Rural Europe on the move English_chapt1_6 | Page 81

Herbs, Health and Politics
OPPOSITE
5. Women, holders of herbal knowledge, main focus
of the film ‘Traditional Herb Therapy in Odorhei Region’
6. Mónika Pakot handing on traditional herbal knowledge
THIS PAGE
7. 8. Training on herbs and their processing
by Foundation for Quality of Life
Towards a
European network
of herbalists
translate the European and national and set of experiences and is willing
legal framework and its implications to get stuck in. It is not about us
for those working with herbs. To build teaching people but about learning
a network we needed more than one together, from one another and
event, we needed to create systems moving forward collectively. One way
was a success, so much so that it of cooperation and co-learning. This we did that is through the Market of
left us with many more questions is how I came to host the second Initiatives where some participants
and things we wanted to explore. European Herb Gathering in my own share what they are working on. For
In particular we wanted to examine small village in Transylvania. example, Grégori Lemoine from the
The first European Herb Gathering
how we might think of herbs as a
common good and to unpick and
Important in these gatherings is that
everyone brings their own skill-set
French NGO FloréMonts, shared
how this organisation uses walks
and ethnobotanical courses to help
people better understand the wild
MARKET OF INITIATIVES: SHARING PROJECTS
edible plants of the Diois mountains.
We also heard from Roland Teufl, a
young herbalist, permaculture- and
Markets of Initiatives are gatherings with time for informal forest gardener from Austria who
exchanges and small working groups. We offer an open or a clearly offers workshops for children and
defined theme or agenda. We give the floor to all participants. They young people. For him it is important
may present their projects or initiatives in their own way, have their that this knowledge is passed on to
own stands, show videos, make speeches like on a marketplace. the younger generation.
Everyone is allowed to walk around, gather information, participate
“It was exciting to meet so many
in discussions, or exchange publications, products and contacts. different people with the same
During a Market of Initiatives participants may choose how much interests and to exchange findings and
time they wish to spend at each stand or project. experiences with people from other
countries,” said Magdolna Pakot, a
77