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Black & Pink News
JULY/AUGUST 2020
Getting to Know Herbal Allies by Nicole Rose, from the Solidarity Apothecary and the Prisoners Herbalism Collective When I was 21 years old, I entered one of Britain’s highest security prisons for women and began a 3.5-year prison sentence for my role in a campaign to close down an animal testing company. I was no stranger to the prison system with my first partner getting sent down at 16 years old. I was, however, expecting to be totally removed from nature. Yet even on my very first day I encountered crows sitting on the prison fences and dandelions breaking through the concrete. A couple of months into my sentence, I got a job in the prison gardens. This involved weeding and mowing grass in the small triangular prison yards. Even in these hostile environments, I was amazed by the diversity of plants I encountered. I began to read more about herbalism and got some funding to do a distance learning course in herbal medicine. My life changed forever. In 2019, I published book called the Prisoner’s Herbal that explores the medicinal uses of the common plants I found such as dandelions, nettles, chickweed and mallow. It also contains detailed descriptions of how to use things like fruits and vegetables, salt and pepper and other spices in medicinal ways which you can occasionally access in prisons. Please see the end to learn how to request a free copy of the book.
Throughout my time inside and in the ten years since of supporting friends and people in the prison system, it’s clear that medical neglect is a constant reality. My best friend had to fight for more than 2.5 years to get the cancer treatment she needed. On the wing, people would laugh at all the random leaves and roots I had drying in my cell. Yet they’d come to me and say “Nicole, can I have a few of those things you gave me for period pains?” Or “Nicole, what can I take for my headache?”. I learnt to experiment with all manner of plants, teabags and condiments I could scavenge in the prison. Partly because I knew it could take weeks to see a doctor. I smuggled dandelion leaves in my bra to eat with my bland prison food knowing they were full of vitamins and minerals. Connecting with plants in prison isn’t just about medicinal or nutritious uses - it’s about friendship. It is about contending with the isolation, despair, trauma and violence with something alive and beautiful. I slept with a dandelion root under my pillow and it made me feel less alone. During days we were locked down, I would draw herbs or read books, even dream about plants.
How do you prepare plant medicines in prison?
Most plants listed in the Prisoner’s Herbal book are edible, meaning you can safely eat them fresh. The most simple thing I often did was make a tea - simply adding herbs to a cup of hot water, letting it sit a while, and then drinking it. We didn’t have kettles for a long time, so I would infuse herbs in a flask of hot water that we were allowed in our cells. This meant the tea got really strong overnight and I’d drink it in the morning. The Prisoner’s Herbal book contains many other options for medicine making including decoctions (where herbs are boiled up in water on a stove) - something I wasn’t able to do but some prisoners can access kitchen equipment. It’s also possible to make herbal vinegars with vinegar bought on the canteen (commissary) where herbs are stored in a jar for two weeks and then strained out. The medicinal vinegar can then be added to food for extra nutrition. Other options include making eye baths or using different herbal teabags on the eyes, as well as DIY herbal foot baths if you can scavenge a big enough container. I also give examples of how to make a compress or poultice, whereby plants are prepared and applied to the skin, or where herbs are infused with water and then soaked in material and wrapped around sore joints. Herbal steams and burning herbs
