because we are nature, too.

Sarah Samms Velázquez creates literature and herbal medicine from the world’s deepest caverns, tallest mountains, and strangest places.
She calls an aspiring urban herbal farm in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, home.

A young woman with long curly blonde hair, wearing a teal beanie and a dark coat, stands next to a black metal gate with a pentagram design, in a snowy residential area with brick houses in the background.

A young woman standing outdoors in winter, wearing a teal beanie and a black jacket, with a snowy landscape and a river with a bridge in the background.

Photos by: Stephanie Strasburg

Sarah S. Velázquez

☉

Sarah S. Velázquez ☉

A woman in winter clothing standing on snow with a walking cane, at sunset or sunrise, in a residential area with houses and leafless trees.

Sarah Samms Velázquez, CRM, PWS

is a writer and community herbalist who destigmatizes the human experience, once story at a time. Sarah’s work has appeared in literary & news magazines across the country including NBAP Literary Magazine, The Pacific Sentinel, Pathos Literary Magazine, Public Source, and even a community cookbook. Sarah has worn several editorial hats but prefers to be lost in the throes of messy beginnings.
She studied creative writing at Portland State University, western herbalism at ACHS, and tropical plant medicine at The Wild Ginger Center.
Sarah is the founder of The Medicine House, a community herbalism movement and aspiring urban herbal farm in Northern Appalachia. Sarah is also an avid hiker, a traveler of society’s underbelly, a music nerd, and an art dabbler.

Photo by: Stephanie Strasburg

Follow Sarah’s Substack

train bridge with freight train in front of snowy hills

“The funny thing about freight train hopping without a cellphone was that I rarely knew where I was. “What state is this?” I’d ask the closest gas station attendant. They’d look at me in disbelief. Given my appearance, the giant pack I’d have on my back, and my ragged company, nine out of 10 times they’d placate me in a voice that told me that they thought I was out of my damn mind. Maybe they were right. “
—Sarah S. Velázquez, Public Source essay. 2026

Photo by: Stephanie Strasburg

Every quarter Sarah offers Intuitive Tea Personal Blending consultations. She will consult your needs, consult the plants and her herbal medicine knowledge. She will then blend you the perfect medicinal tea that meets your needs.

If you are interested in scheduling for the next seasons’ pop up, (this happens sometime around the change of the season) fill out this contact form with your first name and last initial in the subject line.

She will reach out to you with a form and an option to schedule when the season changes.

If you have any additional questions, email: ssammsvelazquez@gmail.com