Originally posted by Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine blog

December 2018

Text by Juliet Blankespoor and Devon Kelley-Mott Photography by Juliet Blankespoor

Last winter, I had the pleasure of visiting the Kauai Farmacy Gardens with my family on a visit to Kauai, affectionately known as the Hawaiian “Garden Island.” I was intrigued by their thriving tropical farm-to-apothecary business model and was eager to meet the plants and people involved. Doug Wolkon, one of the co-founders of the gardens, generously spent an afternoon with us, showing us around the plantings and apothecary. I was delighted to find shoulder-high ashwagandha and tulsi growing right alongside cacao trees laden with pendulous purple pods. Picture clambering passionflower chumming it up with creeping gotu kola. Perky ginger and turmeric leaves growing underneath cinnamon trees. Edible, medicinal, and culinary plants weave together in an exuberant pandemonium that can only be orchestrated by abundant rainfall, warm temperature, and sunshine - a true tropical permaculture paradise!

The winding mulched pathways and shady resting spots create an inviting environment for the visitors who come to learn about Hawaii’s medicinal and edible garden flora. During the tour, folks get to interact with the living plants used in the business’ products and then retire to the Tea Lanai to sample tea grown on the land, accompanied by seasonal fruits and nuts.

 

“Imagine a vibrant garden of paradise lovingly tended to by a small group of nurturing farmers. This is Kauai Farmacy, an organically-farmed oasis located in beautiful Kīlauea on the Garden Island of Kaua’i.”

Founders of Kauai Farmacy, Doug and Genna Wolkon, moved to Kaua’i in 2007, and according to them, “their consciousness began to shift when they started making tea from the leaf of the Noni tree, which is a traditional Polynesian medicinal plant that grows on the Hawaiian islands.”

 

Three years later, they came into ownership of four acres of fertile pastureland on a river bend in Kilauea and began growing their own medicinal plants. “These herbal gardens slowly and organically grew and transformed into the Kauai Farmacy biodiverse herbal farm; now home to over 60 medicinal herbal plants.”

 

Permaculture Herb Gardening

by Xenia Magazine Summer 2018

View the magazine. Download the excerpt.

Kauai Farmacy

KAUAI, HAWAII

PHOTOGRAPHY: KAUAI FARMACY “There is a certain ‘mana’ (spiritual force) that exists here on the farm” GENNA WOLKON, PROPRIETOR

