:HWB Vision and Values

About Us

Herbalists Without Borders™ first began as a grassroots community based coalition of members working in their communities under a common goal in the US in early 90's. From there, the HWB Community Clinics Model informally began in 1995 in the upper midwest (later formalizing in 2007 and expanded to a global network) with mobile natural medicine clinic units in various locales providing accessible health and wellness education to communities, using a membership based model. As HWB grew, so did our reach, and we had chapters and free people's clinics around the globe starting in 2007, expanding from our North American base and creating a global network of HWB chapters and members working in their communities. Gigi Stafne, as original founder and our first Executive Director, grew HWB from a single Chapter in the upper midwest until it expanded to form a 501c3 nonprofit in 2014-2015, with over 50 Chapters globally. In 2017, Gigi stepped down as ED, and Denise Cusack was appointed, filling the role from 2017-2022. Our current Executive Director, Jocelyn Perez Blanco, is now leading HWB into the future! HWB has over 650 members, and over 75 chapters/clinics/projects! HWB has had members respond globally, and has had member exchanges around the world for 27 years. The name Herbalists Without Borders™ is recognized around the world, with members in dozens of nations serving their communities for almost 3 decades.

In 2017, Gigi stepped down as ED, and Denise Cusack was appointed, filling the role from 2017-2022. Our current Executive Director, Jocelyn Perez Blanco, is now leading HWB into the future! HWB has over 600 members, and over 75 chapters/clinics/projects!

HWB: Serving Communities Since 1995. 
Herbalists Without Borders™
Herbalists Without Border© 1995-2023

​ Our Primary Values 

  • HWB believes that health and wellness are human rights, not privileges

  • HWB recognizes many global citizens lack access to primary health and wellness due to economic hardship and other barriers

  • HWB promotes health justice and oppression free local and global wellness practices

  • HWB engages in volunteer efforts focused primarily on natural and botanical health and wellness solutions via education, prevention, empowerment, grassroots advocacy and organizing

  • HWB builds a renewed consciousness about conditions created by dominant social and economic institutions that impact all human beings; emphasizing the roles of traditional herbalists and healers who live and work within those systems often experiencing social stigma, pressure, devalued status and sub-standard wages for vital services they provide

  • HWB believes that poverty is inherently violent in nature and health services must be accessible and affordable

  • HWB embraces non-violence, social justice, health and wellness as means to transform cultural and global trauma and violence

  • HWB creates and promotes inter-cultural herbal health education, herbal borderless medicine exchanges and actions via local to global chapters

Mission Statement

Herbalists Without Borders vision is a global community where all people have access to affordable natural and botanical health and wellness. To bring that vision into reality, we work with community-based chapters to create educational, advocacy and grassroots model projects to fill the gaps in health justice internationally.

"You Cannot Get Through a Single Day Without Having an Impact on the World Around You.  What You Do Makes a Difference, and You Have to Decide What Kind of Difference You're Going to Make."  
~Jane Goodall

  • HWB promotes the protection and preservation of indigenous herbs and healers, including intellectual property rights that honor and respect the wisdom of both traditional plants and healers globally; regenerating valuable traditional healing wisdom and practices that have been negated, oppressed, misused or extinguished

  • HWB educates the public about growing and eating of traditional local healthful natural foods and herbs; relearning and recollecting of everyday traditional cultural healing lifestyles

  • HWB supports equitable, sustainable, community-based, fair trade practices pertaining to foods, herbs and botanical products

  • HWB embraces grassroots empowerment models and actions, encouraging local people to utilize their own unique community resources to create accessible peoples' natural medicine clinics and other innovative holistic model projects

  • HWB promotes sharing of holistic health and wellness resources and open source information that will assist all people and practitioners

  • HWB believes in building foundations of honesty, trust, openness, compassion and collaboration within holistic health and wellness realms

  • HWB assists herbalists and other healers with continuous training, education, technical assistance and resources
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  • HWB believes in creating alternative natural medicine solutions that individuals, communities and countries may begin implementing NOW
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Herbalists Without Borders™ is sustained by donors & member volunteers delivering health, wellness and humanitarian aid to those in need. ​