HERBAL RESIDENT APPRENTICESHIPS

May 1- July 31, 2025

WHAT IS A HERBAL APPRENTICESHIP?

A living education in the heart of the apothecary.

In a world of online courses and digital distance, we’re offering something rare and rooted:
An in-person, hands-on herbalism apprenticeship at our working apothecary and retreat center on Lake Atitlán, Guatemala. This is not a retreat. It’s not a course you download. This is an invitation into a living lineage—one where you learn by doing, in rhythm with the plants and the seasons.

WHAT TO EXPECT

🛖 Live the Herbal Life

Apprentices live onsite in our amazing 2 acre property. Staying in our beautiful cabins. Scroll down for more info on their specs.

🌱 Work-Study Herbal Immersion

You’ll contribute a minimum of 10 hours/week to the apothecary, with training and mentorship from our experienced staff every step of the way.

📚 Ongoing Herbal Education

Apprentices receive 1 formal 2hr class per week and free access to our bi-monthly community herbalism classes, taught onsite.
This is where the Vitalist tradition comes alive—through touch, taste, smell, and storytelling.

WHATS INCLUDED

  • Private housing in our Riverside or Zome home
    – Full kitchens, bathroom, porch, and peaceful setting

  • 10+ hours/week of hands-on apothecary training
    – Tasks include gardening, harvesting, processing, medicine making, spa prep, and retreat support
    – All tasks come with guided training from our staff

  • Bi-monthly herbalism classes
    – Free access to in-depth, Vitalist-style teachings

  • Immersion in a working herbal apothecary
    – Learn systems, formulations, workflow, and seasonal medicine cycles

  • Supportive learning culture
    – We listen to herbal podcasts and courses while we work
    – Mentorship and real-world practice daily

“Plants have the ability to facilitate the healing of our bodies, the clarification of our minds, the opening and strengthening of our hearts, and the evolution of our souls.”

-Sajah Popham

WHY DO THIS?

Because herbalism is best learned through living it—with your hands in the soil, your senses tuned to the plants, and your heart aligned with the rhythm of the seasons.

Because most herbal students never get the chance to see how an apothecary actually runs, how fresh plants are transformed into medicine, or how herbalism is woven into real-life healing work.

Because you're seeking more than information—you want embodiment, applied skills, and a community of practitioners to learn from in real time.

Because opportunities like this are rare.
This is a chance to step into a lineage of living herbalism, to apprentice in a vibrant ecosystem of plants, people, and healing work.

Do this if you're ready to walk the path—not just study it.
Do this if you’re ready to serve, learn, contribute, and grow.
Do this if your soul is craving real apprenticeship in a place where the plants are teachers, the work is sacred, and the learning never ends.

“Plants will, if genuinely asked, respond to you. They will teach you their medicine, as plants have always taught human beings. And though human beings may lose the knowledge of the medicinal uses of the plant, the plant always remembers what its medicine is.

And they will tell you. . . if you ask. If you approach them with an open heart, open your senses and truly allow yourself to perceive them, they will always respond.”

stephen-harrod-buhner-herbal-dieta-casa-curativa-guatemala-lake-atitlan-tzununa

-Steven Harrod Buhner

Theory & Practice Combined

As an apprentice, you’ll be immersed in the day-to-day operations of our working apothecary. Your tasks aren’t just labor—they’re doorways into embodied herbal knowledge. Each week, you’ll receive dedicated class training focused on the “how” and “why” of what we do, including materia medica and traditional context for the herbs you’re working with. Then we will set you free in the garden and the lab to put those teachings into immediate context with hands-on tasks.

Here’s what you’ll be learning and doing:

You’ll participate in our weekly fresh plant harvests from the medicinal gardens here at Casa Curativa, as well as our partner gardens around the valley of Tzununa.

What you’ll learn and do:

  • Harvest timing & technique for optimal potency

  • Field identification and wild-tending practices

  • Garbling (sorting and cleaning fresh herbs)

  • Proper drying methods for quality preservation

  • Storage and labeling protocols for apothecary stock

Harvesting & Post-Harvest Processing

We offer a line of hand-blended herbal teas using our garden-grown plants. Apprentices help ensure each tea is mixed accurately and with care, maintaining the integrity of the formulas.

What you’ll learn and do:

  • Understanding blending ratios, weights, and balance of constituents

  • Sensory evaluation for freshness and synergy

  • Packaging and labeling for our tea line

  • Assisting with inventory and rotation of dried herbs

Mixing Herbal Teas

Our formula line relies on consistent, high-quality herbal extractions. You’ll be part of the production process that brings plant medicine from fresh harvest to shelf-ready product.

What you’ll learn and do:

  • Preparing herbal macerations using alcohol-based solvents

  • Measuring and weighing for standardization

  • Labeling, dating, and record-keeping for tincture batches

  • Straining and bottling finished extracts

Macerating Tinctures

Apprenticeship Pricing by Accommodation

Riverside Cottage

$1350 p/month

The Zome Home

$1450 p/month

May 1- July 31, 2025

Food not included.

Schedule Your Discovery Call Interview Now

Hop on a call with Julia and she can answer all your questions, give you the lowdown on what to epect, and find out if you are the right person for this type of in-person residency program.