This recipe is a co-creative endeavor between Annalee Davis and myself which was made for the permacultural residency at Stiftung Künstlerdorf in Schöppingen, Germany. It draws inspiration from traditional wake food and meals prepared for family members as they mourn, grieve and celebrate the recent dead.

Sea Island Cotton has been grown in the Caribbean since the 15th century, before the arrival of Europeans to the ‘New World.’ Sea Island Cotton’s origins can be traced back to being cultivated on the coasts of southwest Ecuador and northwest Peru over 6,000 years ago. 

The unassuming roucou gives color to food, clothing and art. It enriches the skin with beta-carotene.

Castor oil increases the circulation of blood and lymph, decreases pain and improves the conditions of uterine illnesses. Many women have found castor oil compresses very helpful for conditions related to PCOS, infertility, endometriosis, fibroids and cysts along with inflammation and pain management. Castor oil packs and rubs can also be used throughout the cycle see the recipe here!

Corilla or carila - tie it around your neck to ward of stiffness. Macerate or pound the leaves in a bush bath to sap away stagnant energy. Revitalizing and cooling.

Tulsi, comprising several species in the basil family, is more commonly known as holy basil or tea basil across our island archipelago. It has a wide range of applications for spiritual, religious and traditional medicine purposes, and is commonly found in home gardens and growing wild across our island archipelago. 

A way in which we are learning to decolonise our landscape and reclaim ownership of our stories and space is by reclaiming the knowledge that these plants have to offer. Our ancestors used these medicines in times of great need and their wisdom continues to permeate today as we bring forward these healing technologies aided by bush medicine. 

Before rainfall, the leaves of the tree turn up towards the sky as if in anticipation of the moisture and aqueous downpour. The dried leaves remind me of my chest cavity; perhaps this is a lingering message, and the signature of how the medicine is used in our culture for respiratory illnesses such as asthma and to tone the lungs. It is widely viewed as a panacea, a cure-all in the Caribbean bush remedy arsenal.

View the National Cultural Foundation episode on “Healing System of Sage Garden.” In episode 3 which continues the rich storytelling around the importance of Bush Tea: Herbs, Plants and Barbadian Botanical Stories.

Sitting in communication with chaste berry blooms is a humbling and sensory experience. Harvested from my Bajan surrogate mother—shout out Mama Olton—she often lets me come by to wildcraft various medicinal herbs including bloodroot, black sage and other materials.