Camila Creates: Holistic Chef & Mystic Creative

Camila Bianca Casanas is the creative behind Camila Creates. She works as a holistic chef, community herbalist, and a creative with a profound sense of  style we just can't get enough of over here at PP. The entirety of her work is centered around lateral cultivation and distribution of resources to empower folks through creative self healing and uplifting fellow makers. It would be impossible to put Camila into one category, as she truly creates many things. Her mission is to divorce herself from the culture of disconnection that the industrialized world has imposed on both earth and people. As a result, Camila Creates is about cultivating an intimate new narrative around health & healing.
 

PP: How did you first discover plant-based medicine?

I’ve been around plant medicine my whole life. I grew up just outside of Yosemite National Park, so I was amongst some dense and magical nature at any early age. My father was an integrative internal medicine doctor who worked with herbs, homeopathy, and also studied Traditional Chinese Medicine - so he taught me a lot right away in life. My mother can nourish any soil she puts her hands into and make flowers grow so I got the green thumb from her. But if I’m being 100% honest I’ve known I was a green witch since I was a little girl, the plants have just always spoken to me. Now my work is rooted in reconnecting with the land and using plant wisdom to do that in an informed and heart centered way. 

PP: What is one of your key plant-based medicine rituals? 

My plant medicine rituals change often, as they should --- through seasons, whatever I’m going through emotionally, or physically, or momentarily. But I’ve always got some tincture in rotation for the most part, and also love doing loose leaf infusions or decoctions. Oh, and herbal baths! Brewing a big pot of herbs then straining it straight into the bathtub is so nourishing.
PP: Do you have a cultural or ancestral connection to any plants? 

I mean, all plants are cultural and ancestral no matter where you’re from or what your lineage is. A massive part of being an ethical plant person or herbalist means cultivating a relationship with the plants that have an ancestral connection with YOU and the lands of your people. Beyond that, as modern plant people tapping into what’s available and abundant around you regionally supports natural rhythms of healthy regeneration and ethical harvesting/cultivation. As a cubana + xicana woman, guava and hibiscus truly feel as though they invoke my ancestors when I work with them, plus they’re just tropical and sexy. 

PP: What is the one plant/herb you can’t live without and why?

Nettles. It’s a utilitarian herb. It’s safe for everyone and is so accessible but also potent. It’s super nutrient dense, and the spirit of Nettles is that of the wild weed so it almost feels like it’s lending that resiliency to my cells and my body when I drink it. It also just tastes really good as an iced tea, brewed with some spearmint. *Chef’s Kiss*

PP: Can you share your favorite self-care practice?

Radicalizing myself with joy. Partaking in the idle pleasures of life. Finding enjoyment in merely just existing. Cooking myself a good meal, too.


PP: How do you like to use PP in your daily routine?

Right now I’ve got Good Day in rotation. I take it in the morning first thing before I get started for my day, just to get me ZEN off the rip. I’m kind of a high energy person so it sets my thermostat at a chill temperature before I go out into the world. 

PP: What’s one organization you think people should know about and support?