I am Mariahadessa Ekere Tallie. I’m a poet, a writer, a educator and the mother of two wildly spirited girls. My mother introduced me to herbal healing when I was a child and her lessons have stayed with me–in one form or the other–ever since. The births of my children inspired me to really focus on the gifts that plant medicines have to offer. I took my first herbal class with Robin Rose Bennett in January of 2008 and joined her New York apprenticeship circle soon after. My work with herbs is in its infancy, but my passion and respect for herbs is ancient. What I share here is my unfolding journey into the plant world. Welcome.
Please contact me if you’re interested in classes related to herbs, herbal walks or medicine making workshops.
Hey Sage Honey,
I’m on Kalamu’s list serve and something told me to take a look at your site. I’m so glad I did. I’ve always been drawn to herbs and rain forests but have yet to fully dive into the study. Keep the posts coming. I love it!
Welcome! I’m glad you’re here.
I stumbled upon your site and am enchanted by the warmth and friendliness of it. I am embarking on an herb study – in my path to living a completely wholistic lifestyle (physically and spiritually). THANK YOU FOR BEING YOU and putting your knowledge and positive vibes out there for us to bask in. You are definitely in my faves and I will be checking regularly for updates and 411.
Peace and Light.
Afrolady
Thank you for visiting. Afrolady, we are walking this path together. Enjoy your journey into the herbs and please share what you learn as you get into your studies. I look forward to learning from you.
one love,
ekere
Nature as with natural is very peaceful and spiritual for the soul. I’m so blessed to know you.
Peace and Grace,
Ramona aka
Amerindian2
Ramona, you are a gift. Thank you for coming through here.
Ekere, I am so glad you thought to launch this site. What a find!
Like others, I have been drawn to herbs for quite some time. My fascination started when I stopped animal products (except honey, which I love entirely too much!) & embraced a cleaner lifestyle.
What can you tell me about herbs & hair? I wear mine completely naturally, & would I love to know what I can do to keep it healthy without resorting to store-bought products?
Thank you.
Bianca
Great question, Bianca. I also wear my hair natural and I love using coconut oil. It is a light moisturizer, it smells nice and adds a little bit of sheen. I ran out of one of favorite hair masks once and decided to create my own from coconut oil, fresh aloe vera and egg yolk. I left that in for about 20 minutes and when I washed it out, my hair was easy to untangle and soft! I think it would work well without the egg yolk since you don’t deal with animal products. Try it and let me know. Last but not least, I have used infused rosemary oil on my scalp. To make that you put fresh rosemary in a small container and cover it with olive oil. Let that sit for six weeks or so and then use it. Rosemary oil can help with dandruff, but if you end up not using it for your hair It’s also great on roasted potatoes!! Hope this helps.
one love,
Ekere
Hey…do you write poetry?
Hi, Ekere! I tweaked your lovely hair mask recipe just a little. I replaced the egg yolks with a ripe, mashed banana & it worked beautifully. Very few tangles. Ridiculous sheen. & as an added bonus, my hair smells so sweet, which may prove dangerous come springtime.
Thank you so much for starting this blog. I am learning a lot.
By the way, I do write poetry; in fact, I have some poems on your site.
Bianca
Yes!!! Bianca it is you of the wonderful poetry and paintings. And now here you are on the herbal path. Wonderful. I am so glad our paths have crossed again.
I love the idea of using the mashed, ripe banana. Pure deliciousness. I have to try it. True, the scent and the sheen might attract many admirers in the spring–bees and others. That’s a good thing though. 🙂
Thank you for sharing the updated hair mask recipe. Let’s bottle it!.
one love,
Ekere
Sister you did it. I love your site it’s taking me back to our
days in year 1 of RRB herbal apprenticeship. Thanks for
sharing your knowlegde with the rest of us.
I’ll be checking in with you soon.
Much Love & Green Blessings
GreenLady
Many green blessings to you too! Thanks for visiting here and please jump in whenever you get the urge because you have much to teach us.
one love,
ekere
My daughter-in-law told me that if you put 1 drop of sage honey in your eyes a day it will help heal your eyes. Have you ever heard of that before?
