Use welcome15 at checkout for 15% off your first purchase - Please allow 3-5 business days for your order to be shipped - if you would like it more urgently please email!

Maine Women's Herbal Retreat 2021

  

Third Annual Maine Women's Herbal Retreat

July 16-18 2021

Mindful Earth Farm and Apothecary

Durham, ME 04222

 We would love to invite you to join us for a transformative weekend of herbal education, locally sourced nourishing meals, unique hands-on workshops, and an opportunity to dive deep within and nurture your relationship with yourself, the plants and the land, and a really incredible group of ladies which some are guaranteed to become lifelong friends.

This weekend will take place at Mindful Earth Farm and Apothecary in Durham, Maine with 12 acres of land to explore and enjoy throughout your stay. We realize that this is a delicate and transitional time within our worlds - and want to remain respectful of these events. This is a small outdoor event - please only make the choice to join us if you feel absolutely safe and comfortable doing so.

  This weekend you will have the opportunity to expand your knowledge about wild and cultivated plants, cannabis medicine, medicinal mushroom foraging, and experience a variety of workshops created to encourage expansion of the Heart and Spirit through community and sisterhood.

 We have a very special weekend planned – One of our favorite aspects of this time together is the opportunity to create and bring to life a really beautiful unique menu focused on medicinal herbs, locally sourced veggies and fruit, and a variety of raw vegan mouth-watering sweet treats. We also welcome back Cassandra the very talented mocktail bar medicinal drink creatress! Cassie blew us away with her mocktail bar the last two years – we can’t wait to see what she comes up with this year. We will hold space for true connection and sisterhood around a big beautiful fire, get mini massages from Tara Cavanaugh of Health Resonates, and enjoy the summer night sky overlooking the lit up gardens on our land.

 We have a full weekend planned that will sure be inspiring and memorable to say the least! Please plan to arrive Friday between 1130-130pm, and stay until early Sunday evening. This is an outdoor event – camping is allowed anywhere on the property!  Our full schedule and detailed workshops descriptions with teacher bios will be available soon!

  The cost for the weekend is 800$. There are payment plans available on an individual basis. We have six opportunities to be volunteer staff, and also two scholarship spaces from generous donors - one for a woman in recovery from substance use disorder, and one for a BIPOC woman. Please email for applications for both volunteer and scholarship if you feel called. The monetary cost includes:

All meals and beverages. All ingredients sourced organically and as locally as possible. 2 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 2 dinners with dessert, snack and tea/hemp honey bar available all day. Mocktail/Cocktail Bar Saturday night. Please inform us of any allergies - the menu will be gluten and dairy free, vegetarian options always available for every meal.

Welcome bag with offerings from all workshops presenters, a notebook and pen, custom made mug by Chloe Treu of Treupots, and Professional Photos capturing the weekends special moments.

All Workshops:

Opening Weaving Ceremony with Alex and Kelly


Community Weave
In this community weave we all will be leading with love and creating connection.  Connection with the natural world and rhythm of the seasons as well as each other. As humans, we long for honest, deep connection. Weavers make the effort to build those connections and make others feel valued.

Please bring something from home to add to the weave. It can be fabric, clothing, a bead , a dried plant, hair , almost anything. Just a something that will stay and be added the the story of the weave .

 Plant Monographing with Kelly and Alyssa

When starting to go down the plant medicine rabbit hole and using the earth's medicine to support ourselves, our loved ones, and our communities- it's crucial to learn the plants characteristics, actions, uses, contraindications, energetics, harvesting practices, and in my opinion - get to know their spirit and personality a bit. I'll show you how I monograph when learning new plants - and since I am not a wonderful artist - Alyssa will share some plant drawing guidance.

Petal Portal- A Healing Flower Balm Workshop with Brooke Frost

In this workshop, we will be celebrating the transcendent + healing magic of all things FLOWERS! 