You both used to have high-powered jobs in New York, but you left it all behind. Why did you decide to move to Kauai? It would seem as though Doug and I made a conscious decision to leave everything behind, but in reality it was a series of events and a passion for freedoms beyond the status quo that had subconsciously led us to the tiny Garden island of Kaua’i in the middle of the Pacific ocean. As seasoned travelers to many parts of the globe years prior, we had witnessed many different cultural practices and lifestyles aside from the Western modern practices of our upbringings. When we became pregnant with our first child, we recognized how little informed we were in the business of birth and how restricted we were by the medical procedures that influence the birth outcomes. As a result we were limited in our choices for a natural home birth and subsequently an unplanned hospital birth resulted. Subconsciously, we found ourselves on a voyage to find a different existence where those personal freedoms and informed, conscious choices could be attained. When we arrived in Kauai, we were welcomed with like-minded, free-thinkers and passionate people born and raised here as well as transplanted from all parts of the globe (like ourselves). We immersed ourselves in the abundance of Kauai’s lush jungle underground and surf culture, and helped nurture our primal lust to come alive with acupuncture, meditation, yoga and xi gong. In hindsight, we were reinventing our lives, restructuring our former lifestyles and spiritually, physically and mentally rediscovering our youth, like little children in a jungle playground filled with discovery and wonder. After being introduced to this healthy and healing Hawaiian lifestyle, you decided to create Kauai Farmacy. What inspired you to embark on this labor of love? We were ready and able to take full responsibility for our own health... After arriving on Kauai, we were introduced to the Polynesian Noni plant (Morinda Citrifolia). It was our first experience healing from living plant matter rather than a man-made treatment. We were intrigued and began to experiment with the plant topically and eventually in tea form like we learned the ancient Polynesians did long ago. We learned how to dehydrate the Noni leaves and quickly experienced its ability to reduce inflammation and awaken our senses. We were discovering truths about our bodies; Doug was shedding years of excess weight from his former wining-and-dining high finance lifestyle, and I was beginning my healing journey from the cesarean birth of our son. The Noni leaf tea was detoxing years of poor dietary and lifestyle behaviors that were just now starting to catch up with us in our thirties. It was helping us with circulation; our energy-levels were higher; our digestion was picking up; and my mastitis cleared up while nursing my infant son. Years later after the home-birth of our second child, we discovered the power of another array of herbs (mainly sage, lemon balm, tulsi and mint) which we harvested straight from our landlord’s small garden and brewed into life-changing tea. The tea proved to be stronger and more effective than any of the pricey imported supplements and highly-praised tinctured herbs we were spending a small fortune filling our medicine cabinet with at that time. This discovery coincided with acquiring a four acre piece of land in Kilauea. With permission from our landlord, we transplanted a start from the Tulsi (Holy Indian Basil) plant and started our very first garden in 2011. We continued acquiring seeds, planting out gardens, and laying infrastructure equipped with solar dehydrators, water catch systems and retail apothecary located in the heart of the farm which we nicknamed “The Tea Wagon.” What was a former horse ranch is now home to Kauai Farmacy and its diverse array of over seventy different variety of medicinal herbs. Inspired by the privileged opportunity for us to make life changes towards a healthier lifestyle, we strongly believed it to be our Kuleana (our responsibility) to share what we were learning and what we continue to learn as we carry on this extraordinary herbal healing journey, with herbal medicine grown and crafted from the source. Can you please explain a permaculture garden and why they are so important? Our gardens are designed in a closed-loop system. There is zero waste. We harvest what we need and compost the rest back to make new soil, which then becomes the base for new garden beds. We make compost tea from decomposing plant matter gathered from all around the farm, and feed this back to the gardens weekly which nourish and enrich the plants with the very same vitamins and minerals and microbials that they themselves then offer. This is one of the many systems that make our permaculture gardens sustainable, stable and efficient. Unlike traditional mono-cropped farms where rows and rows of the same crop are planted for acres and acres, we use a permaculture planting methodology that emulates that which would occur in nature. The idea is to plant diverse communities (much like a backyard garden) where plants provide for one another. The diversity of these gardens is key to their ability to thrive. Each plant exchanges information with its surrounding plants. For example Comfrey provides nitrogen to its neighboring plants while a Cacao tree will offer rich magnesium. Canopy trees provide shade-cover to low lying plants; and plants like lemongrass and Comfrey serve as natural pest control. Using water-catchments throughout the farm, we use the Kauai rainwater mixed with our compost tea to quench and nourish the soil (luckily Kauai is home to one of the wettest places on Earth, with its center crater Waialeale receiving approximately 38 feet of rainfall annually, so we are fortunate with abundant rain). The gardens teach us deeper consciousness; for this reason, we only harvest by hand and never by machines. The closed-loop system and backyard-garden techniques are ecologically-friendly, building a strong foundation for sustainable life. The plants serve as companion plants to each other, boosting the garden’s immune system as a whole; and likewise, these same companion plants strengthen and nurture our immune system when the herbs are consumed in our teas, superfood powders, spices, and other medicinal herb products. Kauai Farmacy is not certified organic, but you believe your farming practices to be ‘morganic’. What do you mean by this? From seed-to-cup, our plants are fed compost tea for fertilizer which is made from the very gardens themselves; they are chanted to each morning by our head gardener with prayer; they are hand-harvested with pure intention (never by machine); they are dehydrated in custom built solar dehydrators at low temperatures to maintain the plant’s true integrity and medicinal benefits; they are artisanally hand-crafted by passionate herbalists into teas, superfood powders, tincture, hydrosol and salves; they are labeled and packaged onsite within footsteps from the gardens to insure freshness and quality. How we grow the plants, harvest and craft them into herbal products, our process and ingredients are 100% transparent to our customers, leaving no questions unanswered. The closed-loop system we undergo in the gardens and seed-to-cup operation allows us to hold the utmost integrity in our products (neither of these concepts are considered in the organic certification process). The loving measures we take far out-measure the current ‘certified organic’ standards, which allow certain percentages of harmful chemicals into the growing process, condone procedures using excessive heat (cooking off vital nutrients; vitamins, minerals, amino acids, etc.) and discount genetically modified organisms (GMO). We have decided to self-certify ourselves ‘morganic’ as a result, letting our customers know that we go above and beyond when it comes to our intentional processes growing potent and pure plant medicine. Guests can savor a cup of tea at your Tea Lanai or tour your farm with a Medicinal Herb Garden Experience. What are these experiences like? We offer guided tours Wednesdays and Fridays from 10-12pm, through our lush herbal oasis with a casual tea tasting, extensive walk through the production facility, and a meeting with the herbalists that are artisanally hand-crafting the herbs that can be sampled and purchased, connecting visitors straight to the source. Visitors on a tight schedule have the option of sipping tea and sampling products at our on-farm tea apothecary open weekly, where a Kauai Farmacy team member is happy to help customers find which blends work best for their personal needs. We recognize that not everyone knows what Ashwagandha is, or what raw cacao (real chocolate) looks and tastes like in fruit form. Herbs like these and the other seventy plus herbs we grow here are becoming more and more important for people to incorporate into their lives for sustenance and wellness. As the go-go lifestyles and degenerating modern diet worsen and hormone imbalances, cardiovascular disorders, anxiety and obesity increase, we are in dire need of educating people on how to heal themselves without being sentenced to drugs, surgery and chronic pain. As the medical and pharmaceutical industry continue to be focused on and monetized by the human body in its most weakened state, we are dedicated to introducing effective, plant-based healing mediums, like culinary herbal spices, healing body balms and loose leaf herbal teas to encourage and empower people to take responsibility for their health and wellbeing. What do you hope that guests will remember most about their visit with you? There is a trust that occurs when people visit the source from which their medicine is grown. We hope they will carry that trust with them and find comfort in connecting with the plants and the Kauai land from which they are grown. There is a feeling associated with this experience that is truly indescribable. There is a certain “mana” (spiritual force) that exists here on the farm that dates back to the birth of the island, and historically has evolved with the energies from the care-takers, the plant life and the animals that enter and exit its sanctuary. We certainly do our best to educate people about the herbal plants which grow here and how to integrate them into the modern lifestyle; however, there is no greater reminder of our primal intuition than nature herself. Being present and soaking in the elements within the herbal garden oasis and consuming the teas and herbs while immersed in the heart of the land, is something that people are bound to take with them for the rest of their lives. We hope that people remember that feeling when they are in their own sanctuaries across the globe sipping on the tea grown from these gardens, and crafted by the passionate herbalists they met on their journey here. How would you explain ‘Aloha spirit’? Aloha is a deeply profound way of life, which most of us are only just learning, yet subconsciously we’ve been longing for all our lives. As we connect and immerse ourselves more in nature, ground in the “aina,” the land which feeds and provides us, and “malama,” care for and protect that which is pure and intended, the closer we are to living with Aloha. The definition roots in “Alo” meaning “to be in the presence of” and “hâ” meaning “the breath of life.” Essentially, living with Aloha, means living with the presence of breath. Aloha has adapted to mean many different things, from greetings such as Aloha kakakiaka (good morning) to peace and goodbye, but in time if you are truly living with the Aloha spirit, there is no single way to define it in words; it is just a way of life. What can we learn from the Hawaiian culture? That we are one with the land. In preserving and carefully tending to the land’s needs, we are in turn receiving the land’s energy in the form of food, shelter, clothing and medicine.

