The idea that started it all

When Anna Rósa first got the idea to teach women in refugee camps herbal medicine she didn´t dare tell anybody. How weird is it to want to work in a place you have zero connections and you have never been to. Listen to her below talk about the project she is running in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

Here you can also watch a short film of Anna Rósa working as a herbalist in Iceland.

First trip to Kurdistan Iraq

2023

This March Anna Rósa went for the first time to Duhok in Kurdistan Iraq. She started the project Herbal Sisters in cooperation with charity organisation Lotus Flower. During this trip she taught women in three refugee camps to make ointments.

The organisation Helping Herbs established

2023

The charity organisation Helping Herbs was established on June 11th 2023 by Anna Rósa Róbertsdóttir, Hjörleifur Sveinbjörnsson and Ingibjörg Birna Ólafsdóttir.

Second trip to Kurdistan Iraq

2023

Anna Rósa spent a month in the autumn teaching workshops in three refugee camps. 525 women have benefitted from the workshops in 2023 and we have also given away 540 remedies for pain, burns, and health and hygiene. Eman, a local woman training to be a clinical herbalist, has been hired to continue teaching workshops while Anna Rósa is not there. Bashar, a driver has also been hired to drive Eman to the camps. There is no public transport in Iraq and the roads are unsafe so it’s essential to have an experienced driver for Eman.

About Anna Rósa

Anna Rósa studied herbal medicine in Britain for four years. She has run her own consultation and lectured on the healing power of Icelandic herbs for more than 30 years. On top of that, she has published a popular book on Icelandic medicinal herbs and created an online course on the same subject. She makes over a hundred products manually and handpicks her herbs in pure Icelandic nature. She channels profit from all her products into Helping Herbs.