A guided vibrational flower meditation will help shift us into a realm of whimsy, as we intuitively infuse a healing medley of flowers into oil and learn how to create our own skin balms using luscious, yet easily accessible ingredients. We will have a shimmering scent bar; a collection of artisan distilled essential oil blends, earthen mineral pigments and hand pressed flowers to customize our own face + body nectar to bestow upon us truly ethereal beauty, as we immerse in a loving circle of petal play. 

Bio:

Brooke Frost, founder of LunaRoots Botanicals, is a budding herbalist and skincare potions creatress based out of southern Vermont. Her work is whimsically woven with intuitive plant beauty and bio-regionally sourced botanicals. She has spent the last 5 years developing one of a kind beauty medicine. Her hopes are to support the work of inner/outer beauty alignment through the cultivation of rituals that evoke magical moments and embrace the acknowledgement that what we put on our sacred bodies not only matters, but can create powerfully transformative experiences. 

  Medicinal Mushrooms with Alyssa Pittera

This class will start with a meander through the woods to get acquainted with any mushroom friends that may be fruiting!  We will go over proper identification and poisonous look a-likes(if any) and best ways to sustainably harvest.  We will discuss at least 7 mushrooms that can be found locally, and how to process them and make your own medicine.  This class will hopefully instill enough confidence for you to start foraging your own medicinal mushrooms!

Bio

Alyssa has been a plant and mushroom enthusiast for 8 years and counting.  She studied herbalism at the California School of herbal Studies, completed a 3-month permaculture internship on Maui, has a 200 hour YTT certification, attended the Wild Living Soils Program in Durango, CO, and has peppered in dozens of classes, educational gatherings, and workshops throughout the years. Her love and knowledge of mushrooms started in Washington State at the Green Gathering, held by students and teachers from Bastyr University, and has continued here on the east coast by attending classes held by NH Mushroom Company and Maine Mycological Society, and largely is self-taught.  Between the months of July and October, you can usually catch her lying on the ground in the forest with her phone out snapping pictures of mushrooms with a few field guides in her basket. 

Class : Cannabis Alchemy from Seed to Soul with Nyeela Hueholt

In this class we will dive into the process of working with cannabis regeneratively from seed to medicine making. We will cover the basics of soil building, cover cropping, companion planting, making herbal compost teas, harvesting, and how to make potent cannabis extracts and medicine at home. ​Cannabis not only works with our physical bodies in profound ways but she has the ability to shift our consciousness to connect us with things larger than ourselves. I believe this work is more important than ever. ​Working with cannabis from seed to finished product has been a catalyst for profound personal transformation for myself and I look forward to sharing the process with you!

 Bio: 

Nyeela Hueholt is a community herbalist, hemp farmer, registered medical marijuanna caregiver and owner of Rooted Heart Remedies. Nyeela's connection to the natural world was cultivated at a young age with the biologically diverse land of the Blue Ridge Mountains as her playground. Nyeela hails from seven generations of farmers. Since moving to Maine in 2016 she has deepened her connection to our plant allies and has taken the opportunity to study with Maria Groves and Lauren Pignetelli. With an ever evolving curiosity and understanding of nature, she believes plants are our greatest teachers. Nyeela creates space to share how plants assist us to step into our highest self and cultivate deeper community among humans and all living beings.

 

 Plant Ally’s for Emotional Wellness, Trauma, and Stress

With Kelly

I think its very safe to say that this work and offering is critical in the times we currently live in. There is deep confusion, anger and resentment, desperation, hopelessness, enormous grief, and anxiety - sometimes swallowing us whole and keeping us in this cyclical Fear loop. Not only that, our society is built and literally thrives off of trauma. The modern world as we know it very literally creates the conditions of emotional and mental turmoil and confusion. Passed down from generations, for some of us, it has always been our “normal” and we often function in fight/flight mode. Trauma and emotional turmoil, when left unprocessed and un-acknowledged, gets stuck in our bodies and festers in our tissues and fascia. From a young age, some of us are taught that being an emotional creature is not “normal”. We are taught to suppress and deny any sort of negative emotion, and if we allow it space to release there is “something wrong with us”. What comes next? Often times a trip to a western medical provider who diagnoses and labels us, then slaps a prescription on top. Backwards? Not always - but more often than not.