Greetings. No. I have never heard of using honey in the eyes for healing. However, I did read an ayurvedic doctor’s recommendation of taking carrot juice with honey by mouth to improve eyesight. Is there a particular eye condition you are interested in addressing?
LOVE THIS AND AM SHARING WITH OTHER ROOT WOMEN.
Welcome. Thank you for coming through. The more root women, the better.
hey mariahdessa…its your friend from cau97. keep up the good work.
Thanks, Jimmie! I hope all is well.
alaafia to the child of Osain and Oshun! a friend turned me on to this site and it is truly beautiful. herbs have so much to teach us and we have so much to learn from each others’ experiences with our herbal family. I want to turn you on to a wonderful Native American herbalist in northern California named, Karyn Sanders. She has a website, radio show and a school of herbalism. She includes all aspects of healing herbs in her teachings, i.e., emotional, physical.
I saw much herbal use in Cuba when i made santo and have seen much here in the states as well.
i look forward to learning and sharing on this beautiful site.
Ire-o
BI
Alaafia! I am thrilled that you have joined this circle. I know that I will learn a lot from you. Being able to see the connections between plants and the Orishas is being able to speak a special, powerful language; I would really like to become fluent in that tongue.
I used to listen to Karyn Sanders’ Herbal Highway regularly through the internet. What a wealth of knowledge she has. Your message is a timely reminder to get back to her show. 🙂
Welcome home.
Hi Ekere,
I have not forgotten about getting back to you about the farms in the hamptons. You have wonderful web sites. I love your youtube site as well. This is a great site on herbs. I have always wanted to delve into it. We must talk soon. Be Blessed. Bonnie.
Greetings, Bonnie. Thanks for the good energy. I hope everyone in the hamptons is doing all right after the storm. Before the growing season is over I’d love to come visit the farms, help out and learn about what is growing. Yes, let’s talk!
one love,
Ekere
Hi Ekere,
I just found your blog via Unstuffed and I’m so glad I did. It’s a gift to us all and a joy to read. I too am a lover of oak, your friend looks so beautiful.
Much love,
Lucinda x
Greetings! Thank you for coming to visit. I went to unstuffed and was inspired. Thank you for letting me know about it. I hope to “see” you here again soon.
one love,
ekere
Sister Ekere –
A fave, motherwort, just led me here somehow & I am very grateful! From your bio, it seems our herbaLives have similar beginnings. As my shy reservations and knowledge now go opposite ways, I am excited to finally produce goods for more than just my closest circle. Continued blessings to what I feel is such a centered, aware spirit in you & this community for being an outlet within which to share and bloom in p(e)ace!
Give thanks! I am glad motherwort led you here and I am thrilled that you are starting to share what you know and what you create. That inspires me a lot. Many blessings to you and please do let us know about your experiences with plant medicines. We can learn so much from each other.
one love,
Ekere
What a warm virtual space! Found you while doing research on herbs in pregnancy. I’m a doula myself and your blog is very inspiring. Wish you all the best.
One love.
Thank you! So glad you have come here.
I have a soft spot for folks who help women make empowered choices during pregnancy and birth. My life was transformed by my first midwife (an incredible woman) and a wonderful doula helped me during difficult moments in my second birth. You might find some of the resources at The Sage Mama useful. There is a free download to my booklet on self-care during pregnancy there. The booklet includes herbal resources as well.
Hope to see you here again!
one love,
ekere
I miss your physical presence, but love to sit with you here sometimes. And the photos are beyond beautiful.
Hugs and love always
Amina
Hey there my friend! I just nominated you for the “One Lovely Blog” award. Check it out here – http://workoutmusicdiva.wordpress.com/2012/07/04/i-received-the-one-lovely-blog-award
Thank You for your work, especially your video interviewing the Herbalist Elders! I nominated you for a blog award: https://wholeness4all.wordpress.com/2012/11/17/i-was-nominated-for-the-sunshine-award. Be Blessed!
Love using herbs and nutrition to heal my body. Do you know of anything I can do to help eye floaters? I recently developed new ones that are quite significant in one eye. I have been checked to see if my retina was healthy. It is.
Hi Ekere! Do you have recommendations for a fairly new/intermediate herbalist in NY state? I want to be an apprentice, but feel like some of the best opportunities may be hard to find via the internet! Thank you.