Wai Ola

The Lifestyle of the St. Regis Princeville Resort

2018 issue

Words by

Amelia Fulbright

Morning dew is just beginning to evaporate from the green leaves of the garden. Liberated from condensation, flowers timidly open, petal by petal, and bees line up to pollinate the virgin blossoms. The Shama Thrush bird sings her song. The rooster responds promptly. Then, right on cue, an ancestral chant begins to weave through the garden, along the pathways that will soon carry footsteps and between branches baring precious plant medicine. Each morning, Head Gardener Kerr Jackson begins her work day in the same corner of the Kauai Farmacy garden. Just beyond the Passionflower trellised fence, beneath the Cacao tree, there lies a humble stone altar. And, upon that altar you will find a new offering each day, placed there by the hands of the one who chants. “Our garden is a very sacred space; a concentrated area of communion with nature, intention, and love,” says Jackson. “My morning ritual of chanting to the garden is my way of saying ‘Good morning! Thank you! I love you!’ I am also asking for the humility to hear and receive the guidance of the plants and trees. I find that if I sing instead of speak, I engage from my heart, not my head. Taking time for this ceremony is a powerful practice for me. It rekindles my connection with all things every single day.” Jackson’s respect for the plants is shared by all who work at Kauai Farmacy. With a small, family-style operation, the crew is made up of a dozen herbalists, gardeners and specialists. Each and every person, including founders Doug and Genna Wolkon, is a vibrant example of embracing herbal medicine. Naturally, the environment is intimate and the sentiment is intentional. The plants are cared for as family and the garden is tended to like a home. Growing over 70 different medicinal herbs, the Farmacy is a revolutionary example of a true seed-to-cup operation in the herbal medicine world. There are no rows and few rules. Instead, herbs are inter-planted and intuition takes the place of regulation. Within the layers of leaves and intermingling of roots, a delicate network of companionship between plants can be witnessed. Comfrey breaks up compacted soil with its deep taproot and makes nitrogen, calcium and potassium more bio-available for surrounding plants. Cuban Oregano (and similar Mediterranean herbs) contributes strong volatile oils that deter bugs, pests and pathogens. Cacao fortifies the soil with iron. Cinnamon and Allspice provide shade for their neighbors that appreciate a bit less sun. By allowing the garden to grow “outside the lines”, the plants are able to fully express themselves in their own time and, as a result, some of the world’s most evolved medicine is created. Harvested only once a year, Turmeric (Curcuma longa) is allowed to live out its entire life cycle. As a resulting herbal medicine, it promotes longevity and circulation. Lilikoi (Passiflora quadrangularis), loves to bloom during the full moon and, ironically, is an unrivaled sleep aid known to enhance dreams. What makes herbal remedies remarkable is their action both on the body and our consciousness. Like roots penetrating the soil, herbs interact with our entire being. As circulation increases, blockages dissolve. As sleep is achieved, clarity is bestowed. Awareness is heightened. Intuition is sharpened. Self-control and will are refined. Most importantly, herbs rekindle a connection to our heart. And with these tools transformations begin to unfurl like blossoms beneath the sun. Customer and gardener photos courtesy of Chasey Chibirka, Tea, powders and garden photos courtesy of Kauai Farmacy After greeting the garden, Jackson meanders along the pathways that lead to the tea house. One or two other crew members may already be harvesting, carefully trimming a Tulsi bush or plucking ripe Coffee fruit into a woven basket. Inside the tea house, an orchestration of careful creation is underway. Herbs within the solar dehydrators are meticulously examined and, if 100% dry, removed and hand-ground to the appropriate size and texture. Teas, powders, salves, tinctures and honey infusions circulate from idea to creation to customer. Odds are, if you purchase a product from Kauai Farmacy either in person at the farm, or from the online store; the herbs therein were gathered from the garden within the week. “What makes our products unique is that they are cured at low temperature and are incredibly fresh,” says herbalist Sarah Randa. “Our blends are seasonal. The plants are grown with intention in rich organic soil and harvested at their prime. Then, the herbs blended into delicious products to assist us on our path of a healthy lifestyle.” Experience this hidden gem for yourself and get a glimpse into gardening on the Garden Isle. Kauai Farmacy’s Tea Lanai is open to the public every week day from 10am to 3pm where guests can enjoy tea and sample products. Those wishing a more immersive experience can book a garden tour through the hotel concierge. Stroll the gardens and taste the tang of vitamin C-rich Cranberry Hibiscus, smell the alluring aroma of Lilikoi (Passionflower) in full bloom, and so much more. Follow the resonance of a chant through gardens dense with sensation and allow the intention steeped within one cup of tea to saturate your soul.

By Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi

for Honolulu Star Advertiser, December 3, 2017

Recognizing a business opportunity and a chance to spread the word about what they regarded as a “super herb,” they began selling bags of their homemade noni tea at local farmers’ markets and health food stores. Read more

COURTESY KAUAI FARMACY / DOMINIQUE DEFELICE

COURTESY KAUAI FARMACY / DOMINIQUE DEFELICE

COURTESY KAUAI FARMACY / DOMINIQUE DEFELICE

MEET YOUR NEW BEAUTY SALVE-ATION.

BY NICOLE OKA

HONOLULU MAGAZINE

We love supporting small businesses that emphasize organic, locally grown products. So when Kaua‘i Farmacy sent us some of its all-natural, Kaua‘i-made skincare items to try, we couldn’t resist. Located in Kīlauea, the tea farm is the love child of East Coast transplants Doug and Genna Wolkon, who bought 4 lush acres back in 2010, intent on creating healing herbal products. Now, along with teas, spices and tinctures, the Wolkons are brewing up botanical beauty products made using organic plants and herbs. So far, their foray into skincare has yielded two products—the Comfrey Salve and the Botanical Body Butter. Made with organic coconut oil, local beeswax and comfrey grown on their farm, the Comfrey Salve soothes even the tensest of sore muscles. After using it for a week on my aching shoulders, I can attest that it nicely relieved tension. Supercharged with organic coconut oil, local beeswax, cacao, turmeric, noni, tea tree and gotu kola, the Body Butter is packed with all-natural goodness. After washing my face, patting dry and applying, this cocoa-scented butter restored moisture to my skin and left it feeling smooth and fresh. Kaua‘i Farmacy’s lineup of beauty products is seasonal and changes depending on the availability of ingredients. We’re looking forward to the springtime Healing Beauty Balm, a calendula-based formula beloved for its honey scent and soothing properties. Botanical Body Butter, $24, Comfrey Salve, $24. kauaifarmacy.com.

Energy Muse Blog

PHOTO BY KAUAI FARMACY For most people who live in the city and get their food from grocery stores, a trip to the farm can be a therapeutic experience. Eating your food fresh off the vine does more than nourish the body, it nourishes the spirit as well. That’s the philosophy behind the Kauai Farmacy. This 4-acre farm on the garden island of Kauai grows medicinal herbs and spices, so that visitors can enjoy teas brewed with the curative properties of the earth. On the crystallized retreat we hosted in Kauai last August, we took our guests to the Kauai Farmacy. How better to connect with the restorative energy of the environment, than to immerse yourself within it as you consume its natural tonics. Just the beauty of the landscape alone, with over 70 varieties of medicinal plants, was enough to take our breath away, but it was the story of how this farm came to be that left us truly in awe. To find out more about the inspiring mission behind the Kauai Farmacy, we reached out the creators for a Q&A!

Tell us a little about yourself!

We are a husband and wife team, Doug and Genna. We grew up in the suburbs of Boston and NYC, and spent our twenties as a financier and designer, respectively. Our highly-driven NYC career paths were clear for a moment; but after some invaluable insights from traveling abroad, we decided in our early 30’s to veer off, questioning everything that we thought we knew. We now have 3 young children and live on a 4-acre herbal medicinal tea farm in Hawaii, on the Garden Island of Kauai. We spend every day growing and learning from the land, the plants and the passionate people that have been attracted to this pursuit. It has been a completely life-transforming experience – healing, inspiring, humbling, grounding, loving, and so much more.

