Sowa Rigpa for Garden & Gardener:
A Free Introductory Talk
with Josha Nash
Saturday May 30th, 2026
10am - 11am
For this Saturday’s community offering, join Joshua Nash for a free introduction to Tibetan Medicine and how it relates to gardening.
For those interested in exploring this topic more deeply, Josh will offer a seasonal workshop starting on June 20th:
Sowa Rigpa, the Tibetan “science of healing,” uses traditional medical knowledge of the five elements—space, wind, fire, water, and earth—to promote health through balance. It is rooted largely in the observation of nature through the seasons of the year and of one’s lifespan as these elements change over time. As all things in nature are constituted by these five, this approach to life can reach beyond the scope of merely human and animal wellbeing.
This workshop series in four parts will explore connections from the ancient science of human health to finding balance in the garden or farm. The four parts are organized by pairing each of the four seasons with a particular element. Each session will begin with explanations of theory, bridging Sowa Rigpa ideas to the realms of people and plants. Following that, there will be practical demonstrations of how to create medicines for plants themselves, primarily using resources from the garden itself and the surrounding landscape. Working with techniques from “natural farming” practices from around the world, gardeners will feel more empowered to maintain healthy plants and correct imbalances that arise in the home garden. Everyone will be encouraged to deepen their connection to the web of life.
This series is open to all, but is not a start-to-finish “how to” on gardening. The aim is for participants to gain new perspectives—theoretically and practically—about their relationship to the natural world, both wild and cultivated.
Today’s talk will serve as an introduction for interested community members.
The last Saturday of every month is Tanaduk Garden volunteer day at Pure Land Farms! Following the talk, you are welcome to spend the day (until 4pm) in nature and participate in garden projects, under Josh’s guidance. Learn and connect with local community members while immersed in the healing gardens of Pure Land Farms.
JOSHUA NASH
Joshua Nash is a gardener growing in the Morongo Basin. Working with natural farming methods, he tends the land to restore animal and insect habitat, care for annual vegetables and culinary herbs, native plants and fruit trees for a farm-to-table location in the desert. He is also the co-manager of the garden and grounds at Pure Land Farms since 2023. Joshua was introduced to cultivating nature through the portal of compost at Warren Wilson College in Asheville, NC where he helped generate compost for the farm there from 2006-2010. While there he earned a BA in Religious Studies with a concentration in East Asian religions (2010), and is in the 2027 class of practitioners at the Sowa Rigpa Institute.
