Returning to Vancouver in 2020.

at the lowest price it’s ever been or ever will be again: $300-$650 discount

(more on that down at the bottom)

Do you agree that pharmaceuticals are not sustainable and cannot provide the change the world needs right now?

(Do you believe wild food and herbal medicines are part of the solution because they connect you to the mystery of Earth's wisdom?)

(12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 spots left)

You're not alone in thinking the Earth has answers that will restore balance and provide healing.

More and more people these days are losing faith in western medicine.  They hate taking pharmaceuticals but see no other reasonable options when they (or their kids) get sick.

Is that you?

Do you have the sense that sustainable medicines need to be rooted in the living world?  That they need to meet the criteria and values that you set for your food?

Just as with your food, to feel good about your medicines, you need to know...

The Herbal Integration Course teaches you how to have
the medicines in your home fit with the values in your heart.

Here's how.  Five pieces come together to get you there...

1. Connecting with the plant world. The first step is learning to recognize and identify the plants growing around you - in your yard, your garden, the neighbourhood park, and the forests around Vancouver. By the end of this course, you'll know more than 30 plants. You'll know which are medicine or food and which are not.

2. Developing Plant Allies. Half of all classes are Field Classes where you'll actually sit and "talk" with a medicine plant. Then the class will debrief so that you develop trust that you can learn from the plants directly (even if you're skeptical).

3. Gathering and Making Your Own Remedies. When you're not in the field, you'll be in Lab Classes learning to make a variety of herbal remedies. From the basics of tinctures and infused oils, to salves, balms and eventually medicated creams and lotions, while you are building your confidence, you'll be developing your own herbal apothecary.

4. Using Herbal Remedies to Heal. Your herbal apothecary won't be sitting around collecting dust. Your medicines mean empowerment and improved health for you, your friends and your family. You'll be able to treat common illnesses and infections, burns and bites, fevers and flus. You'll feel confident both making and using your own herbal remedies.

5. Creating Herbal Community. Traditional practices of herbal medicine have always been done in community. There's a reason for that. This is the first step of herbal healing: reminding each of us that we're not alone. Fortunately this also adds a great deal to your learning.

This year,

discover how to transform your life and the world

by learning directly from the plants themselves.

You'll always be surrounded by friends and allies, food and medicine because the Earth is covered with plants

• Parents and Caregivers who nourish children with compassion and gentleness and want their medicines to do the same.

I love using examples from raising my two young children.  I get really excited about supporting other parents to free themselves from the bonds of fear and choicelessness that can come up around our kid's health.

• Permaculturists, Gardeners and Food Security Activists who are ready to connect more deeply with plants and the Earth; who are ready to bring plant medicines into their work of healing the planet.

• Anyone who wants a closer connection with their food and medicine. If you're interested and willing to do the work of gathering and creating your own medicines and if you're craving a deeper connection with the abundance all around you, then you're among friends and allies in the Herbal Integration Course.

Whether your experience is at the Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced* level, this course will open your heart and your eyes to the depth of healing that plant medicines offers. 

*Advanced herb students can learn a great deal because direct communication skills aren't taught at most schools, though they face greater challenges. When the mind thinks it knows something, it can be harder for the heart to listen. Practice and the group debriefs are an excellent antidote to the mind's doubt.

What will I take home from this course?

The Herbal Integration Course Book.

These 57 powerful pages (and still growing) started out as 21 pages in 2009. But as I grow and get feedback each year, I'm compelled to fill in gaps, add more and wax poetic about herbal healing. The 4 chapters cover: Coming to Our Senses: Direct Communication Skills, the 7 Herbs, Medicine Making, Recipes and Reference Materials + lots more. You'll receive both a hard copy and an electronic copy (which makes searching much easier).

An Herbal Medicine Apothecary.

Jar by jar, you'll take home your very very own apothecary that will range in retail price from $300-600 (depending on your efforts). This could mean significant savings for you folks already buying retail herbal preparations.

Having this homemade tool kit means that you'll have what you need to treat (at very least) common ailments like scrapes, burns, bites, colds and flus, simple infections, rashes, fevers and so much more.

A truly fantastic herbal tea collection.

You'll be able to dazzle, amaze and nourish your friends and family. With your wide variety of handcrafted and dried herbs, you'll know exactly what's in each cup of tea: the plant and your loving attention.

A whole bucket of self-reliance and community empowerment.

What if you didn't worry so much when your family members got sick? What if you had tools that you trusted? You can. You will And I want to point out that this self-reliance reaches well beyond just your friends and family. Knowing about herbal medicines becomes a resource for community empowerment. You can be a living example of what it means to reduce pharmaceutical dependence. Just as the world desperately needs to reduce/eliminate its dependence on oil, we must do the same with pharmaceuticals.

What separates this course from other herb courses?