As human beings incarnated into this earth body - we long for meaning and purpose. This is our birthright - to contemplate these notions, and to experience the full spectrum of the emotional body. Deep Pain, Joy, Sadness, Fear, Grief, and most importantly, Love - are incredibly important emotional experiences which teach us lessons and bring meaning to our earthly lives. While the system to address adverse and painful emotions is backwards - there are many practices we can implement to support ourselves in allowing these emotions to resurface, and to cultivate deep healing on a cellular level.

The path of plant medicine has provided me with an immense amount of healing - not only through the way they support the physical body, but also the deep healing the earth’s medicine provides our Soul. In this workshop, we will explore the notion of trauma and stress and how they affect our bodies in a physical, spiritual, and emotional way - and learn about my favorite plants to support healing and emotional wellness in a sustainable way.


Returning to the Self: An Embodied Movement Journey with Joanna Marquis

➻ In this workshop, we will explore & dismantle the ways as humans we have blockages from movement because of our enmeshing it with performed dance. They are not the same! 

Focusing on returning to the body & experiencing embodiment to bring it within our everyday experiences. It will allow us to confidently & fearless navigate the shifting and changing world and our interpersonal relationships from a rooted & expansive place.

Cultivating the tools for moving to our bodies from our minds, bringing in play/joy, and tuning into intuitive movements, and finding ecstatic states.

Let us open our hearts & integrate resistance into a flow state!

Requirements for class:

  • Please bring a soft handkerchief or fabric to use for a blindfold.
  • A journal with a pen or pencil
  • Barefeet!

Suggested Reading:

  • The Witch of Portabello by Paulo Coelho

Bio:

Hello Hello! My name is Joa. I am a momma and movement enthusiast. 

I grew up most of my childhood in dance classes & theater which then turned into an integrative bundle of all forms of dance & eventually became a spiritual practice. 

I shed most of all my training & focused solely on how my body told me it needed to move. 

My belief is that the body is a vessel for sacred movement. The power that lives under your skin wants to be known through your expression. It’s not about what it looks like, It’s about the quality of it within. The only movement that truly matters is the one inside.

Movement is direct communication with Spirit and the core essence of who you are

Morning Movement & Meditation: for Grounding, Balance and Posture

*     This class is geared toward guiding the practitioner in discovering these timeless movements that are known to be heart-opening, healing and connective with the earth and self.  This practice will help direct the practitioner to slow down, root in and explore both movement and stillness.  Thus, facilitating each participant to create alchemy with self, while also connecting with the surrounding environment and community.

     In this session, Alexandra will focus on guiding the body to root in and ground out.  This offering is open to any level, and will be focusing on the breath and heart space, as well as grounding to aid in balance and alignment.  These facets help to facilitate connection and focus.  This class will be geared toward guiding the practitioner to partake in these timeless movements that are sequenced to be root-focused, heart-opening and healing; and to (re)connect the self with the earth.  These movements will help to direct the practitioner to slow down, root in and explore that which is within and around us.  
 
     Attendees are encouraged to bring their own yoga mat, water (In a reusable cup/bottle.) and anything else one may need to help facilitate their practice (i.e. blocks, straps, yoga wheel, blanket, etc.).  Participants are encouraged to wear comfortable clothing that allows free and fluid movement.
La Maleta Antigua™: Pop-Up Shop and Trunk Show: 
   
*       La Maleta Antigua is a wandering pop-up shop and trunk show offered by Alexandra! LMA was birthed from a single, vintage suitcase - in the streets of New Orleans, LA and Portland, ME in 2014.  Thus, becoming the namesake of this passion project and company.  LMA has been built out of found, foraged and repurposed materials - all by hand.  It has been slowly growing and evolving on the road, in numerous cities and streets around the United States.  Materials and stock are ethically procured from around the world.  Each pop-up shop and trunk show is organic and unique.  LMA merchandise is sustainably harvested, cleaned and restored by hand.  An array of both handmade products, curated vintage clothing, accessories and homeware items will be for sale at the trunk show.  
Bio: 