What brought you to Kauai?

In November of 2007, we gave birth to our first child. It was a boy. The experience of childbirth is certainly life-changing, however during the period leading up to the birth, during the birth and the aftermath, we abruptly learned how different our thought patterns and intentions were from the culture around us. Yes, we were idealists. And the institutional business of birth was impossible for us to accept. So, after experiencing a drama-filled first childbirth, we took our 4-month old boy and split for Hawaii and landed on the Garden Island of Kauai. We were looking for a new way, freer thinkers, and more wild nature. We didn’t really know it at the time, but the three of us had a lot of healing to do; and the healing jungles of the Hawaiian Islands proved to be the ultimate setting.

What is Kauai Farmacy? What inspired you to start it?

Kauai Farmacy is an herbal medicinal tea farm with over 70 varieties of herbs and spices, located on the tropical island of Kauai; where we lovingly grow, craft and package, from seed to cup, nature’s plant medicine, including teas, superfoods, salves, tinctures and more. We started Kauai Farmacy 6+ years ago. Kauai Farmacy was inspired by our personal healing journeys. Noni Leaf, Tulsi (Holy Basil), Sage, Mint & Lemon Balm were some of the first herbs we used to craft our initial tea blends. We began making gallon batches and drinking it throughout the day. It was delicious! Our entire system began to change from the inside out. My (Doug) waist and center literally came alive after years of dormancy; and my neck began to trim out and loosen up as I lost an initial 20 pounds in 6 months. Genna began to lose her excess baby weight as well and truly heal both physically and emotionally. And most importantly, we began playing like children with our then 3-year old boy. And we couldn’t help but dream of ways in which we could bring this new-found health and wellness to our community.

Walk us through your farm. What makes your garden different than others?

We listen to our plants. We sing to our plants. We touch our plants. We love our plants. We grow our herbs in mineral-rich volcanic Kauai soil. We feed our plants 100% organic matter in almost an entirely Kauai-grown, close-loop, permaculture system. We create super diverse garden settings comprised of diverse vitamins and minerals that boost our garden’s immune system. This is in steep contrast to how most commercially-grown herbs and spices are seeded; typically, mono-cropped in rows and rows of a single plant (i.e. global trade of turmeric or cinnamon) for thousands of acres; stripping the same vitamins and minerals out of the soil; essentially robbing the environment of its natural immune system; and in most cases, inevitably requiring the toxic spraying of chemical pesticides and fertilizers to protect the weak monocultured soil. Crafting true herbal medicine requires a clear intention of healing from seed to cup. Our intention is to bring back the lost art of plant medicine.

Can you tell us about a few of the herbs and plants that are on your farm?

Ashwagandha (aka, Indian Ginseng) is in the ground for up to a year before it is mature enough to harvest its potent medicinal root. Ashwagandha is renown for rejuvenating the body, boosting libido, increasing stamina, lowering stress levels, and promoting calm-energy. This super herb is found in our Endurance Superfood, Love Potion Tea, and Ashwagandha Tincture. Chaste or Vitex Agnus-Castus creates beautiful, lavender, conical flower clusters that later become potent medicinal berries. The plant is renown in Ayurveda for women’s vitality, more specifically balancing woman’s hormones; as it balances progesterone levels, while decreasing estrogen levels in the body. The Chaste berry is an active ingredient in our Women’s Wellness Tea. Lilikoi, also known as Passion Flower is an exotic, ethereal, mandala-shaped flower. These flowers are harvested on the full moon, capturing the full essence of this herbal sedative, renown for its ability to calm the nervous system, perform as a muscle-relaxer, aid in restorative sleep, relieve anxiety and pain. Passion Flower is in our Tranquility Tea and our potent Lilikoi Tincture.

What are your favorite herbs? Ones you think everyone needs to get into!

We honestly love them all and believe the ultimate power of plant medicine is found in the diversity of the plants. I would say Tulsi (Holy Basil), Turmeric, Noni and Comfrey. Exquisite in taste with a unique ability to promote self-awareness,Tulsi is an esteemed herb in India known as the Elixir of Life.Turmeric is a potent digestive cleanser and helps reduce inflammation as it boosts the immune system. Noni leaf is the Polynesian super herb that promotes circulation, detoxification and weight loss.Comfrey, aka knit-bone, is the miracle plant known to heal bones, ligaments, tendons and muscles.

Tell us about your teas, salves, and tinctures. What does the process look like?

We intuitively believe healing should be easy and fun to use, taste great and feel even better. As a result, we have created nourishing teas, exquisite spices, rejuvenating salves, and potent tinctures that conveniently integrate into one’s daily lifestyle. The key to realizing sustainable results from our herbal products is consistency of use over time. It’s certainly a lifestyle! Our process is all about transparency and intention at every step. Our tea kitchen, where all our products are made, is steps from our biodynamic gardens. Our teas, superfoods, and salves are extraordinarily fresh; brought to market within days of being hand-harvested from the gardens. We procure the original raw intention of each plant through solar-dehydrating our herbs and spices at extremely low heat. Our team of gardeners and herbalists are simply meticulous, methodical, passionate and artisanal at every step in their craft.

