earth seed holistic is excited to invite the brilliant herbalist, Vilde Chaya Fenster-Ehrlich to share this necessary information.
Many of us work with plant medicines to carry on the anti-oppressive, community-based, anti-authoritarian traditions of centuries of herbalists -- a kind of medicine we need all the more today. Herbal care is especially sought in many trans and non-binary communities to get away from the hostile and disempowering treatment we often experience in the medical world, and to feel a greater sense of control of our bodies in a society that tries to shame, dominate and do violence to us. This workshop will help spread information that will let us offer high quality and empowering care and connection to the trans clients and communities in our lives. The material shared comes out of the collective knowledge, expression and experimentation of many trans folks over many years, as well as the plants, institutional medical research, the always helpful guiding star of sass, and just a touch of arcane herbal lore! The workshop will be practical, accessible, and, largely, fun.
Topics covered:
-Hormone replacement therapies (HRT), the ways they work, risks and side effects, and how herbs can be supportive.
-Responsibly navigating drug-herb interactions: understanding the ways drugs and herbs interact, and the particulars of supporting clients doing HRT without affecting their pharmaceutical regimen.
-Pre- and post-operative surgical care for a variety of top and bottom surgeries.
-Herbal supports for medical and non-medical gender-affirming practices.
-Playing with gender and herbs: reflecting on the stories we have connecting gender, plants, bodies and medicines, and how these can be retold, used or subverted for survival, radical change and pleasure.
-Gender-aware and gender-expansive logistics: practical approaches to welcome and serve trans and non-binary community for people who run herbal practices, teach, write, make products and build worlds.
-Some political real talk about trans panic and vilification and the messages that support and weaponize the gender binary.
-Time for your questions!
Instructor Bio:
Vilde Chaya Fenster-Ehrlich was born in New York and migrated to the Midwest to live in small houses with lawns and gardens. She presently resides amongst the rivers, cliffs and hillsides of Pittsburgh, PA on Haudenosaunee land, where she teaches about plants and runs a sliding scale clinic as part of the Stonefruit Community Herbalists. By night she is a fearsome systems analyst/hacker at a neuroimaging laboratory. She carries on family tradition as a musical-theater-inclined, anti-authoritarian Jewish radical, and has been doing health justice work for ten years in her communities. Plants and body-awareness work have been critical allies to her as a trans woman, and she has been teaching, researching and facilitating discussion about herbs for trans folks and allies since 2013.
Ticket Information:
Tickets are offered on a sliding scale of $75-$125. Tickets are non-refundable, non-transferable.
Scholarships:
Limited scholarships are available. Scholarship priority will be for QTBIPOC. Apply here: https://goo.gl/forms/kvJlkmn6mLqaXjc42
All scholarship applications are due by Feb. 1, and scholarship recipients will be notified by Feb. 15.
Payment Plans:
Payment plans are available. Please email earthseedholistic@gmail.com to set up a payment plan.
Can't attend? Please consider donating to support the scholarship fund.
Access Notes:
The studio is located on the ground floor with no steps. It is not a scent-free space, but is low-scent, and is a location that uses incense and naturally scented cleaning products. The bathroom is narrow and not accessible.
Getting There:
The studio is located near the A/C train at Utica Ave and is directly across the street from the B26 bus stop
Please direct all questions to earthseedholistic@gmail.com.