Interview Conducted on 6/13/2014
Tell us about about your new role as MUIH’s Garden Manager. What does your day look like?
It totally rocks! I’ve been handed the reins of the MUIH Herb Garden, a garden that has been tended to by previous western herbal medicine students over the years. They’ve expanded and transformed it many different over the years. Now, its my turn to carry the baton and take it through its next evolution. The garden stands as testimony that the average gardener, farmer or herbalist can grow a diverse garden of native plants without a lot of knowledge or experience.
I’m basically tasked to revive the garden space, maintain it and then expand what it offers. More importantly, I’m establishing an internship & volunteer program to create experiential educational opportunities for students, while receiving assistance in maintaining and growing the space. Whenever visitors come into the garden and have questions, the I act as an ambassador – not just for the garden but for the school.
Its part-time, so I work in the garden 2-3 days a week for anywhere from 2-4 hours at a time. My schedule varies. If you see someone in a cowboy hat throwing dirt around, that’s me!
What is something interesting about our garden that most people do not know?
There are close to 100+ cultivated & naturalized medicinal plants in and around the garden! Many of these plants are ones that taught in Western Herb programs and used by the Western Herbal Clinicians in the Natural Care Center. The herbal dispensary actually harvests some of the plants that we have in abundance to make medicine that is sold in the dispensary.
The garden tool cabinet acts as a home for Monsanto, the garden snake! Yes, I’m serious! there is a snake that lives in the tool cabinet. However, I let Monsanto do his thing and I do mine. He is there for a reason and so am I. I’ve got his back, but I’m pretty sure he doesn’t have mine!
What is your experience in working the soil?
I got into working the soil before I got into herbs, as I started my adventures with a desire to reconnect with nature and to tap into nature’s wisdom as all the great traditions & spiritual masters of the world have.
It started with my adventures when I was living in the jungles of India. Its was kinda wild I’d have to say and I connected with soil on a whole different level! Then eventually led me to learning about ecosystems and the environment, which got me into Permaculture, a design methodology used to create sustainable human settlements in a holistic & integrated manner. It has a lot of overlap philosophically with herbal medicine. I created my own urban permaculture garden spaces, which is where I did most of my experimentation for 4 years or so.
What is your vision for the MUIH garden in 1 year?
I’d like to see the garden beautiful once again, with clean and organized garden beds full of medicinal plants. I’d like to have a group of interns & volunteers learning from the garden and contributing back to it. And lastly, I’d like for it to be enjoyed by all the students.
Are all the plants in our garden medicinal?
Absolutely not! There all sorts of plants the serve various functions in the garden that aren’t directly useful to humans. They support the ecosystem in various ways. In some cases, they attract pollinators, repel certain insects, fix nitrogen in the soil, mine minerals from deep within the soil and bring them to the surface for other plants to use. The plants that are explicitly identified with signs in the garden beds are medicinal plants. However, there are many other medicinal plants that grow wild in and around the garden as well.
What are some of the plants that flourish the most in our garden currently, and what are their medicinal properties?
Hops. This plant is used to make certain types of beers. One its medicinal uses is as a sedative and its one of the stronger ones in the herbalist’s toolbox.
Elder. This plant has delectable berries that are made into a nice syrup, as the berries need to be cooked before they can be consumed. It’s a great anti-viral and useful for the cold and flu.
Lavender. The flowers of this plant, as many of you know, have an exquisite smell and are quite relaxing to the mind. So, come by and stick your head over the bush before your next exam and see what happens.
What are some of your favorite plants in the MUIH garden?
Poke! I tend to be the herbalist that likes to experiment, especially when there are “safety warnings” associated with an herb. Poke is one such herb with a “safety warning”, however, I’ve made my own medicine from it over the years and experimented with it much, its great! We have a connection for some reason!
Mullein! Its got this tall erect structure that shoots up to the sky. Its like royalty, yet its got leaves as soft as cotton.
Autumn Olive! Actually, this single plant has caused me a lot of pain, cuts & one Rambo style surgery. However, I’m hoping that by deeming it my favorite plant, it might go live somewhere else. Please!
Fringe Tree! It was in bloom a month ago and it was gorgeous and you could see it from one of the classrooms. Its thriving in the garden.
What is your background with plant medicine?
It started years back, when I decided to do a reboot on my life during my mid-twenties. I decided to leave everything behind and move to the jungles of India for while. I lived in a remote rural village with indigenous people in a tiger & bio-diversity reserve. That I feel is when I really connected with the power of plant medicine. Then I spent a number of years in self-study, observing nature, cultivating my own medicinal herbs, making medicine and doing a whole lot of experimentation. Eventually, that led me to come to MUIH to study herbal medicine.
What are some of your favorite medicinal plants, and why?
To be honest, its gotta be what people call “weeds”! These tenacious guys are quite selfless if you ask me! They prep the soil so other plants can take root. A few examples of weeds that you’ll find around the garden and that have medicinal & ecological value are Dandelion, Mugwort, Yellow Dock and Golden Rod.
Dandelion root is a mild liver tonic useful in the spring time. Mugwort is great at stimulating digestion, thanks to its bitter principles. Yellow Dock is good at stimulating the body’s various eliminatory functions. Golden Rod is all over the place and its quite useful for chronic upper respiratory issues.
Who can volunteer in the garden?
Any student who is serious about connecting with nature & plants, doesn’t mind getting dirty & smelly and can deal with their fair share of manual labor!
Shoot me message and I’ll add you to the volunteer mailing list, where I announce workdays where volunteers can come help in the garden. If you’d like to work more regularly in the garden, we can discuss that too!
Can people donate plants to the garden?
Absolutely! It’d be nice to know the common & latin name of what you’ll be donating if possible, but it isn’t required. And if I start getting lots of plants I might create a mini-plant sanctuary for all the “donated plants”!
And if you have planters, pots or other garden supplies you’d like to donate so the entire student community can benefit from them, I’ll make use of those in the garden too!
Shoot me a message if you’d like to contribute plant or supplies!
Rohan Jasani is a graduate of the clinical herbalism program at MUIH and is currently seeing clients in the Natural Care Center. He can be reached at: rohan@rohanjasani.com or www.rohanjasani.com.
Photo by Quentin REY on Unsplash