This course has 4 components that are rarely found in herb courses (never with distance education)

1. Focus on Developing Relationships. By deeply exploring 7 herbs over 7 months, the Herbal Integration Course prioritizes intimacy. Starting by recognizing plants as living intelligent beings, you take the first step in creating plant allies. Spending time with the plants in their natural surroundings, you deepen this relationship. And by processing their bodies into physical medicines and then using them, this relationship becomes rooted in experience. You participate in a living communication with your new teachers.

2. Keep it Simple, Repeat. Rather than teaching the basics once or twice and then getting it as homework, these techniques are developed and practised repeatedly to make sure all questions are asked and answer, and to ensure that confidence is develop by everyone. Each Lab Class has time for you to make your own medicines, so that it actually gets done.

3. Listen with your Heart. Most herb schools teach within a medical model, (using herbs as gentle pills). Many herb schools teach about the energetics of plants. Some even talk about the innate intelligence/wisdom of plants. But very few teach you how to access this intelligence, how to learn directly from the plants about their medicinal uses. This course helps awaken your 5 senses and introduces you to working with your heart field. These skills form the basis for learning directly from the living world.

4. Personal Health Consultation with Garliq. (Premium Plan) In order to deepen the learning and provide an additional experience that helps you integrate the healing power of plants, it makes sense that you may want to personally experience the healing of plants. So in 2014, six students will be enrolled in the Community Super Hero Herbal Self Care Plan. This is 3 months of herbal treatment to get you back to thriving.

How is Garliq as a Teacher?

My background is in popular education - which means teaching people in ways that make it easiest for them to integrate what they're learning. The way I see it, my role is to introduce you to some of my plant allies, to create a safe space that  supports and mentors you in developing your own relationships.Here what some students have said about my teaching...

Working with you was the most transformative educational experience I have ever participated in.  I now have high expectations for my future mentors and teachers. Thank you.”

~ adam again. (He really loved this course!)

Just in case you needed to hear it occasionally, I wanted to tell you that you are an amazing teacher.  I loved how you could hold the class in this safe little bubble where we all had space to express ourselves.  I felt inspired to read any book you mentioned in passing, and learned far more than I'd expected.  You are hilarious and sarcastic, and really, really good at what you do.

If you would like to speak with a former student, please include that request in your application (below) and I'll put you in touch with someone.

Are there any other topics covered?

This list will give you a good sense of the various topics this course covers.  It is possible that I've missed a topic or two, so if you're curious about something specific please ask.

• Everyday uses of over 30 plants

• Plant Energetics & the 5 Senses

• Plant Identification

• Wild Edibles

• Herbal Fermentation

• Medicine Making and Herbal Formulation

• Herbal First Aid

• Herbal and Botanical Terminology

• Neighbourhood Medicine Mapping

What plants will I be learning from/about?

How does the course actually work?

The class runs from April – October with 1 Weekend Intensive each month.   

Field Classes are Saturdays - 10am-2pm at various locations around the GVRD

Labs are Sundays - 10am-2pm in east Van.

Dates for 2020…

• Apr. 18/19 

• May 9/10 

• June 13/14 

• July 11/12 

• Aug 15/16 (student led class, optional)

• Sept. 19/20  

• Oct. 17/18

A very special I’m-Getting-Restarted-In-Vancouver Price: $1150

You can do one easy payment or an initial payment of $400 + 3 monthly payments of $250. If it makes it more doable for you, then I’m happy to set that up for you.

The last time I offered this course, 2014, the price was $1450. I’m sure it would be more than today, if I hadn’t taken the break.

And here’s why…

1. I want this to be an easy “Yes!” for a dozen people.
   
   I haven’t been able to offer this course in Vancouver for the last 5 years because my kids were too young for me to leave for a week every month.

   
   Now, I’m able to offer this course again because my youngest is both old enough and homeschooling, so that he can come with me on “the adventure to the big city”.
   

2. I only have space for 12 people. And the lab space that we’ll be using is a friend’s kitchen and living room. It’s going to a a bit more cozy than I’d prefer, and I’m so grateful that my friend opened her home to us.
   

3. My challenge can be your gain. This course had a waiting list from 2012-2014. It was the best herb course in Vancouver, in my humble opinion.

   It’s going to take a years or two to get back to that. Offering a price that’s an easy yes so that it’s as simple as possible for me. Having this course fill up quickly and easily will bring incredible relief to my life.
   
   For me, this is low price approach this year is how I’m feeding the soil, nourishing connections.
   

4. I’ll only be leading 6/7 weekend intensives this year. The August weekend is encouraged, but optional, and will be a self-taught class for the group. Tools and instructions will be provided beforehand and I’ll be available to answer questions. And you get my apology that I’m just not able to make August work for my schedule.

$1150 is a great deal, isn’t it? for a course that used to be $1450 and would likely be closer to $1800 if I hadn’t moved?

How do I sign up?

Please take a few minutes to answer each of the following questions.    Then, we'll set up time to connect 1 on 1 to answer questions and make sure it's a good fit.