There are practices that begin in learning, and others that begin in remembering.
When we learned that Hannah Vega has been using evanhealy products in her daily ritual for years, it felt like a quiet affirmation—an alignment rooted in shared values of care, integrity, and relationship with the land.
For Hannah Vega, founder of Afro Foragers, the path into foraging did not arrive as a trend or a technique—it arrived as a feeling of familiarity in the land, and a pull toward knowledge held within ancestral lineage, even if it had not been directly passed down in her own lived experience.
What followed was not simply the study of plants, but a deepening relationship with place, memory, and visibility. In a world where foraging spaces often lacked representation, Hannah began to document her own journey while seeking out others walking a similar path. In doing so, she uncovered something expansive: a growing community of Black foragers whose presence had always been there, waiting to be seen and connected.
Through Afro Foragers, that visibility has taken form as both a resource and a gathering place—now holding a network of over 70 individuals reconnecting with land-based practices, ancestral memory, and shared knowledge.
In this conversation, Hannah speaks to the land and the plants that continue to shape her, and the ways in which nature, identity, and liberation intertwine through lived relationship. Her words remind us that foraging is not only about what is gathered from the earth, but what is remembered through it.
Can you share the story of how Afro Foragers began? When did you first feel that pull toward gathering, lineage, and land-based remembrance?
Afro Foragers began as a remembering more than a beginning. I didn’t grow up foraging, but I grew up hearing stories about some of my ancestors who knew the land, who could identify plants, and who understood how to use them for food and medicine.
Over 10 years ago, I felt called to reconnect with that knowledge. What started as curiosity turned into a commitment to understand my natural environment and to reclaim what once existed within my lineage. As I learned more about wild foods and plant medicine, I started noticing a gap. The image of a “forager” that I saw in books, media, and online rarely reflected me. I had never met another Black forager, and there was very little visibility of us in those spaces. That absence pushed me to not only share my own journey, but to find and highlight other Afro foragers who were also doing this work. And what I found was that there were more of us than I had been led to believe.
Since then, I’ve created a growing list of Afro foragers across social media, now over 70 strong. It is the largest list of its kind. What started as a personal search for connection is becoming an online resource where we can find each other, be seen, and continue remembering together.
How does foraging connect you to your ancestral memory? What old or familiar feeling rises in you when you’re walking the land?
Foraging connects me to my ancestral memory in a way that feels both quiet and familiar. Even though I didn’t grow up practicing it, there’s something about being on the land, recognizing plants, and knowing how to use them that feels so familiar.
When I’m out foraging, I feel a sense of closeness to the people who came before me. The ones who relied on this knowledge every day, not as a hobby but as a way of life and even survival. It reminds me that this wisdom didn’t start with me, and it was never lost, just interrupted. There’s also a level of trust that gets rebuilt. Trust in the land, trust in my body, and trust in my ability to observe and understand what’s around me. That feels ancestral, too.
It brings up a sense of grounding and belonging. Like I am exactly where I’m supposed to be, doing something my ancestors once did, even if the path back to it looks different now.
What are some of the plants or fungi that have shaped you the most? Are there any you return to again and again for grounding or inspiration?
Some of the plants that have shaped me are plantain leaf, elderberry, stinging nettle, and autumn olive.
Plantain leaf is a versatile plant that will always be in my first aid kit. It grows everywhere, often overlooked, but always offering itself as medicine. It reminds me that healing doesn’t have to be complicated. Sometimes it’s right beneath your feet.
Elderberry is a plant I return to every year for immune support. Working with it connects me to the seasons and to the practice of preparing and preserving medicine for my family. Over time, it has become part of my seasonal medicine-making tradition, something I intentionally harvest and turn into remedies each year to care for the people I love.
Stinging nettle is mineral-rich, incredibly nourishing, and delicious. It has really changed how I see "weeds". A plant that people avoid or even fear can be so beneficial- and tasty!
Autumn olive, though considered invasive, has prolific, tangy-sweet berries that are amazing for cardiovascular health. Harvesting from this plant every autumn has been a lesson on perspective. It has challenged me to think more critically about how we define value in the natural world.
Each of these plants has shaped not just what I know, but how I relate to the land, to healing, and to my own ancestral memory.
How do you see the relationship between nature, identity, and liberation? Where do those threads weave together in your work?
I see nature, identity, and liberation as inseparable. When you reconnect with the land, you start remembering who you are outside of what you’ve been taught, outside of systems that disconnect us from our bodies, our intuition, and our traditions.
