Experts in This Article
Jess Turner is an herbalist, farmer, gardener, and educator.
Shes also the founder of Olamina Botanicals.
From my first full day on the farm, I knew Id made the right decision, she says.
I had found my way back home to myself.
My ancestors were pleased and I knew it.
Turner also offers one-on-one herbal consultations and leads educational workshops.
Jess Turner is an herbalist, farmer, gardener, and educator. She’s also the founder of Olamina Botanicals.
W+G: Why do you think its important to educate marginalized communities in herbalism?
This made a deep impression on me.
We know that doing so helps us feel joy.
My work is about building connections.
How do we work through it?
Farming on our terms.
Growing on our terms.
The USDAs farm loan programs have been documented todiscriminate against BIPOC [communities].
…African-Americans went from owning some14 percent of U.S. farmland in 1910 to today owning less than 1 percent.
Jess Turner is an herbalist, farmer, gardener, and educator. She’s also the founder of Olamina Botanicals.
W+G: How do you see herbalism and urban farming as forms of Black resistance?
JT:Malcolm X said: Land is the basis of all independence.
Land is the basis of freedom, justice, and equality.
Growing our own food and feeding ourselves helps us develop autonomy and self-determination.
So I feel like farming helps us to reclaim our kinship with the Earth.
This source is the Earth itself.
Black people live in a system hell-bent on our annihilation.
Practicing herbalism and learning the healing plants is a celebration of our being.
When Hurricane Katrina hit, residents of areas of New Orleansmost vulnerable to flooding were Black and Vietnamese.
White supremacy shows up in the lived environment and in our bodies.
We cant talk about justice without talking about these things.
W+G: How can readers support the work that youre doing within marginalized communities?
Like many Black-femme-owned businesses, mine is run on a wing and a prayer.
People can support me by contributingto my reparations fund.
This fund is exclusively for herbal medicine, herbal education, and healing for Black people.
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