A Grassroots Healthcare Revolution! Farm to Pharmacy Programs 2010

A Unique Hands-On Learning Experience

Farm to Pharmacy is an innovative internship program that takes place from April through October at Goldthread Herb Farm and Apothecary in the foothills of the Berkshires in western Massachusetts. The Farm to Pharmacy Internship is an educational, life changing opportunity that exposes students to the fundamentals of herbal medicine synthesizing traditional Chinese, Ayurvedic, & Western herbal traditions; from cultivation of plants to their use in clinical practice, with an emphasis on creating a sustainable, non-toxic, and cost-effective community-based healthcare system.

 

 

Farm to Pharmacy Fall-Winter Internship (November-March)

The physiological actions of herbs are taught, in addition to basic chemistry, within the context of traditional Western, Chinese, and Ayurvedic medical systems. The preparation of tinctures, syrups, elixirs, teas, salves, and oils are all introduced in our new classroom processing center. Students will delve into the use and production of essential oils– including a unique opportunity to participate in the distillation of essential oils and hydrosols using our eighty-five gallon commercial still! Overall, interns will gain a deep experiential understanding of the healing qualities of medicinal plants.  More info...

 

 

 

 

Farm to Pharmacy Seven-Month Internship (April-October)

Interns begin in the greenhouse, tending to seedlings and learning the fundamentals of propagating over one hundred species of medicinal plants. As the season progresses students learn plant identification, soil health and composition, composting strategies, maintenance and design of educational and production gardens, and harvesting and processing techniques. A special part of the program is the unique opportunity to participate in the distillation of essential oils and hydrosols over a wood fire in our new eighty-five gallon commercial still.

Our educational approach combines working with living herbs in the soil, studying the academic and scientific knowledge of phytomedicine, and then utilizing finished herbal products for practical healing purposes.  In this way students gain a truly holistic understanding of the power of plants.  More info...

 

 

 

Intensive Immersion Programs  May be taken separately or as a series.

June 21-25, August 2-6, September 20-24.

In response to rapidly growing interest, we have crafted an abbreviated version of the longer Farm to Pharmacy program that teaches all of the fundamentals of our seven-month program in three five-day intensives offered throughout the growing season at the Goldthread Herb Farm. The Farm to Pharmacy Intensive-immersion program has been designed to offer people that live outside the community the opportunity to participate in this unique hands-on model of grassroots herbal healthcare in an intensive format. Participants will divide their time between supervised work with the herbs on the farm and classroom presentations designed to teach the most important material from the seven-month program.  More info...

See images from the first session!

 

 

 

 

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