For me, identity is tied to remembrance. Remembering that my ancestors knew the land, that they worked with it, learned from it, and cared for it. Remembering that we are not separate from nature, even though so much of the world has tried to convince us that we are. Just remembering that feels like a kind of freedom.
Nature has a kind of freedom that doesn’t ask for permission. The land is still here, still giving food, medicine, and knowledge to anyone who takes the time to notice and build a relationship with it. Being able to care for yourself and your community through that connection feels really powerful.
In my work, these threads come together through education, visibility, and practice. I share foraging not just as a skill, but as a way to reconnect, to reclaim knowledge, and to see ourselves reflected in spaces where we’ve been erased. It is about building relationships with the land and with each other, and remembering that this knowledge has always been ours.
What rituals or practices are keeping you rooted in this season of your life?
Right now, my rituals are pretty simple, but they keep me grounded as a busy stay-at-home mom. Spending time outside with my kids is at the center of it. We walk the land together, I show them how to identify plants, and we talk about how each one can be used for food or medicine. Those little moments slow things down and remind me what really matters.
I also keep a few daily practices for myself, like making herbal teas, prepping seasonal remedies, tending the small patches of plants in our yard, and using Evan Healy skincare to take care of my skin naturally. Even on the busiest days, these small habits connect me to the land, the seasons, and the knowledge I want to share with my kids.
How do you hope your work influences the next generation of Black and Brown foragers, herbalists, and land stewards?
I hope my work makes it feel normal for the next generation of Black and Brown foragers to see themselves in this space. I want them to know that this is not something new for us. We have always had relationships with the land, and that knowledge is still available to us.
I hope it encourages them to trust their curiosity, to go outside, learn the plants around them, and build their own relationships with the land in a way that feels real to them. Not based on trends or aesthetics, but on connection, care, and lived experience.
I also hope it makes it easier for them to find community. That they don’t have to feel like they are the only ones doing this work. There are more of us here, remembering, learning, and sharing.
What are you dreaming into the future for Afro Foragers?
I see Afro Foragers growing into a space where Black and Brown foragers, herbalists, and plant lovers can find each other, share knowledge, and be visible together. I want it to become a hub for learning, mentorship, and celebration of our relationship with the land. Beyond just identifying and harvesting plants, I want it to be a community that honors our ancestral memory, supports each other’s work, and inspires the next generation to step outside, connect with the land, and see themselves reflected in these spaces.
What advice would you give someone just starting their journey with wild foods and plant medicine?
Before you overwhelm yourself with foraging resources, start small by getting curious and paying attention. You don’t have to know everything at once, and you don’t need a perfect plan. Practice regularly and slowly walking outside, noticing what’s growing around you. Look around your own yard, neighborhood, or local parks and learn one plant at a time. Touch it, smell it, observe it through the seasons. Most importantly, connect with the land with respect, and honor the knowledge that comes from your own experience, not just what you read. Doing this will help cultivate mindfulness and awareness to help guide you along your foraging journey.
What does it mean to you knowing that evanhealy is The World's First Regenerative Organic Certified ® beauty brand? What does Regenerative mean to you?
Knowing that evanhealy is a Regenerative Organic Certified brand, and the first beauty brand to receive that certification, honestly means a lot to me. It shows that the care for the plants, the soil, and the people involved is being taken seriously from the beginning of the process, not just at the final product stage. As someone who spends a lot of time working with plants and thinking about where things come from, that matters.
When I hear the word regenerative, I think about giving back to the land in a way that supports life over time. It is not just about sustainability or maintaining what we have. It is about restoring soil, supporting biodiversity, and creating systems where the land, the plants, and the people are all able to thrive.
For me, regenerative also connects to a bigger idea of relationship. The way we harvest, grow, and work with plants should support the health of the ecosystem and future generations. It is a mindset of reciprocity with the earth rather than extraction. That is something that aligns a lot with how I approach foraging and working with plants in my own life.
Also…we always love to know what evanhealy products you love and why!
For my body, I absolutely love the Whipped Blue Cactus Body Butter. The whipped, mousse-like texture feels so luxurious, and my skin smells amazing and feels nourished every time I use it. I’ve also been doing the Oil and Water ritual after cleansing with the Tea Tree Gel for almost 10 years, and it’s become such a grounding part of my routine. I really love the Balancing Duo with the Rose Geranium Hydrosol and the Rosehip Balancing Serum. Together, they leave my skin feeling balanced, cared for, and glowing.
Follow her journey @afroforagers
