Guest guest Posted September 14, 2007 Report Share Posted September 14, 2007 One of my mentors provided alternative health care to the homeless in a Bay area community for nearly 2 decades. He had some interesting experiences from that. People most frequently needed help with skin conditions (poor hygeine), liver problems (substance abuse), urinary tract infections, and lung stuff. He passed out a lot of cheap multivitamins and relied a lot on tinctures as people had difficulties making hot water for tea consistently. Lately I've been thinking about " What if...? " What if I were the one on the run so to speak without easy access to the herb gardens, medicine chest, and conventional health care? What if I were one of the hobos down by the river and railroad tracks? I'm talking an urban enviroment, what could we do to enhance our health and maintain a decent quality of life while scrounging for resources? I think we could get an interesting discussion going contemplating this. Seems to me the priorities for survival health care would be hygiene and nutrition. Hygiene especially, as that is so easy to let go and can cause so many problems. A knowledge of some wild edibles would go a long ways to getting better nutrition. Dandelion greens have fantastic vitamin and mineral content, munching those would give you free " nature's multivitamin. " Vinegar is cheap and works for personal hygeine. A sponge bath with vinegar kills BO bacteria. The ancients (and hispanic herbalists today) spike their vinegar with herbs to provide different effects. Myrhh vinegar was used as a topical antibiotic agent, mint vinegar to settle tummies, and the like. Instead of myrhh perhaps pine pitch could enhance even grocery store vinegar for external uses. I much prefer good AC vinegar but conventional is cheap. Lacking funds to purchase vinegar one could revert to the wilderness survival methodology of boiling up a strong tannic acid solution (acorns, hardwood barks, raspberry roots, many things) for use. Hardly anyone ever gathers acorns from the city park. Tasty too if you know how to process them. What herbs to know? Easily available from the store are onions, garlic, hot peppers, and ginger. One could come up with the fire cider/complete tonic for not too many cans and bottles collected. Common urban edibles include dandelions, chickweed, miner's lettuce (west coast), lamb's quarter, yellow dock. A lot of our yummy edibles are found growing in and around man's disturbed enviroment. A lot of those have medicinal properties too. What do you all think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 15, 2007 Report Share Posted September 15, 2007 I think you are referring to a different state of mind than most homeless people have. Gayla Always Enough RanchAcampo, Californiahttp://bouncinghoofs.com/alwaysenough.htmlaeranch@... Hobo Herbalism Scenario One of my mentors provided alternative health care to the homeless in a Bay area community for nearly 2 decades. He had some interesting experiences from that. People most frequently needed help with skin conditions (poor hygeine), liver problems (substance abuse), urinary tract infections, and lung stuff. He passed out a lot of cheap multivitamins and relied a lot on tinctures as people had difficulties making hot water for tea consistently. Lately I've been thinking about "What if...?" What if I were the one on the run so to speak without easy access to the herb gardens, medicine chest, and conventional health care? What if I were one of the hobos down by the river and railroad tracks? I'm talking an urban enviroment, what could we do to enhance our health and maintain a decent quality of life while scrounging for resources? I think we could get an interesting discussion going contemplating this.Seems to me the priorities for survival health care would be hygiene and nutrition. Hygiene especially, as that is so easy to let go and can cause so many problems. A knowledge of some wild edibles would go a long ways to getting better nutrition. Dandelion greens have fantastic vitamin and mineral content, munching those would give you free "nature's multivitamin." Vinegar is cheap and works for personal hygeine. A sponge bath with vinegar kills BO bacteria. The ancients (and hispanic herbalists today) spike their vinegar with herbs to provide different effects. Myrhh vinegar was used as a topical antibiotic agent, mint vinegar to settle tummies, and the like. Instead of myrhh perhaps pine pitch could enhance even grocery store vinegar for external uses. I much prefer good AC vinegar but conventional is cheap. Lacking funds to purchase vinegar one could revert to the wilderness survival methodology of boiling up a strong tannic acid solution (acorns, hardwood barks, raspberry roots, many things) for use. Hardly anyone ever gathers acorns from the city park. Tasty too if you know how to process them.What herbs to know? Easily available from the store are onions, garlic, hot peppers, and ginger. One could come up with the fire cider/complete tonic for not too many cans and bottles collected. Common urban edibles include dandelions, chickweed, miner's lettuce (west coast), lamb's quarter, yellow dock. A lot of our yummy edibles are found growing in and around man's disturbed enviroment. A lot of those have medicinal properties too.What do you all think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 15, 2007 Report Share Posted September 15, 2007 Good interesting topic. Thank you. I've watched an individual in downtown