Living in the Legacy of African American Healers
There is no way to fully know all the accomplishments and contributions people of color have made in the healing arts. Throughout my American herbal studies, I heard people sing songs to the plants and listened to their stories about herbalism. While these stories were helpful, they didn’t resonate as deeply for me because they did not represent people of color. Many times, when teachers could tell a story about someone in the BIPOC community who influenced their path to herbalism, they had forgotten those long-ago educators’ names. I began a quest to speak the names of my ancestors, to collect the stories of the powerful women who wove a patchwork quilt of herbal knowledge that was passed down to them from lands most had never felt a sunrise in.
The Many Roles of An Herbalist
The first time I ever helped someone’s sleeplessness and stress with a simple tisane blend, I felt such a strong sense of familiarity, rightness, and resonance that I knew that something in my life had irrevocably changed. Stepping from curiosity into active involvement in herbalism was a form of initiation for me, a door opening into a world I’d always wanted to be a part of, but wasn’t sure I was good enough for. This transition also shifted my role in my community, and I became a person that others came to for help, advice, support, and information much more often than previously.
Now that I have witnessed and helped so many others through the same portal, this moment of transformation is something I think of as the taking on of the green mantle. I imagine it like the fairy shawl of Manx folklore, woven of living flowers, moss, and mushrooms that rests upon the shoulders of all who follow this path of devotion to the healing powers of the green world. When I meet someone with a deep connection to the plants, it almost seems as if I can see that mantle on them, and it never fails to remind me of the importance of connection and relationship in herbalism.
Citrus Essential Oils: How to Choose the Right Citrus Oil
Citrus essential oils are bright, sweet, and sour and are known to bring a smile to your face. They are energetically uplifting and engaging and pack a punch in DIY cleaning products. But which one should you use?
Organic citrus oils are cold-pressed from the fruit peel of various citrus trees. These lovely essential oils are mostly made up of the same constituents but vary in the amounts that they contain. (+)-Limonene is the primary monoterpene in all of them and contributes to their use in surface cleaners, room sprays, and soaps.
What Sustainability Means to Us
What does sustainability mean to you? Is it about balancing what we take and what we give? Is it about leaving a natural legacy for your children or grandchildren? Or maybe just leaving the land in better shape than you found it? Different people think about sustainability in different ways, but in the end it comes down to a recognition that this is the only planet we’ve got and we need to take action in our daily lives to do our part to caretake our home. We asked our staff members what sustainability means to them and how working for Mountain Rose Herbs reflects their commitment to put the care of our planet at the forefront. Listen in and let us know what sustainability means to you and what you do to live your best sustainable life.
Mountain Rose Herbs Is Furthering Its Commitment to Sustainability In 2023
People often assume that sustainability is not compatible with the tenets of successful business management. However, Mountain Rose Herbs is an excellent example of how a company can be guided by the principle of putting people, plants, and planet before profit and how business decisions can successfully consider both the environmental and social impact of operational choices and costs. Keeping sustainability at the core of our business practices means we are aware of the full cost of doing business and we make decisions consciously to minimize any negative impact that our company might have on our community, ecosystems, and ultimately the planet. With a history rooted in environmental and social activism, we cannot imagine operating a business any other way.
Why Mountain Rose Herbs Chooses Oregon Tilth as Its Organic Certifier
In 2001, when we moved Mountain Rose Herbs from California to Pleasant Hill, Oregon, we made the move to be closer to our farm partners, wildharvesters, and processors. But another key factor in our decision was Oregon Tilth Certified Organic (OTCO), a Corvallis, Oregon nonprofit that was reimagining how the world’s food systems could work better for people and the planet. Founded on the fundamental belief that our food and agricultural systems should be sustainable and equitable, Oregon Tilth has spent nearly fifty years working for organic food and farming.
Within a year of moving to Oregon, Mountain Rose Herbs became a certified organic processor through OTCO and began a relationship that we have cherished now for two decades. From the beginning, our experience with OTCO has been invaluable. Working hand-in-hand with this outstanding organization has enabled us to create alliances and sustainable systems that are the bedrock of our business. Their expertise and dedication have helped us put in place the tools and relationships we need to provide our customers with the finest organic botanicals—from our state-of-the-art onsite laboratory and quality control department to long-lasting working contracts with certified organic farmers and wildharvesters that we know we can trust. We would not be able to do what we do today without OTCO’s half-century of experience.
The Faces of Mountain Rose Herbs
We wanted to take a moment and thank all of our wonderful employees for their heartfelt dedication and commitment to the herbal community. Not only did this dream team bring us through an incredible 2022—they did it joyously and with kindness for each other.
Thank you, Mountain Rose Herbs team, for serving the community with your positive attitude and passion for herbalism, sustainable living, and natural wellness.
Your work never goes unnoticed.
Cultivating Goldenseal: The Quest to Protect an At-Risk Herb
Goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis) is one of the most at-risk plants in North America. It was used by First Nations peoples for hundreds of years before Europeans arrived and by the 1830s was also a favorite of herbalists and practitioners of Eclectic medicine. Today, due to relentless wildharvesting and habitat loss, this age-old herbal ally has been reduced to scattered remnant populations and is at risk in much of its native range.
7Song’s Scientific & Humorous Approach to Herbalism
In the summer of 2022, our Creative team traveled to Ithaca, NY, to spend a few days learning about 7Song (@7Songsevensong) and his Northeast School of Botanical Medicine. Our friend, esteemed herbalist 7Song, has been inspiring herb students at his school since the early 1990s. While some herbal schools are rooted solely in plant medicine, the Northeast School of Botanical Medicine focuses on the human body, critical thinking, and botany. As a self-described cynic, 7Song brings humor and practicality to an often challenging field of work.
Visit 7Song at 7song.com
Follow him on Instagram @7songSevenSong
Follow him on Facebook @Sevensong.Sevensong
The Sacred Copal Tree + Ceremonial Uses for Día de Muertos
Copalli—the Nahuatl word for Copal—is a resin extracted from the Copal tree and has been used in Indigenous practices for thousands of years. In honor of Dia de Muertos, our friend Patricia Cortez has written a beautiful blog about her memories of how her Mamá Trini trained her in El Salvador to work with Copalli. We love the story of how she learned to befriend and honor the Protium Copal tree and the traditional way of using maguey cactus to harvest the copal. And did you know that in 2016 the Mexican government designated Dia de Muertos as a Cultural Heritage to the world? We all have Ancestors to honor and celebrate regardless of where we are from. What do you recall about your ancestors and how do you honor them?
Voiceover graciously provided by Patricia Cortez.
Patricia Cortez is a bilingual-bicultural holistic practitioner at Eugene Reiki Healing in Eugene, Oregon. Visit her here: www.eugenereikihealing.com.
