An Open House at Goldthread's New Home

Goldthread has been serving the healthcare needs of the Pioneer Valley and Hilltowns for over a decade. Beginning with a small apothecary and private acupuncture practice in downtown Northampton, William Siff found a loyal community of patients and customers committed to improving their health and intrigued by the herbal remedies he was serving up. From the beginning, William was determined to make grassroots medicine a part of the robust culture of sustainability already alive and well in the region. Inspired by the thriving co-ops and the diverse agricultural scene, William decided that true sustainability in healthcare must include locally produced medicines. In 2004, William and his family moved to a small farm in Conway to begin cultivating over 100 varieties of medicinal and culinary herbs. The farm enabled William to launch the one of a kind herbalism training called Farm to Pharmacy. The seven month course spans the growing season and gives students a comprehensive foundation of both plant cultivation and traditional medicine. Goldthread then launched the one of a kind CSM, based on the CSA model, to make botanical medicine even more accessible to our community.

Goldthread’s model of grassroots healthcare seeks to address the root imbalances in our culture from which so many of our physical health issues arise. To actualize our new vision of the Apothecary as a hub of social reconnection and wellness, we realized it was time to grow. With two primary priorities, enough space to house all of the diverse activities that make up the Goldthread organization and a location more proximal to the farm itself, we began the search for our new home. The Mill in Shelburne Falls provided those things and a great deal more.

With 10,000 square feet to fill, we will be able to offer our community healthcare in a brand new form. We hope to introduce an approach to wellness that is welcoming, inclusive, accessible, affordable and empowering. 

The Mill will be home to a diverse range of offerings including the full service retail apothecary and dispensary, an inviting tea lounge and elixir bar, an extensive library warmed by a grand masonry stove, a learning center to house our own classes as well as host others, a clinical practice to serve everything from preventative health maintenance to acute illness management and everything in between, a “living room” featuring beautiful indoor botanical gardens, and a wet spa set into the magnificent stone pothole inside the building.

Goldthread believes that medicine should be seen as more than a pill in a bottle. Health is made of all the activities of our lives and our relationships. We hope the Mill will serve as a home for a whole new way of engaging medicine and community.

Join us on February 13 from 6-8:30pm for tea, light snacks and a discussion about some of our plans for the former Mole Hollow Building in Shelburne Falls, as well as a town hall style Q&A session from 7-8:00pm. Bring your ideas and questions!

10 Deerfield Avenue, Shelburne Falls, MA.

Come Play a Hands-On Role in the Grassroots Healthcare Revolution!

Farm to Pharmacy is an innovative internship program that takes place at Goldthread Herb Farm and Apothecary in the foothills of the Berkshire Mountains in western Massachusetts. Goldthread offers interns the rare opportunity to learn fundamentals of both traditional medicine and plant cultivation side by side. Synthesizing Chinese, Ayurvedic and Western herbal traditions, our educational offerings are a comprehensive compliment to the abundance of time spent outdoors. We welcome herbal medicine students from all walks of life and are happy to facilitate college credit where possible. 

During this experiential seven-month program, students divide their day at Goldthread’s organic herb farm between classes in herbal theories and supervised work with the plants in over 3 acres of fields. Educational herb walks in the learning garden to practice identification and discuss botanical characteristics will compliment lectures and coursework. Subjects range from the major classifications and their specific healing properties to the medicinal applications for a wide variety of medical conditions.

Over the course of the growing season interns will participate in all aspects of plant cultivation from preparing beds and planting seeds through to harvest and beyond. Interns will learn to process and prepare herbal medicines transforming freshly harvested flowers, leaves and roots into tinctures, syrups, teas, salves, elixirs and oils for our apothecary.

Educational and life changing, the internship offers participants the chance to play a pivotal role in the Grassroots Healthcare Revolution. Find unparalleled communion with the medicinal plants themselves as well as a community that emphasizes sustainable, non-toxic and cost effective healthcare grounded in organic agriculture and empowered self-care for all. 

Upon completion of the program, interns come away with an extensive understanding of the theories of herbal healing, the agricultural training to cultivate the major medicinal herbs in their own space, and the practical skills to apply their new knowledge and begin healing themselves and others.
Dates: Wednesdays 9-4, April 17th -October 9.
Tuition for this experiential 7 month program is $1950. Save 10%  by paying early (by February 15th), paying in full, or signing up with a friend — you can both take 10% off! Sorry, these offers can not be combined.

Work study is available and will begin on March 15.

Payment plans are also available!

Full details at: www.goldthreadapothecary.com