How can people experience Kauai Farmacy both on the island of Kauai and from their homes?

All our products, information on the herbs we grow, and up-to-date blogs can be found on our website at www.kauaifarmacy.com. This is also where one can subscribe to our newsletter for more intimate information on herbs, healing practices, new products and special offer codes when the gardens are in full abundance. We provide next day shipping all over the world. Our Tea Lanai Farm Store, situated in the in the heart of the lush, tropical gardens, is open 10am to 3pm weekdays for tasting, sampling and purchasing products. Kauai Farmacy Garden Tours offer an opportunity to experience the seed-to-cup operation, walk the permaculture gardens, taste the plants, meet the herbalists and gardeners, and learn all about plant medicine. Wednesdays and Fridays 10am-12pm (Reservations online). You can also follow us on our Youtube channel; Instagram; and Facebook.

Can you share a recipe with us?

Today, we’re sharing a simple yet exquisite salad dressing with over a dozen alkalizing herbs and spices, in less than 2 minutes:

1. Combine the following ingredients and toss evenly into salad ingredients! Enjoy! (single serving)
   • 2 pinches of our Curry Superfood Spice Blend (Curry Leaf, Ginger, Turmeric, Kaffir Lime, Hawaiian Chili Pepper)
   • 1 pinch of our Savory Spice Blend (Moringa, Spinach, Tulsi, Oregano, Rosemary, Gotu Kola, Sage, Thyme)
   • 1 lime fresh-squeezed
   • 1-tsp Cold-pressed oil of choice
   • a dash of Hawaiian sea salt (or to taste)

Is there anything else you want to share with our audience?

The holistic vitamins and minerals are unique to the mana (spirit) of our gardens, gardeners, herbalists and The Garden Island of Kauai. These herbs and spices contain information that provides us with the ultimate in self-healing – the true power of self-awareness. It is self-awareness that allows us to tap into and trust our all-powerful intuitive selves.

Medicinal Plants can promote wellness

Jessica Else - The Garden Island, Wednesday, July 19, 2017

KILAUEA — Doug Wolkon was tunnel-visioned in his pursuit of vitality when he moved to Kauai eight years ago with his wife, Genna. Now, the two own and operate Kauai Farmacy, where they grow, blend and sell medicinal teas, tinctures, salves and powders. But they haven’t always been herbalists. Back on the Mainland, Wolkon said the two were living a “fast-lane life”; he was in real estate finance, she was an industrial designer. They needed a change of pace. “When we moved here, I still had 30 extra pounds on me and I’d lost my intuition and willpower,” Wolkon said. “We were on this healing path.” Medicinal plants were introduced to them shortly after moving to the Garden Isle, and the pair used them to create wellness in their bodies and balance in their lives. It all started with noni tea. “We read about it and someone recommended using the noni leaf, wild crafting it and putting it in our water,” Wolkon said. “That was the first connection we made.” The tree’s fruit and leaves have been shown to have hypoglycemic properties, according to a 2016 study published in Pharmacognosy Journal. It is used in various parts of the world to treat problems with eyes, skin, gums, and the throat, as well as respiratory and gastrointestinal problems, according to the study. Wolkon can attest to the healing powers of noni, and many other healing plants — 70 different species of which have been planted at Kauai Farmacy. “We’ve been drinking teas for thousands and thousands of years,” Wolkon said. “It’s more balanced and more gentle than eating the fruit in a lot of ways.” Lemongrass, ginger, ashwaganda, hibiscus, and tulsi are just a few of the plants in their herb gardens that are harvested, dried and processed on location. Each of them has a different specialty, from anti-inflammatory properties to targeting gastrointestinal, skin and hormonal issues. And while each has their known uses, Wolkon said the healing properties of the plants differ depending on the culture of the people and location. “It’s all based on your diet, lifestyle and sleep patterns; everything that’s in our culture because the plants interact with what’s going on in your body,” he said. Using the properties of ancient Chinese medicine, Wolkon explained medicinal plants, especially in tea form, break up energy blockages in the body - meaning they target toxins and acidity. “We have thousands of words to describe blocked energy, but these teas go in and alkaline the blockages, chemically speaking. Once the body goes alkaline, it spits the acid out,” Wolkon said. And an alkaline body is Wolkon’s key to wellness. Trial and error is how Wolkon and his wife learned how to blend their own wellness teas. He said beginners might experience headaches and lethargy if they overdo it on tea strength or quantity. It’s also possible to experience vomiting, diarrhea, fever rashes as detoxification symptoms. “The key to (relieving) these side-effects are typically rest and water,” Wolkon said. “Drink plenty of water and detox.” Depending on individual bodies, medicinal plants will react a bit differently for everyone. Wolkon suggests starting slowly with loose-leaf teas and gradually stepping up strength and quantity. Wolkon’s other secret to wellness success is integrating medicinal plants into a lifestyle, not just sporadically indulging. “It’s about integration with your lifestyle. This is easy to understand and integrate, it’s as simple as simple gets, and for health, that’s critical,” he said.

https://youtu.be/W4FlpY0kFXo
See Kauai Farmacy Like Never Before!
Lyndsey from Kauai Visitor Channel tours our farm in their segment Down to Earth. View it now and tell us what you think!

