Tulsi – an invitation back to nature, tradition and culture

“When we buy most of our food from groceries and when our interactions with nature are limited to seeing the bushes on the side of the road as we drive by, it starts to come at a cost.”

These were the cautioning words of Dr Katija Khan, as she appealed to the women attending Tulsi, held in Observance of World Mental Health Day (October 10) at the oceanfront Dolphins Vacation Resort in Grove Park, Otaheite.

‘But this is not casting a judgment, far from, this is an appeal, this is a beckon and an enticement to pause, for us to intentionally and mindfully revisit our relationship with the natural world and what that would look like for you in your own space and setting,” Khan said at the event held on October 14.

Khan, a lecturer in psychology at The UWI, St Augustine, among many areas of interest and areas of scholarship, is also a mental health advocate who has done work on the impact that traditional knowledge and culture has on the issue of suicide.

Tulsi – a GreenTEA initiative – billed as healing conversations for women was an intimate forum to talk about what impacts women, and aimed at creating resilience for them and their communities. Its intention is in that return to things natural and innate, to which Khan alluded, as remediation for what portends in the world today – things in which women can lead the change, a media release said.

The TEA in GreenTEA stands for talk-explore-action, and the concept uses lime green, the colour of global mental health advocacy campaigning, coupled with the idea of traditional knowledge and culture of healing using bush medicine and herbs, tradition once held sacred among women.

GreenTEA, coined by Caroline Ravello, founder of the NPO CreateBetterMinds, is a metaphor for the healing and restorative conversations and encounters that women must have in order to reconcile and rebuild community.

"We need TEA," Ravello says, "because our values are under siege from the social, spiritual, physical and psychological load of our life circumstances."

Tulsi, or holy basil, is the time-honoured healing herb that was chosen as the inaugural theme. Dubbed the queen of herbs, and referred to as “the giant of herbs” by Khan. Tulsi is highly effective in protecting the body from numerous malaise; it is earthy and fragrant; a calming balm for stress, depressive states, and anxiety, and a purifying relief for the mind.

Khan said, “It (tulsi) is described as a tonic for the body mind and spirit with health promoting properties as an antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal for conditions ranging from asthma and arthritis to fever and cardiac disorders.”

Guests were challenged to revisit their relationship with nature and plants and herbs in their lives by advocating for greening of cities, finding opportunity to interact with greenery, and greening workplaces and schools, among other suggestions.

Following her exposition on the benefits of Tulsi, the tea buffet was swamped with requests for the handmade tulsi tea prepared by Ravello and team member, Merlyn Corbie. In the days after the event, many women reached out to organisers either asking where to get the herb, or telling stories of having the herb and not knowing the benefits, the release said.

The event was hosted by neo-soul/R&B songster Brenda Butler and featured another celebrated vocalist, Moricia Cagan, with a cameo by Nigel O’Connor. Among the afternoon’s tributes, Butler announced the recognition sister-advocates Lisa Atwater, for her pioneering work in the Merikens Foundation, and Jacquie Burgess for her decades of interventions at the Network of NGOs for the Advancement of Women.

After scintillating renditions of Gazab Ka Hai Din, My Heart is Beating, and Anil Bheem’s version of Suhani Raat by celebrated Indian music singer Lornetta Ramlal-Jan, the day’s event ended with Ravello announcing a “save the date.” Patrons received invitation cards for the sequel, Vervain, to be held on Saturday, October 12, 2024.

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