gift economy
Healthcare is a universal right for all, and physical movement and herbal medicine are our simplest, oldest forms of healthcare. When the tools to be well are accessible to all, our ability to truly heal comes in to focus.
I am committed to making the service of traditional healthcare accessible to all, regardless of ability to pay. Your gift of support directly enables me to offer consultations, classes, and online resources in a full Gift Economy model, inspired by the Buddhist tradition of dana (click this link to learn about this beautiful form of exchange) and the maternal roots of gifting. I offer my time in the spirit of a gift, trusting the generosity of participants and clients to support me in sustaining my practice, writing, and teaching.
This way of doing ‘business’ is wholly outside what we are typically used to in our capitalist, consumer-driven culture, but stems from a much older place of organic reciprocity - that in itself is healing. It is also a gesture towards liberating us from the capitalist, economy-driven experience to bring every human activity into the marketplace. Engaging in the spirit of gifting innervates our deeply pleasurable sense of offering and receiving. This way of interacting with money is grounded in the Theravada Buddhist Tradition of dana. Here is a beautiful explanation of using gift economy as a radically inclusive practice, by my dear friend Dr. Sean Feit Oakes.
““It is not just the support of those who need to come for free that motivates offering my work in this way, but the value I feel in resisting the overwhelming pressure within our neoliberal capitalist system to bring every human activity into the marketplace.””
pricing system
Consultations, classes, and workshops are priced on a tiered sliding scale. I offer partial to full scholarships upon request, prioritizing BIPOC/LGBTQ/single mothers/immigrant community members. For many people, engaging in gift economy and finding the right amount to contribute is a decision that embodies a commitment while respecting your financial situation, and giving in a way that makes your heart rise a little in your chest. When you offer a monetary gift in exchange for your herbal consultations, know that your money is not only supporting your own health, but that of others in need as well.
Supportive | Sustainable | Scholarship
Supportive: Folks living with privilege* and/or financial abundance are strongly encouraged to select this tier. Prices in this tier are comparable to most other practitioners’ prices in similar non-medical healthcare and wellness fields. This tier supports my ability to offer services at scholarship rates to others who are experiencing less financial freedom – thank you for choosing this option if you are able!
Sustainable: Folks living with financial stability but limited expendable income are encouraged to select this tier. Prices in this tier most closely reflect the low-end of comparable rates, and sustain my practice at a very modest margin.
Scholarship: Folks who are experiencing financial hardship are invited to select this tier, including those who have been historically and institutionally disadvantaged such as BIPOC and other marginalized groups. Full scholarships are also available for all offerings. To request a full scholarship, please email me.
*Privilege is, by the social justice definition, the advantages people have that they don't often think about because they never have to experience the oppressive side. Understanding it requires an active effort to see things from the perspective of other, underprivileged people. Opening to privilege - though it's a concept that is very counter-intuitive to privileged groups - is a vital step in creating social change.
private session prices
follow up sessions:
supportive $120
sustainable $90
scholarship $55
initial consultations:
supportive $200
sustainable $150
scholarship $90
Please note: I hold a 48 hr. cancellation policy and request you make a contribution if you need to cancel within 48hrs. of our scheduled consultation. This greatly supports my ongoing availability.
herbal formula prices
tinctures - $10 oz.
teas - $5 oz.
salves - $10 oz.
Please note: these prices are at cost, and not negotiable through gift economy.
“generosity is the journey of learning how to give. When we feel inadequate and unworthy, we hoard things. This holding on causes us to suffer greatly. We wish for comfort, but instead we reinforce aversion, and the fear of feeling even more poverty-stricken than we do already. So the basic idea of generosity is to train in thinking bigger, to do ourselves the world’s biggest favor and stop cultivation our own scheme. The more we experience fundamental richness, the more we can loosen our grip. This fundamental richness is not our or theirs but is available always to everyone. The journey of generosity is one of connecting with this wealth.”
In addition to offering sliding scale and no cost healthcare, I regularly donate medicine to marginalized communities, volunteer as a clinical herbalist through the Peoples Medicine Project, and solicit donations for underserved populations.
for more about the radicle act of engaging in gift economy:
the maternal roots of gift economy ~ Genevieve Vaughn