Meet your new go–to condiment for absolutely everything

By TT Content Studio

View on Tasting Table

3/6/17

Hawaii is known for many things: beaches, waterfalls, shave ice and, yes, SPAM. But one integral part of daily life on the Islands has been flying under the radar: Hawaii chili pepper water, the state's beloved hot sauce. It's time to put the Sriracha down and get to know your new favorite condiment—one that's worth a plane ticket around the world and one that’s worth breaking your no–checked–baggage rule for, just to bring home a big bottle.

Hawaii chili pepper water is made with red chili peppers, white vinegar, garlic and boiling water. You could add ginger or any other seasoning, but these four ingredients make up the classic base. Mix everything together in a jar, cover and let cool anywhere from overnight to a couple days. Then store in the refrigerator to enjoy at will. And that really means at will: Fans of the hot sauce use it on morning eggs, noodle soups, sandwiches and BBQ. If you think your lunch could withstand a little kick, douse it on.

The hot, red chili peppers grow easily in Hawaii, especially on Kauai, whose extremely wet climate has earned it the moniker the Garden Island. At Kauai Farmacy, an idyllic farm on the north side of the island that grows herbs for teas, spice blends and an array of health products, the chili peppers, also called nioi in Hawaiian, are abundant. They're used for an epic curry blend or simply ground to a powder that can be sprinkled into soups or over vegetables for flavor and varied health benefits, like increased circulation, better digestion and reduced heart risks.

Hawaii chili pepper water is a staple in mom–and–pop restaurants and in local Hawaii households alike. Even upscale restaurants, like Roy Yamaguchi's Eating House 1849 on Kauai, use the stuff to spice up sashimi. Though it's not difficult to make, certain places take pride in the secret touch their customers have learned to crave. Sean Garcia, owner of Kauai's popular breakfast spot, Java Kai, loves the chili pepper water at Waipouli Deli & Restaurant, a favorite diner down the street. Still, others are loyal to their family's brand—likely a closely guarded recipe.

Whether you're buying the condiment at the store, using a restaurant's version or making your very own, once you get used to the lingering heat, you won't be able to stop. Don't be surprised if you leave Hawaii with a few bottles in your bag or if you plan a return trip as soon as you notice your supply looking a little low.

View on Sunset.com Jeanne Cooper and Chloe Roth. Photo by Erin Kunkel March 2017 issue

Kauai Farmacy

Hana Hou!The Magazine of Hawaiian Airlines

Feb/March 2017

The Medicine Garden

Story by: Brittany Lyte Photo by: Mallory Roe

Doug and Genna Wolkon’s home tea garden is an acre-and-a-half of well-manicured herbs, wild with abundance. A slim tread of dirt serves as a footpath between hardy Hawaiian chili pepper plants and a bed of knee-high ginger. The grounds, delicately fenced with chicken wire, are impossible to explore without feathery brushes from a tulsi plant or the budding leaves of a mission fig. As backyard herbalists, the Wolkons draw upon the traditions of Polynesian, Chinese and ayurvedic medicine to make a variety of loose-leaf herbal teas. They call their business Kauai Farmacy because each of the seventy-some herbs they grow has medicinal value of one sort or another.

On a stroll through the garden Doug Wolkon plucks a red and sheeny leaf from a cranberry hibiscus tree, places it on his tongue and chews. “Like candy,” he smiles, savoring the delicate sweetness. Cranberry hibiscus adds a pop of flavor and a zip of vitamin C to the Women’s Wellness Tea, a tonic that also contains tulsi, ginger, bele spinach, moringa, lemongrass, turmeric and other herbs. Among the Wolkons’ blends are Tulsi Mint Tea, a digestive and palate cleanser, Vitalitea, an energy booster, and Love Potion Tea, which we leave to your imagination. Packaged in small tins, the teas are sold at the Kilauea Farmers Market, online and to visitors who come to tour the gardens.

Not every plant in the Wolkon’s tea garden goes into the teacup. Kauai Farmacy also produces drink powders, salves and hydrosols, as well as something called Buzz Chew, which is said to freshen both breath and mind. Its star ingredient is Spilanthes acmella, a.k.a the toothache plant, which numbs the gums and sets the mouth atingle. The teas, of course, tend to have a more soothing effect. “As for the flavor of a cup of tea, it should be exquisite all the way through,” Doug says. “Healing should be all about ease and happiness.”

The Golden Spice

Turmeric is good for your mind, body and soul

Kauai Traveler Magazine Spring 2017

By Mary Troy Johnston Photos by Kauai Farmacy / Kauai Farmacy

The medicinal benefits of turmeric have been known throughout the centuries, first recognized by non-Western cultures in South Asia, China and the Middle East. Turmeric is central to the five-thousand-year-old tradition of holistic Ayurvedic medicine, originating in Northern India and still widely practiced today.

