Community acupuncture: Kerala, India

In March 2026, I travelled to Anjarakandy — a small town nestled in the Kannur district of Kerala, India — to run a community acupuncture clinic alongside local health workers and volunteers.

Over the course of the project, I treated more than 400 patients, offering free acupuncture sessions to people from across the surrounding villages. Conditions ranged from chronic pain and musculoskeletal complaints to stress, digestive issues, and post-viral fatigue. For many, it was their first experience of acupuncture.

Working within the community setting shaped everything — from how I communicated, to how I adapted treatments to available resources. It was a reminder of what acupuncture can be when stripped back to its essentials: attentive, human, and genuinely accessible.