Embody your innate earth based wisdom
Somatic Herbalism Apprenticeship
This 7 month long apprenticeship weaves together earth based healing with body centered practices. We use the body as an instrument to develop a relationship to plants while deepening our connection to ourselves, each other and the land.
The experiential apprenticeship is a deep dive into growing and processing herbal plants. This is a somatic journey - meaning that we use all of our senses and an embodied awareness to cultivate and tend to the plants while forming a relationship to the land we are stewarding.
We work together in the fields and greenhouse to tend the land and plants together. By working together we reinforce ideas and concepts, and find our own rhythm with hand tools. We sit in circle, tell stories and create medicine.
We use a non - linear approach, as we follow the plants from seed to soil to bloom and back to seed. We balance skill development with time for group shares, connection and discussion. Through the tending of the soil we nourish ourselves, our families, communities and neighbors.
By the end of the apprenticeship you will have the knowledge to grow and prepare your own herbs and herbal medicine, Our hope is that you will have developed an embodied practice of being with the land and plants, and an intuitive way of “knowing” which comes about through letting go or transformation of biases and frameworks.
Explorations include:
- Propagation: starting seeds, root cuttings, seed germination methods, propagation via cuttings. Greenhouse growing methods
- Seed saving
- Field prep: making beds, using amendments, compost
- Putting the garden to bed for the winter
- Plant Identification
- Soil health using observation and senses
- Group check ins, sharings and discussion
- Plant sits
- Processing methods including drying, tincturing, making oils
- Ritual and ceremony involving plants and the seasons
- Ways to integrate herbs and embodied practices into our lives
Apprenticeship Logistics
HOW TO APPLY
Fill out the application. We will review your application within a few days and get back to you notification of acceptance. Please respond to confirm attendance and send in payment to save your spot.
DATES
7 months long - we meet 1 Saturday/month on the following 2026 dates: April 11, May 2, June 13, July 11, August 15, September 19 & October 10
10:00 - 4:00 pm
WHO IS THIS FOR
Open to all adults and mature older teens; anyone with a curious and open mind
LOCATION
Sawmill Herb Farm in Montague - 119 Old Sunderland Rd. We will be primarily meeting outdoors (in all weather). Some days we will be gathering in the greenhouse or barn.
FOOD & GEAR
- Bring your own lunch and snacks. We have a group lunch in the middle of the day.
- We have a potluck lunch on our final session to share the bounty of the season
- Each apprentice day includes work in the fields or greenhouse, come prepared with appropriate clothing including covered shoes.
ACCESSIBILITY
The apprenticeship is held primarily outdoors, on uneven terrain. Indoor and covered spaces (including the bathroom) are accessed via couple of steps.
Sessions are held in english.
PAYMENT DETAILS
The apprenticeship is $850.
Application acceptance is rolling and we will respond to you shortly with a notification of acceptance and can then receive payment.
Payment is by check, venmo or cash, We do not offer refunds and payment is expected regardless of the number of sessions attended.
Payment options: 1) Pay in full when accepted -or - 2) Pay half on acceptance with the remainder due by April 11, 2026
We offer discounted spots for Black, Indigenous and People of Color. The discount is for 25% off the price, for a total of $638.
On the registration page there is an option to donate to this fund – please consider doing so as an act of gratitude and reparations.
The apprenticeship cost includes:
- 7 sessions
- 3 bunches of fresh herbs per session starting in June that we harvest during our time together (total of 15)
- All medicine making plant material
OVERNIGHT STAY OPTIONS
Out of towners are welcome to stay in the beautifully renovated barn loft. You can read more about the barn rental here and email us to get more info about rates.
Camping on the land is also an option for a small fee.
Sample Day
Note that the schedule differs each session, this is an example of what the flow might look like on a particular day:
10:00 - Arrival. Gathering together, drinking the prepared herbal tea and getting present on the land. Embodied grounding exercise and opening check in for each apprentice to share gratitude. Susan shares about the herbs in the tea and the plan for the day.
10:30 - Susan leads around the topic of the day - for example - incorporating herbs into the garden. We will discuss an overview of different growth patterns, habitats and needs from the perspective of the plant. And from the gardener/farmer perspective - how to choose your plants, what to consider based on your soil, location a nd other needs
11:30 - Field/Greenhouse work. Experiential lesson in preparing beds for planting, working together to transplant seedlings into the ground, setting up irrigation. Working together to nourish the soil and plants.
12:45 - Lunch with the group. Informal discussion around a topic of curiosity for the group alongside time for connection
1:30 - Plant sit and journaling / sketching with a plant that calls out to you.
2:00 - Reflections
2:30 - Plant walk around the farm - learning about planted and wild edible and medicinal plants. Time for harvesting your personal bunches to take home
3:30 - Closing with a checkout and observations from the day
4:00 Goodbye for the day
About Susan
Susan Pincus is a somatic practitioner, herbalist, naturalist, and farmer with over 18 years of experience growing food and medicine using regenerative methods.
She has trained dozens of people in small-scale herb cultivation and processing, and has led workshops on land-based healing practices.
Bringing together her work with plants and her background in somatic facilitation, Susan created the Somatic Herbalism Apprenticeship—a seven-month, land-based journey that weaves earth-centered healing with body-centered awareness.
As a Radical Aliveness practitioner, she offers inclusive, compassionate facilitation for individuals, couples, and groups, always anchored in a deep connection to the natural world.
One of Susan's gifts that she brings to this work and the world lies in her ability to slow the pace, creating space where presence deepens and the quietest, most powerful voices within us can be heard.