Why buy our herbs?
Slow Medicine
As our world has shifted rapidly to a global economy, the fiber of our local societies has begun to unravel. This has led to an immediate dependence on the frequent consumption of disposable goods shipped in from all corners of the earth. The location of production is dependent on who can produce goods for the lowest cost, which can often mean the least regulation and weakest labor and environmental laws. I do not imply that this is the case for all companies selling herbal products, and encourage every consumer to carry out their own research before purchasing.
A large amount of herbs available in the U.S. are produced overseas. Some other countries do not have strict laws regarding production, which can lead to contamination and even mixing of species. Herbs are then packaged and shipped around the world to be processed and re-packaged by middlemen or retail companies. With no strict guidelines regarding expiration dates of herbs, it is possible that products have drastically reduced efficacy by the time they are consumed by the end user. There are also myriad environmental concerns regarding large scale production and trans-global shipping.
OK, so I'm speaking in generalities and hypothetical situations- this is not meant to scare or coerce customers, but instead give a background for why and how we grow our herbs. When I began to use herbs over 20 years ago, I realized there was a wide range in the quality of what I could find at the store or online. In addition, there was a disconnect between me and the plant that I was ultimately using as food and/or medicine. Where did it come from? How was it produced? How did the farmers/workers live? How old was it?
The Slow Food movement has been a catalyst for change in the food system, our health, our communities, and the health of our planet. What about our medicine? (I'm not discussing pharmaceuticals here- which do have their place and usefulness in our world but are a separate topic.) I believe our herbal medicine should be produced with the same commitment to the health of local communities and ecosystems. Read more about our methods here and here.
Again, I do not disparage any specific herbal companies or farms and do not chose to speak against another's methods.
What we offer are clean herbs, produced in the U.S. by a woman-owned and operated small farm where our children play and grow, where wildlife abounds, where carbon is sequestered a molecule at a time, where we add to and support the diversity of flora and fauna, where many species of insects (countless natives!!) swarm the blooms and take up residence in the haven provided by organic production methods, where we know and care for each plant, where we sell only the best and freshest, where we try to eke an honest living, where we laugh, cry, work, dance and relax in Reverie.