The transformative power of herbs and hot water

In a London garden, surrounded by a jungle of tall shrubs and thriving herb beds, a group of friends sits around a white wrought-iron table. They chop and pick from an array of plants, herbs and vegetables which they pack into Kilner jars, chatting easily while they work. They’re making what they call Fire Cider, a spicy infused apple cider vinegar designed to give a warming kick when the weather turns. It’s a simple process but, as the group are well aware, an extremely meaningful one. It’s a shared moment of slowness and stillness, a chance to connect to nature and each other. It’s the power of a nice, hot cup of herbal tea, and it’s also what turned a couple of friends with a few planters into Hackney Herbal, a community that transforms lives.

The idea behind Hackney Herbal began to form when Nat Mady, a structural engineer by trade, went looking for something, or rather several things. Having moved across London, she was in search of a new community, a hobby and a connection to nature. She loved the idea of growing her own food and had always had a keen interest in plants and gardening, so a local community garden seemed the perfect fit. She started making some simple infusions with the herbs she grew there and, along with the plants, something bigger began to brew.

As she slices a strip off a long red chilli,  Nat remembers the first big step towards what Hackney Herbal would become. “We held a public event in a local square. We called it a communi-tea party” she says with a slightly rueful smile. “We had tastings, herbs on strings, seed sowing. We held it in Gillett Square in Dalston, the busiest part of Hackney, to reach as many people as we could.”

The event was a big success, seeming to tap into something within those who wandered through. “As soon as people started talking about plants, they kind of lit up.” says Nat, lighting up herself as she remembers, “They’d tell us it was great to have someone to talk to about this stuff and that their friends, partners or kids would think they were mad if they started going on about herbs.” It was all the encouragement Nat needed to take things to the next level.

A programme of courses and workshops centred on growing herbs and making seasonal remedies followed, with an artisanal tea business used to provide funding. The courses built on that spark from the Dalston event and gave people something much more than the tea they took home.

The classes, held over a number of weeks, were a place of cultural exchange and connection, where people who might never have spoken to each other in the normal swirl of the city were united by a common interest and the rarity of a calm space in which to explore it. “Sometimes,” Nat recalls, “People would know a herb by another name or know of uses for it, or combinations of flavours, that weren’t familiar to us. It gave them a chance to share their heritage.”

Even those with no prior knowledge, however, felt a sense of belonging. Nat speculates that growing herbs together helped to close the gaps between people and the natural world that urban life creates. “I think there’s a need for this sort of thing everywhere,” she says, “not just in cities but especially in cities. These green spaces, shared green spaces, are so important for bringing people together and for the land.  When you’re growing useful plants, there’s this wonderful reciprocity – you're caring for nature and it’s caring for you, while you also share it with others. So many people don’t get the chance to experience that and feel the joy of it.”

As Hackney Herbal grew, many more people did. A move to a dedicated site allowed the programme and the social enterprise to expand, with more courses and events broadening the reach. But while the workshops were extremely popular and their effect profound, there was a problem. They were finite. People would come for six weeks, gain an enormous amount, then leave, perhaps to continue their own journey, perhaps not.

The answer was the Herb Group, a more casual monthly meetup than the courses, which allowed people to maintain the connections they’d made. For Nat, this was key to creating something more lasting and a crucial part of the long-term vision. “Building a community takes time,” she says, “you can’t rush it, but it’s the whole reason behind what we do. Now we’ve got people who’ve been in the Herb Group since the beginning, ten years ago!”

The Herb Group has gone beyond growing and infusions, becoming a social circle with a life of its own. Members go on visits to other gardens, get involved in other projects and share their passion and knowledge in a number of ways. Nat loves the idea that the effect of Hackney Herbal ripples outwards. “I’ll be talking to someone who came to one our workshops years ago and they’ll mention that they’ve gone on and set something else up themselves, or I’ll just see something being organised and realise I recognise a face. It’s lovely to think that we’re part of that journey.”

While some of the group’s impact was in those distant ripples, Nat learnt at an exhibition launch how much of an immediate effect they’d had on people’s lives. “We invited a lot of the volunteers, friends and members of the group to this gathering and some people stood up and talked about their experience. They said what they’d found through us, how much it had helped them. It was deeply moving.”

Those testimonies showed how, from something as simple as making tea, a community has been created that has the power to change lives. The tea is secondary, as Nat happily admits. “I’m a terrible salesperson! I’m always telling people not to buy ours and to grow or blend their own. I’d rather they made that connection for themselves. That’s really the whole point.”

From its beginnings in the cluttered corner of a community garden, Hackney Herbal has become a network, a support group, a haven and a force for change. But, as the smell of Fire Cider fills the garden, it’s clear that at its heart, it’s still what it’s always been – a group of friends coming together for a brew. It’s just that now there are a lot more friends.

Words by Christopher-Wilson Elmes

Featuring Nat Mady

Shot at Hackney Herbal