Our Name is Officially Berkeley Herbal Center

Ohlone Herbal Center is changing its name.

For almost 25 years, we have operated under the name Ohlone Herbal Center as a way of honoring the ancestral people of this area. It was our mission to model the care they showed the land, their people and the healing arts.

How We Chose the Ohlone Name

We chose a name that would symbolize our organizational behavior in the world. The values we attributed to this name were the care of the community, sustainable living, care of the earth, and wellness for all. Our program has always been based in Western Herbalism with roots in Greek medicine.

“Ohlone” was a vision for the future.

Under this name we have accomplished many things as a direct result of the vision.

• • We became a non-profit.  In 2006, Ohlone Herbal Center officially received status as a non profit. This way, we are owned by the community and can not be sold or traded as a profit making business.

• • We have operated with financial integrity. We generate resources through our work and with the help of our community to be able to consistently fund ourselves.

• • We celebrate diversity and increase awareness of multiple healing methods.  Our program has always been based in Western Herbalism with roots in Greek medicine. We also offer an indigeneous lecture series, bringing healers from all over the world to speak about their healing traditions, and we talk regularly on forms of traditional Chinese Medicine as well as current science.

• • We made a financial model that works. When it comes to operating a wellness clinic that allows for ALL people to be seen, we’ve written the book on staying financially viable.

• • We created a scholarship program. To help those with financial challenges to come to the school, we created a program that allows us to offer our certification program in a way that breaks down financial barriers.

• • We have helped other herbal non-profits to birth and thrive in times of economic uncertainty.

• • We have incubated many small businesses, providing community with business choices, keeping resources local, empowering our students and creating livable wages.

• We teach about our local plants and encourage local farming.  We emphasize care and conservation for local wild plants. Through local walks students learn what is abundant, scarce or endangered.  Herbalists here are challenged to be good stewards and to choose local and abundant plants over those plants living far away or are scarce.

These are all direct results from following the vision of the name Ohlone.

Why We’re Changing Our Name

Using the Ohlone name has created some confusion and controversy around what we’re creating. We chose the Ohlone name as an archetype. It is, however, also a group of living people whose culture and customs we do not share. We feel out of respect to the first people, it is time to change our name.

We are looking to honor the community as a whole. Healers come from all walks of life, and all parts of the world.

We chose Berkeley because this is where we are located. Berkeley is known for its socially conscious community and innovative university. This place is unique and cutting edge and so are we.

We are one of the few combined herbal schools, clinics and plant medicine making locations in the United States.

So, we want our name to reflect who we are: an established, pioneering herbal center with a bustling community and a deep rooted connection to the planet and its people.

Our New Name is Berkeley Herbal Center

We’re still centered on being stewards of the Earth and we’re still spreading deep rooted knowledge of the plants and ecosystems.

As we settle into our new name we would like to thank you for your years of support. So many of you have been there from the start. We would like to welcome you to a new era of our evolutionary growth.

Berkeley Herbal Center.

That’s our new name.

What do you think? Leave a comment!