Hey there,
I'm a trained herbalist in Port Angeles and I teach a lot of classes locally at the Dandelion Botanical Apothecary in Dungeness Seqium and also at Peninsula College. There's others teaching classes in herbalism at these sites, as well. Ravens Roots Nature School is also a very economical and top notch place to get training.
I am not a registered herbalist nor do I plan to become one. I know enough people who are a part of the AHG organization and they appear to be mostly professional folks with established medical licenses in Naturopathy, Nursing, Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda. It costs a lot to get the required training and experience to apply for AHG. If you have plenty of money and time then maybe it's worth it, but without it, you can operate as an herbalist and earn a very small living legitimately. Training is a must if you plan to support healing with people. You must have some basic understanding of anatomy, physiology and the herbal actions. You just don't want to hurt anyone or become liable in some way. If you are just a community herbalist operating at a pretty low level then registered level isn't necessary. Most registered herbalists still have to back this up with a medical license and it's like an add-on to their already busy practice (because herbs are popular and big business now!). I don't think that regulation will hit us. Product makers will get hit before we community herbalists do. I hope!
I hustle constantly and I'm barely making it. Many have gone the way of super capitalist product making website marketing strategies and a lot of expensive investments in social media marketing, labelling, branding and shipping. Not my thing but some people do this well and it's a lot of work and takes much time, energy and financial resources. The rich herbalists are doing great--they have every resource and can afford all the tools and gardens and labor and plants and investing. The herbalists without these resources work their butts off and need a lot of time to rest after so much labor. I wish I was younger and had more energy! It is a beautiful profession. To spend so much time with plants, make herbal medicines and help people discover the healing connections to mother earth is a gift. This keeps me going but I've moved from wealthy California and it's not so easy to make a living in wellness here. I love this town and the people here are great but the lower economic situation is tough for an herbalist who used to easily get tons of work and clients and students in northern Cal. I had enough resources and business there to give much of my business and I ran a free herbal clinic in the community! So far I have not met people who are capable of making enough money to do this free work. We are all scraping by. It's still a good job, but be willing to work hard, serve, study long hours, research research learn and learn then maybe if you are lucky and talented and the stars align, you will be a working herbalist who can pay the bills! Oh, and did I mention that it helps to have LAND! I don't have any, but it's so helpful for an herbalist to have a garden--at least I have a small one that teaches me many things and supplies my small household with herbs for health and happiness....
Best of luck!
Drea