minneapolis eating out of a styrofoam box taken out of a trash bin, thinking there was likely wild edibles growing under his feet in the cracks of the sidewalk. Other common useful urban plants include plantain, purslane, clover, mint, catnip, horseradish, burdock, salsify, echinacea, mullien come to mind as plants I have seen in urban environments. Fruit often goes unpicked, I've seen loads of apples, and and a peach which were never harvested. I've seen evidence of hunting in some of the parks. I saw a couple of geese and a a couple fishes stashed in some tall grass. I've seen live deer. While hiking around I found an old abandoned shelter which had been used. (I recomend learning about alternative house construction such as rammed earth and sand bag construction.) This same park had wild grapes, raspberries, strawberries, and a whole bunch of rubarb because the site was once a fruit cannery/farm and they bulldozed a large cultivated rubarb patch over the side of a hill where it continues to thrive. You can eat cat tail shoots, roots, pollen. A taste of some types of new fern fronds are tasty but will give you a belly ache if you eat too many. Fawns love these. It's deer candy. ~ prayerfulmantis wrote: ....What if I were one of the hobos down by the river and railroad tracks? I'm talking an urban enviroment, what could we do to enhance our health and maintain a decent quality of life while scrounging for resources? I think we could get an interesting discussion going contemplating this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 15, 2007 Report Share Posted September 15, 2007 My new job is in the industrial area, specifically next to the Boeing 777 and 787 plant in Everett, Washington. The walk I take every lunchtime is lined with blackberry bushes. I stop and eat, run a bit, stop and eat some more. Yes, people are oblivious to what is under foot. Shari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 15, 2007 Report Share Posted September 15, 2007 Health would not be a first priority if I were homeless; finding shelter and food would. Finding wild medicinal plants is fun to do though. Especially in the lush valley where we live now. Janet From: health [mailto:health ] On Behalf Of Gayla Sent: Friday, September 14, 2007 7:43 PM health Subject: Re: Hobo Herbalism Scenario I think you are referring to a different state of mind than most homeless people have. Gayla Always Enough Ranch Acampo, California http://bouncinghoofs.com/alwaysenough.html aeranchgmail Hobo Herbalism Scenario One of my mentors provided alternative health care to the homeless in a Bay area community for nearly 2 decades. He had some interesting experiences from that. People most frequently needed <SNIP> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 15, 2007 Report Share Posted September 15, 2007 Blackberries are prolific here in the Willamette valley. They can be a terrible nuisance around the home due to their nasty thorns, but they sure are delicious to eat. Janet From: health [mailto:health ] On Behalf Of SV Sent: Saturday, September 15, 2007 2:55 AM health Subject: Re: Hobo Herbalism Scenario My new job is in the industrial area, specifically next to the Boeing 777 and 787 plant in Everett, Washington. The walk I take every lunchtime is lined with blackberry bushes. I stop and eat, run a bit, stop and eat some more. Yes, people are oblivious to what is under foot. Shari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 17, 2007 Report Share Posted September 17, 2007 I am definately refering to a much different state of mind than most homeless people have. I am thinking of an exciting chance to push ones skill envelope adapting what one knows to what would be a miserable situation for the average person. A teacher said to us in training, " If you are suffering in survival it's because your skills suck. " He added onto that it's all about choice, and the better your skills the more options you have to choose from. > Health would not be a first priority if I were homeless; finding shelter and > food would. Good point. I think if one wants to stay away from the social service end of things there is a big crossover between the wild foods and herbal medicine. The two areas pretty much blend into one another. But you're right, not freezing to death is far more important. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 17, 2007 Report Share Posted September 17, 2007 I had downloaded a program which would simulate (numerically) living off the wild. I input some aproximated figures about the rural area I live in, ran the program and it told me a group of 4 would consume everything within a 50mile radiius within 30 days. This included wild animals, it asssumed the agricultural land no longer held edibles, which of course is quite a bit of land base. I was suprised how fast the the area was used up. I understand nomadic tribes a little more now. So, in the event of some reginal or national need to survive off the land - not a pretty picture. It's just as important to know what not to eat or take medicinally as what to take or eat. In a tough spot people will try to eat anything. A little knowledge would go a long way. ~ prayerfulmantis wrote: >A teacher said to us in >training, " If you are suffering in survival it's because your skills >suck. " He added onto that it's all about choice, and the better your >skills the more options you have to choose from. > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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