Rochelle Baca ~ 

 

Rochelle Baca is a Traditional Herbalist, Medicine Maker, and Educator with a special focus on Sacred Plant Medicine.   Born and raised in California, Rochelle began her relationship with plants in her early teens, delving into books by Rosemary Gladstar, Susun Weed and the comprehensive guide Prescription For Nutritional Healing by Phyllis A. Balch, CNC. These books inspired her to begin a life long study of plants, whole foods, natural healing and the human body.    

 

 In 2001, Rochelle moved to the East Coast where she continued her herbal studies.  She made several treks to Sage Mountain Herbal Retreat Center to study with Rosemary Gladstar, Rocio Alarcón and other well-known herbalists. Rochelle earned her Advanced Herbal Studies Certificate from Earthwalk School of Herbal Traditions where she studied with herbalist Melanie Rose Scofield. To nurture her ongoing quest for knowledge, she has studied with Anne Marie Tedeschi (Infinite Roots Herbal Creations), Nancy Phillips (Heartsong Farm), Megan Brown (Harvest Moon Herbals), Helen Ward (Sage Mountain, Three Springs Farms), and Margi Flint (Earthsong Herbals) as well as with many other teachers at herbal conferences and events.  Dr. Rocio Alarcón, Director of The Iamoe Center in Ecuador, has had a special influence on Rochelle and her work with Sacred Plant Medicine. 

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Rochelle’s work specializes in Sacred Plant Medicine with an emphasis on the medicinal power of Cannabis. Inspired by activists and advocates Jack Herer and Ed Rosenthal, Rochelle's spiritual journey with Cannabis began in the late 1980s.  Rochelle’s curiosity about how Cannabis made her feel led her down the road to educating herself about other herbs.  Along with her herbal studies, she has dedicated her life to decreasing the stigma around Cannabis and educating people to its healing properties.  She teaches simplistic, traditional medicine making techniques with Cannabis and other sacred plants.  Her writings on Cannabis has been featured in the Essential Herbal Magazine, at Earth Song Herbals, and at the North East Healing Power of Cannabis Conference, where she offered a popular course in Sacred Plant Medicine Making. She has a busy practice where she sees clients and makes medicinal herbal products.  But, her favorite activity is teaching others how to empower themselves with plants. 

 

​Because Rochelle saw the need to bring awareness of herbs into a larger community, she began teaching community herbalism using Rosemary Gladstars "Science and Art of Herbalism" as part of her courses. These classes have been very popular and she continues to teach and inspire others through these community-oriented programs.    

 

Furthering her quest for knowledge of how the human body functions, how food and our environment affect us, and what changes we can personally make to better ourselves, Rochelle has been certified in the Introduction to Clinical Nutrition by the Herbal Medics Academy and has been expanding on that knowledge learning Botanical Functional Medicine from Sam Coffman and Dr. Kyla Helm, M.D.