No one on Kaua'i knows better the history of turmeric in India than Vaidehi Herbert. She has lived here for 15 years where she pursues her passion of translating the ancient poetry of the Tamil region of Southern India, having produced numerous books. Vaidehi described to me how the Tamil poets wrote about turmeric over 2,000 years ago, between 3rd century BCE and 3rd century CE, when they developed the extensive literature known as Sangam poetry. She perused the poems to find references to turmeric. She finds that “fragrant turmeric was hung around the memorial stones as a decoration” to commemorate fallen warriors and also used in religious rituals. Vaidehi finds a charming reference to a scene where “women playing in a river used turmeric to wash their skins.” Another poem tells us that people in the mountains grow turmeric, ginger and black pepper. Modern science has come to recognize that black pepper ingested with turmeric enhances the absorption of the latter whereas ancient Tamils seemed to have known this intuitively! Piperine is the compound found in black pepper that aids in the absorption of curcumin, the active compound found in turmeric.

Where turmeric is concerned, the ancient Tamil past has met with the Kaua'i present. Our island provides fertile ground and a tropical climate for growing olena (turmeric). A member of the ginger family, turmeric is a rhizome, meaning it grows as a stem underground. When it is harvested, it shares the rough tubular appearance of edible ginger, except that it has its own distinct golden color, reminiscent of saffron, and the curvature of a shrimp (also noted by a Tamil poet). Turmeric infuses food with the same strong reddish-yellow hue and, for this reason, is sometimes used as a substitute for the more expensive saffron. As for its culinary use, the spice is best known as one of the basic ingredients of a curry (from kari in Tamil), when paired with other herbs and spices from India.

On island, makers of teas, juices, hot sauces and curry powders have renewed interest in developing products utilizing turmeric to promote physical and emotional well-being. Doug Wolkon of Kauai Farmacy, a firm believer in turmeric’s role in overall health, has developed a variety of related products on his tea farm. The Farmacy offers a Curry Blend that combines the health benefits of turmeric, kaffir lime and curry leaves, galangal and yellow ginger, and our island chili peppers known for their heat. He recommends his favorite, Cacao Olena powder constituted from the basic ingredients of cacao, turmeric and ginger to be used to make a hot tea or golden milk latte. Doug, in his blog post for Natural News, states that the “raw juice” (cold-pressed from the root) “is the most potent medicine for the liver and other organs as well as easy to apply externally.” Ancient medical traditions have long recommended applying turmeric to wounds, bruises, and skin irritations. Seeing turmeric as so integral to health maintenance, Doug writes, “We use turmeric as a daily tonic to keep the body, mind and spirit healthy and feeling alive.” These products are available at the Kïlauea Farmers Market on Saturday or directly from the tea farm, which also offers informative tours of the tropical plants grown there and their medical uses. Visit www.kauaifarmacy.com to learn about their farm and products.

There is no end to the beliefs about healing turmeric attributing anti-inflammatory, anti-depressant, and antioxidant properties (at the very least) to the “golden spice.” Consequently, there is no end to turmeric-derived products on Kaua'i. Turmeric shots are available across the island from juice bars, as well as smoothies and other varieties. Janine Lynne has developed a Citrus Curry hot sauce for her Black Dog Farms Kauai that she mixes with yoghurt for a dip and adds to safflower oil (¼ cup hot sauce to ½ cup oil) as the base for vinaigrette. Kaua'i also boasts a number of island-crafted soaps infused with turmeric, harking back to the Tamil women using the spice as they bathed in the river. As Indian women are said to use turmeric in their cooking every day, it seems this exotic lesson has reached our small island in the Pacific.

Home cooks will appreciate this recipe provided by Vaidehi Herbert, who also taught Indian cooking classes from her home here for 10 years to raise funds to support schools and tsunami victims in her birthplace of rural Tamil Nadu state of India.

Onion Tomato Chutney Recipe

• Onion - 1 big red onion (finely diced)
• Tomatoes - 2 big (finely chopped)
• Olive oil - 8 Tablespoons
• Turmeric (powder) - 1/2 Teaspoon
• Cilantro - 2 Tablespoons (chopped)
• Salt - 1 Teaspoon, or to taste
• Cumin seeds - 1/2 Teaspoon
• Cumin powder - 1/2 Teaspoon
• Chili powder - 1 Teaspoon
• Curry Leaves - 10 leaves

Heat oil in a pan. When oil is hot, add the cumin seeds and turmeric. Sauté for 10 seconds. Add the curry leaves and chopped onion. Sauté for about 10 minutes on medium heat, covering the pan with a lid between stirring the onion. Add the chopped tomatoes and salt. Sauté for another 10 minutes. Add the cumin, chili pepper and chopped cilantro. Sauté for a few minutes.

The chutney can be served with tortillas, steamed rice and toasted bread.