Workshop: Philippine Folk Medicine through a Historical Lens

Saturday, 4/18/2026
11:00 - 1:00
Chinese Center Exhibit Space - 3rd Fl
Main Library
Address

100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
United States

Contact Telephone

Join traditional herbalist Angela Angel for an interactive herbal workshop and historical mapping of folk medicine from The Philippines. From layers of colonization along with pre-colonial healing traditions, we will dive into the complexity of indigenous and adopted practices. Learn about practical herbal remedies and recipes using historical texts and from Angel's latest zine, Halamang Gamot. 

 

Angela Basbas Angel is a traditional and holistic healing practitioner, medium/channeler, ceremonialist, multi-disciplinary artist, poet and permaculture gardener. She has continued her indigenous lineage as a traditional healer (Bontoc and Ibaloi tribes - Igorot, Philippines). Angela received a vision directing her to explore how ritual and our innate psychic abilities can translate in the “modern world” as a step to bridge our ancestral knowledge and to begin healing historical trauma. She has since worked to integrate this directly with her social justice work. In 2013, she helped to form and began coordinating free holistic and traditional healing clinics with the Bay Area’s Healing Clinic Collective. Angel was the school coordinator and taught at Ancestral Apothecary School of herbal, folk and indigenous medicine for nearly seven years in Oakland, California. She loves tending to her garden and facilitating the connection of plants with people. She is a certified Clinical Western Herbalist and integrates indigenous ancestral medicine in her classes. Angel runs regular classes in healing and plants including “Ninunong Gamot: Philippine Folk and Ancestral Medicine" and “Decolonizing Wellness”. Angel is a spiritual strategist and proponent of healing justice and decolonization. She has been an organizer and facilitator for various grassroots organizations for over 25 years. She consults for social justice non-profit organizations and movement workers to lean into a Spirit-Guided framework and integrate health, wellness and our relationships to the land for long-term and sustainable movement resiliency. 


Angel Angel - Website


Connect to engaging discussions and performances related to the Filipino American community.

Build better wellness practices and learn ways to improve your health.


This program is sponsored by Friends of the San Francisco Public Library.


Attending Programs

All programs are drop-in (no registration necessary) unless otherwise noted. All SFPL locations are wheelchair accessible. For accommodations (such as ASL), call (415) 557-4557 or contact accessibility@sfpl.org. Requesting at least 3 business days in advance will help ensure availability.

This program will be conducted in English unless otherwise noted.

Notice: This event may be filmed or photographed. By participating in this event, you consent to have your likeness used for the Library’s archival purposes and promotional materials. If you do not want to be photographed, please inform a staff person or the photographer. A sticker will be provided to help identify you so that we can avoid capturing your image.


Public Notice and Disclaimer

This program uses a third-party website link. By clicking on the third-party website link, you will leave SFPL's website and enter a website not operated by SFPL. This service may collect personally identifying information about you, such as name, username, email address, and password. This service will treat the information it collects about you pursuant to its own privacy policy. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of each third-party website or service that you visit or use, including those third parties with whom you interact through our Library services. For more information about these third-party links, please see the section of SFPL’s Privacy Policy describing Links to Other Sites.

The views and opinions expressed in programs presented by groups unaffiliated with SFPL do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SFPL or the City.