This message is from a dear Medicine Sister here on Maui who is not on social media. Please read her story & support in any way you can. She is doing great work for the community here. Mahalo!
Dear Ones, Friends, Kin~
The fires may be out, but Maui is still burning…
18 different groups of people came through my house today, all left with different containers and bags and bottles of herbal and island medicine. Thereʻs already calls for more… and so I’m up late working on this love note. It is extremely awkward for me to send out a petition in this manner.
And…Maui is burning…whatever this is, these very hard days, and we are deep in it.
Late yesterday afternoon I made my way to the grocery store. The fridge is bare, I simply needed some food stuff. But it’s not simple. Devastating, confusing, painful days have blown onto Maui. The aisles in the grocery store are small, it’s crowded, even the air inside has a smell. Thereʻs a man in the granola bar/cereal aisle holding two boxes of cereal, head lowered with silent tears streaming down his face. I mean, how does one respond. What’s the right thing to do. I walked over and stood close enough to him that our shoulders touched. He didnʻt look up, all he could gather to say was, “my kids want cereal, and I canʻt remember which kind they like…” We stood there and cried, stranger to stranger, in real time. We never made eye contact, at some point, I put my hand on his arm, squeezed him, and walked away.
That’s the stuff that isn’t on the news or on social media or about claiming Maui.
I have no idea if other people saw us, or if I overstepped or didn’t do enough, or the kind of work he’s doing in these hard days… and none of that really seems to be important. But the consequences of having seen a man, a father, like that, so completely arrested in the cereal aisle of a grocery store, the raw broken humanness… that matters. Thatʻs what brings me to write this love note. The real possibility that kinship can exist even without familiarity. When we are gathered in by something not of our own self, not of our plan. When the horrific reality of hard days comes knocking, and we donʻt pick being either frozen in shock or rambling on that it will all work out for the best, find the silver lining jargon.
When we surrender to learning what it means to be a quality human being, that’s something worth choosing to be part of…
People keep calling, texting, emailing asking what can we do to help. Itʻs hard to tell if they mean it. I won’t pretend these are The answers, but surely the Maui ʻOhana requires us to behave like what is happening genuinely counts for something.
~We could consider the consequences of the “I have a right to : go anywhere, all the time, whenever I want.” There is so much here to explore.
~Practice being a real human in the place where you live. Seems to me, who we are on the soft days is who we are on the hard days. The capacity to bend and kiss the ground on heartbroken days is practiced when it’s easy, so that capacity might rise up in us when a full strength crisis takes over.
~My house has become a hub for island medicine. Most of the goods in my humble apothecary, including all manner of vessels, have already been shared. Yet the need for supplies and currency is extreme. And has only begun.
Friends, please make a currency donation.
PayPal @khadijamaui
Venmo @khadija-maui
Or I have also compiled a working list of herbs, tools, and all sorts of supplies and good companies. Please order anything from the list and have it sent Directly to me. Link list here.
And with a lot of help from some good people here, I will turn your love letter donations into medicines and get them to the Maui ʻOhana.
Good chance this is a big ask. But Maui is burning… so even if a few folks are stirred to action by this, that would be pretty fucking righteous.
Mahalo Nui
A Grand Thanks
~Khadija Meghan Rashell Striegel
ps Hawaiʻi friends, you’re getting this love note to pass along, if can, not to donate more.
pss Friends, if you are one of the folks that is stirred by this love letter, please pass it along.
pps If you want to be connected to me, to this work, to this story that is actually happening, please email me. I’m not sure there will be updates, but there might be more to share.
Please email for direct mailing address.
TINCTURES
Farmacopia
Lily, owner and dear friend of Farmacopia, has this kindness to add in the mix:
We can offer 20% off to anyone ordering products with the code MAUILOVE,
AND free shipping as well. The person ordering would just select “In Store Pick Up” and use the discount code to signal to us that this is a donation and that we will be shipping to Maui, to Khadija. Nourishing Lung Tincture , Nervine Support Tincture, Throat Spray. Here is a shareable link: https://www.farmacopia.net/
LOOSE HERBS
Oshala Farm
Elise and I went to Herb School together way back in the day. Her family now owns and runs this wonderful farm. In addition to the loose herbs their Elderberry Elixir and Oil Sampler would be wonderful to mix in:
Pacific Botanicals
This farm is truly incredible. Any of the dries loose herbs:
Whatʻs need: one pounds of:
Mullein, Skullcap, Motherwort, Oat tops, Lemon balm , Marshmallow, Peppermint, Lemon balm, Nettle leaf, Rose, Fennel seed, Hibiscus
SYRUPS
Taproot Medicine
Started by a dear friend Freida, carried on by some good sisters… Any of the four syrups would be very helpful:
CONTAINERS (some are on sale right now)
Mountain Rose Herbs
Long time trustworthy company… good choice for cloth tea bags, bottles, containers:
- currently having a sale on bottles:
- cotton cloth tea bags:
Whatʻs needed:
Small cloth tea bags
Small and medium cloth medicine bags to hand out, these will become bundle bags
1 ounce boston round glass bottles with caps
½ ounce boston round glass bottles with caps
4 ounce boston round glass bottles with caps
8 ounce boston round glass bottles with caps
2 ounce boston round glass bottles with mist tops
1 gallon food safe plastic bottles
Other Friends and Companies
There are too many to list that are offering support with their top quality goods. I am using the cash donations to purchase herbs, tinctures, and all sorts of other small items from them..
Mahalo for taking the time to read this message & for all of your support.
With endless devotion to our eternal empowerment,
Rakai’el