Grow Medicine
SUPPORT PLANT MEDICINE CONSERVATION & RIGHT RELATIONSHIP WITH INDIGENOUS CULTURES
Imagine...
the psychedelic movement in 10 or 20 years from now.
What do you see?
As the world comes to embrace the healing potential of sacred medicines, how do we ensure that the original stewards of these medicines are uplifted, honored, and supported in this search for our collective healing?
We Envision
a Future Where
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES, THEIR MEDICINES, AND TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGES ARE HONORED, RESPECTED, AND SUPPORTED TO THRIVE FOR GENERATIONS TO COME.
Indigenous “keystone” medicines and the traditional cultures and ecologies in which they exist are at risk of being destroyed, lost, and forgotten – along with the traditional knowledge embedded within them.
If we want to avoid sacred plant medicines getting turned into yet another extractive industry...
We need to engage in best practices now.
Best practice
=
benefit sharing
THERE ARE TWO
Major Shifts in Perspective
We Invite You To Consider
Narratives and the stories we tell ourselves influence our behaviors.
Reciprocity
VS.
Benefit Sharing
1. Reciprocity vs. Benefit Sharing
It’s wonderful that so many people are starting to become aware of the importance of reciprocity. However, we’re just not there yet.
We are intentionally choosing to use the language of Benefit sharing.
Reciprocity assumes consent and mutual exchange.
The biocultures that hold the heritage rights and responsibilities to a medicine haven’t necessarily given universal consent for widespread use.
benefit sharing IS EASY TO UNDERSTAND.
When you make a donation through Grow Medicine
you are engaging in benefit sharing which is different than reciprocity.
Benefit sharing is the action of giving a portion of advantages or profits derived from the use of genetic resources or traditional knowledge to Indigenous communities in order to achieve justice in exchange.
If you are a Guide, Facilitator, part of a community, organization, or academic institution,
and you are benefiting either financially, personally, or socially from heritage medicines, as well as traditional and cultural artifacts,
then best practice is to share those benefits with THe traditional knowledge holders of these medicines.
benefit sharing
The Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing.
What is the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing?
This is incredibly important for us to understand,
especially now, at this time where humanity stands on the precipice of the sixth greatest extinction,
and we find ourselves here directly as a result of our behavior. Therefore, we have a responsibility. Taking action that supports biocultural biodiversity is directly related to ensuring biodiversity and cultural diversity are thriving for the next seven generations.
solidarity-based support
Benefit sharing is about benefiting these traditional knowledge holders in a way THEY are asking for.
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Maybe a particular Indigenous community doesn’t need support in conserving their medicine, maybe they need support in gaining access to health care, clean water, or need funding to build cultural centers where their knowledge can be passed on to the next generation.
This requires us (in the West) to put our agendas aside so we can simply show up and listen.
WHERE IMCF + GROW MEDICINE COME IN
We understand that it’s not feasible for everyone to engage in these conversations with indigenous cultures,
which is why the Indigenous Medicine Conservation Fund has been dedicated to doing this work on the ground
Grow Medicine is a powerful bridge that builds trust between indigenous traditional knowledge holders and the psychedelic and medicine community.
Understanding Benefit Sharing Is a Way to Shift From Extractive to Inter-connected Mindset.
FROM
To
Extractive & Reductionist
to
WHOLE SYSTEMS & REGENERATIVE
2. FROM EXTRACTIVE & REDUCTIONIST TO WHOLE SYSTEMS & REGENERATIVE
“Giving back” and financially contributing after a psychedelic or sacred medicine experience is a great place to start.
AND supporting the conservation of sacred medicines goes much deeper and extends far beyond simply replanting what we consume, to make sure your future consumptive needs are being met.
Benefit-sharing is supporting an interconnected whole, not just one – medicine – aspect of it.
This is one of the primary ways we hope to inspire a shift in thinking.
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If we stay stuck in this mindset of simply replacing what we consume, we are directly perpetuating extractive behaviors, further contributing to the problem.
It is our responsibility to do everything we can to hold the lives and cultures of Indigenous Peoples as sacred, joining forces with Indigenous peoples so they can repair and protect their territories and everything embedded in them.
And we can support in this way without wanting anything in return for ‘me’.
we can’t isolate or separate sacred medicines from their deeply interconnected relationship to people, community, ecosystems, and culture.
Grow medicine takes a whole systems approach by supporting the symbiotic relationship that people have to land, sacred medicines, and all of nature.
By supporting Grow Medicine, you are participating in a sacred way of life.
The word "keystone" medicine is a reflection of this interconnection
WHAT DOES
“KeySTONE” MEDICINE
MEAN?
Keystone is an ecological term defined as “irreplaceable; without substitute; an essential component of an ecology and culture.”
Think about a traditional arch that’s built with rocks. Right at the top of the arch is the keystone.
This is where the name comes from.
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If you take the keystone out, then the whole arch falls down. A keystone organism, a keystone culture, keystone bioculture, keystone medicine, shows that if you remove it, then the whole system falls apart without it.
Grow Medicine
PROVIDES PSYCHEDELIC ENTHUSIASTS AN EASILY ACCESSIBLE WAY TO ENGAGE IN BENEFIT SHARING
In alignment with specific requests of Indigenous communities.
This is how we stay in Right Relationship and contribute to a future we can all be proud of.
Grow Medicine Supports
Biocultural Diversity
to thrive for generations to come
Bioculture
"is a term that somehow invites attention to the connections – tangible and intangible – between local cultures, territorial governance systems, sustainable livelihood traditions, and the experience of sacredness. Furthermore, it bolsters claims of significance and rights in ways that simultaneously convey beauty, responsibility, wholeness, caring.”
~ Ken Wilson
What does "Right Relationship" mean?
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The concept of “right relationship” is central to many Indigenous cultures, and reflects an animistic perspective that all-natural elements in the world have a soul and spiritual presence.
And because everything is alive we live in relationship with all the elements, the land, air and water, plants and animals, our ancestors and fellow human beings.
Right relationship speaks to a core understanding of the inter-connectedness and a recognition of the inability to compartmentalize. Being in right relationship is a way of talking about living in a sustainable, balanced, harmonious, and loving way with all living beings and with all of nature.
What Does "Do No Harm" Mean?
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Do no harm means we are engaging with precautionary principles. This means we need to slow down and think about the future we want to be contributing to and consider the potential, unintended consequences that may result from the actions we take.
When considering harvesting or consuming medicines, attending plant medicine ceremonies, influencing policy changes, or traveling to other countries seeking plant medicine experiences, we need to consider the principle of “do no harm” to prevent the perpetuation of ecological damage or cultural and social disruption. In some cases, this might mean refraining from the use of medicines to support the conservation of it.
What does "solidarity-based support" mean?
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Solidarity-based support means unequivocally supporting Indigenous people on their terms. It requires first and foremost listening and then providing support in a way that is being requested and asked for.
Solidarity-based support is built on the foundation of Unity, as related to the principle of do no harm. Offering solidarity-based support is how we stay in right relationship, so we can be good allies with Indigenous knowledge holders and communities.
By participating in benefit-sharing through Grow Medicine, it means you unify behind this vision and mission that was created by these traditional knowledge holders.
What is a bioculture?
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A biocultural approach to conservation reflects the dynamic interconnected relationship that exists between cultural and biological diversity.
If we want to support the thriving of traditional knowledge holders and their communities, we need to look at the entirety of the intertwined relationship between biology, ecology, social structures, cultural knowledge, etc, not as isolated parts, but within an interconnected whole.
