Heal Yo' Self: Inside a Medicinal Tea Farm

by Ruby Roth from her blog: WE DON'T EAT ANIMALS

Tell me if you know this feeling—it happens when you come into contact with standards so genuine and proper, you find yourself immediately shifted, uplifted, inspired, and settled on making the best choices for your own quality of life because anything less would make no sense. Do you know what I mean? No effort or work is needed, the transformation just is. I got this feeling after meeting Doug and Genna Wolkon, the owners of Kauai Farmacy, a seed-to-cup medicinal tea farm that plants, grows, harvests, dries, jars, labels, and sells organic raw-cured herbs in the form of teas, culinary spice blends, and hydrosols. They do everything there is to do themselves (including raising and homeschooling their vegan kids) from their tiny Kauai, Hawaii farm location, which is one of the most happy, high-vibes places I've ever been. (Side note: I think walking through a forest of plant foods inspires the oldest parts of our humanness. It makes me, personally, feel utterly grounded—like there is nothing, nothing, nothing more important to serve than the earth we walk upon. I could almost cry, I am so thankful for being brought to these moments!) Packed into just one little acre are the 60 plant species Farmacy uses, from papaya to chile, bele spinach (AKA hibiscus), chaste, anise hyssop, moringa (a super herb that contains 46 antioxidants, omega 3, 6, and 9, 20 amino acids, 7x the vitamin C as oranges, 4x the calcium of milk and 2x the protein of yogurt), lemongrass, comfrey (can help heal broken bones), oregano, gotu kola, blue vervain, cinnamon, allspice, spilanthes (like pop rocks in your mouth!), taro, and so many more—all grown at the highest of permacultural standards. The diversity alone is a major factor of eliminating any need for pesticides—buggies much prefer mono-crops, where there's no confusion or shortage of what to infest. These are all things Doug and Genna expounded on, which is a great reason to join their newsletter if you want to up you herb knowledge.

 

Their standout products:

• Women's Wellness blend (tulsi, bele spinach, ginger, raspberry leaf, ginger, mamaki, hibiscus, moringa, and more) which helps balance hormones, PMS, and mood swings (reportedly even bringing some customers' fertility into effect).
• Puritea Herbal Cleanse (papaya leaf, mulberry, soursop, guava leaf, turmeric, noni, tulsi, and more) to cleanse out toxic buildups.
• Tulsi Hydrosol (totally obsessed).
• Savory Blend Culinary Spice (Bele spinach, rosemary, oregano, tulsi, tarrago, pineapple sage, garden sage, thyme—such a great addition to any ordinary salad or quinoa bowl, or even straight onto an avocado).
• Buzz Chew: an energizing herbal powder you can take a pinch of on-the-go. Spilanthes (used in natural toothpastes) gives you a pop-rocks-candy-like sensation in your mouth. So fun.
• Children's Wellness Tea: don't leave the kids out!

What I adore most about this whole situation is the philosophy that underlies Farmacy—that we are all our own best teachers when it comes to healing (the motto Doug and Genna promote on their turmeric-yellow T-shirts is "Heal Yo' Self"!). The herbs themselves will tell you how much "medicine" you need, the Wolkons say. If you're feeling headachey, pay attention! Drink water to flush out toxins. If you're feeling tired or exhausted because you're dumping toxins or you're stressed out, stop fighting it and let your body sleep. If you're feeling energized, exercise. This is the magic of any healthy food practice—it puts you in a state of consciousness where you will naturally lean toward bringing yourself, your life, your habits further into balance. I find this with veganism, too, having observed so many people's transitions. When one's physical state improves, one becomes more open-minded and open-hearted to all kinds of new paradigms—environmentalism, alternative healing modalities, animal rights, etc. Healing the body helps the mind get free. I mean, look at this pic of me. At this point I hadn't even sipped the goods yet and I was already super happier and thus a better person to everyone around me—see what herbs do?! Follow @KauaiFarmacyTea on Instagram to get happy and improve your herbal knowledge. And use code Mahalo10 to get 10% off your purchase from www.kauaifarmacy.com. If you have a retail shop, a waiting room, a tea-drinking practice, an imbalance to heal, are in need of kickstarting a healthy ritual, or you're just a tea lover, do yourself (or someone else) a favor and get some Kauai Farmacy tea—you'll be supporting yourself and adding to a beautiful, deserving, awesome health-invoking economy (can you tell how much I love this small company?!).