          La Maleta Antigua™ | MiKa: Cosmic Glitter™ - www.etsy.com/shop/lamaletaantigua

          Cultivator, Curator, Designer, Maker, Entrepreneur 

     Hailing from the Deep South, by way of New Orleans and the surrounding areas.  Alexandra is a Tejana and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication and Journalism with a minor in Anthropology from the University of Southern Mississippi.  As well as TESOL(Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) certifications for teaching business, advanced and children - and taught English at language schools, as well as independently, throughout the Central Valley of Costa Rica for nearly two years.  Following her time working abroad; upon returning to the United States - she opted to move to Maine to pursue a new career path - focusing on deeper sustainability, entrepreneurship and cannabis/hemp.  For over a decade; she has lived, studied and worked around the world and the USA.  
     She is an entrepreneur, multi-disciplinary artist and educator -- and works within the realms of sustainability, cannabis and the arts.  Alexandra specializes in cultivation, processing, product creation and development, photography/print/media and events.  She is a mixed-media artist with a propensity to work with salvaged, found and foraged materials that are focused on eco-centered practices.  Her artistry led her to create and build La Maleta Antigua™ and MiKa: Cosmic Glitter™. 
 
     She grew up extremely close to plants, teaching and Yoga; as her Mother was a horticulturalist and Master Gardener, and her maternal Grandmother was a professor and Yoga teacher throughout her life.  Alexandra has had an extremely close relationship with plants throughout her life; but has found her relationship, interests and practices regarding them has substantially shifted to sustainability, organic and companion growing, closed-loop farming, ethical sourcing and wild-harvesting over the last decade and a half.  
 
      In 2018, she received a full scholarship to complete her RYT 200 in Vinyasa Yoga.  She is a self-taught flow artist - specializing in hula-hoops - and intertwines it with both Yoga and dance components.  This has been her preferred movement medicine for many years now.  She has performed around the world over the years, but her favorite way to commune with this art form is busking and performing in the streets and communities with friends.  

 

Wild Foraged Menu!

The nourishment we offer is one if the most important and creative aspects of the weekend! This season the menu will be curated and implemented by Jillian Ashley, of The Nohm Collective in Asheville, NC. We are so stoked to take the meal offerings to the next level this season!

Bio

Jillian's invested interests in herbalism & permaculture have grounded a path in neo-nomadism across the Americas. She travels to biodiverse regions seasonally to study wild food, native plants and traditional methods of medicine making, mixology & culinary cuisine. This lifestyle keeps her passions ignited as she deeply enjoys befriending the plant community and inviting them into the kitchen for demonstration, consumption and play. Her commitment to visiting the same landscapes annually allows her to witness and appreciate their evolution over time.

She truly believes that food is medicine and that our relationship with food can be creative and collectively free from harsh chemicals, mass production and factory farm abuse. If we are what we eat then why would we be so comfortable as to consume wildly on trauma and greed just for a sense of convenience? This is why she is so passionate about decentralizing and divesting our collective dependence on the mainstream supply and demand cycle and rooting it back into our local bioregions with our own hands, further closing the loop. She aims to get the conversation going and to expose the accessibility we truly have to living in sync with our natural surroundings one bite at a time

 

HERBAL MOCKTAIL BAR with Cassandra Sears

 Cassandra is currently a freelance apothecary bartender, gardener and herbalist: She has been studying herbal medicine for 13 years, growing lush gardens while working as an organic farmer- gardener-landscaper,  and playing in the wild while mixing drinks inspired by nature. She enjoys the dynamic intersection of the hospitality industry, wilderness, and organic agriculture in her native state of Maine.  She’s saving up for and seeking  land to steward and farm.