

Nicole Rose:

Okay.

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So organizing with others for human animal and earth liberation can be one of the most empowering experiences alive.

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Yeah.

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Frontline resistance comes with risks to our physical and emotional health that can need many people to burnout and abandon social movements altogether.

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This book is about overcoming burnout, linking the author's journey of recovery with.

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Systemic forces such as classism, sexism, and power dynamics in groups, poverty, chronic illness, ableism, as well as grief and trauma from prison and state.

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Repression is a call for models of mutual aid and collective care simultaneously, deeply personal and acutely political.

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For anyone involved in grassroots organizing is a must read.

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So the reason I've done that is because even though it's summer and everyone's like, woo, summer, like I actually, what I see around me is like a lot of people really struggling, like a lot of people, , just really frazzled and kind of nervously exhausted from their work, from their organizing, from their lives, from kind of stress they're experiencing.

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And yeah, , I just hope that it is, Like a helpful resource for people.

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So I'll put a link in the show notes of where you can get that.

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And you just use the code burnout in capitals.

Nicole Rose:

That's only got like a week left now before I'll, , you know, charge for again.

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I mean, it's only three quid to be fair, but, , I know everyone likes the freebie.

Nicole Rose:

Okay, and another exciting announcement.

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I'm doing a talk, , with the Railyard Apothecary online, , about herbalism, incarceration and abolition.

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So it's gonna be Thursday, the 5th of October.

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, for an hour and a half, and I'm just gonna read the blurb.

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, This workshop will explore the role of herbalism in supporting prisoners, families, and communities affected by incarceration and herbalist roles.

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In the abolition of these systems of oppression, there are more than 11.5 million people incarcerated worldwide, including massive 2.2 million in the so-called United States.

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Most are completely excluded from herbalism, yet many can find plants cracking through the concrete.

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These plants can bring hope, connection, and health support to people experiencing the worst of state violence.

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In this workshop, we will explore the health impacts of incarceration and look at herbal strategies to support people experiencing stress and P T S D.

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We will look at some of the practical uses of plants commonly found in prison yards and how to make medicine with, with next to no medicine, making gear.

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Together we will explore abolition as a framework and the role of herbalist within these movements.

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And yeah, it's gonna be a little fundraiser and I'm gonna use the funds to, , yeah, sponsor getting the books, the prisoners, herbal books to people in prison.

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, I've already announced it, but just a reminder that my, , herbalism P T S D and Traumatic Stress Course is launching at the end of September.

Nicole Rose:

Please, please, please sign up to the waiting list if you can.

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, it's getting quite full, which is very exciting and I'm starting to think maybe I might need to limit it, , just in terms of capacity of like onboarding so many people at once.

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So if you're interested, I really strongly encourage you to sign up if you can.

Nicole Rose:

, and I know I mentioned it before, but this week is the week of solidarity with anarchist prisoners.

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, I'll put the link in the show notes, but I'd really encourage you to check out some of the resources online to write to someone in prison to organize some sort of banner draw or action or event if you can.

Nicole Rose:

Alright, I think that's all of my little announcements.

Nicole Rose:

, yes, please join us in the Calais Info night if you can.

Nicole Rose:

, I'm also doing a series, , on Instagram about herbalism and for hyper responsibility and chronic stress, which I think I'm gonna try and record all the episodes like as a kind of podcast at some point.

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But, , definitely check that out if that's something you can relate to if you're dealing with kind of chronic stress and tension and overwhelm.

Nicole Rose:

Then I'm sharing about some plug babes on there.

Nicole Rose:

, okay.

Nicole Rose:

And yeah, I hope you enjoyed the rest of the episodes this week, all about the Medical Self Defense Network.

Nicole Rose:

Thanks for listening.

Nicole Rose:

Please, please, please review the show if you can.

Nicole Rose:

Yeah.

Nicole Rose:

Thank you so much and speak soon.

Nicole Rose:

Thanks so much for listening to the Frontline Herbalism podcast.