Essiac and the Brave New World. 2007. Fast Forward to 2021. Montana, Essiac and Blue Moon Herbs.
Greetings from Montana's beautiful Flathead Valley! Blue Moon Herbs is a small independent Montana business run by women with the help of a few good men. There are more or less four of us. We are all employees and approach our work as a team. Since 2008 we have been making Essiac tea the way its developer Rene Caisse did, based on the research of Mali Klein and Sheila Snow, who worked directly with Nurse Caisse to get her story out and keep the knowledge of Essiac going. We have put on seminars, workshops, talks, Essiac tea parties and more over the years to continue that work and have been producing, selling and giving away Essiac tea for over 14 years now!
Where We're coming from. My family has been in Montana for seven generations, arriving as refugees from 'east of here' like all the white people in the U.S. once did. The original peoples of this area (Flathead Indian Reservation) have been here since the ice age, and no doubt even earlier. The first modern record of Essiac came from the indigenous world of 1890s Canada, North Ontario.
We are honored to be helping keep Essiac available for our local community and outward from there to that place where we can still keep our equilibrium and be of service.
A lot of people could benefit from a cup of tea to temper the intensity of these times and help navigate the changes we will make to see our way forward. Essiac at bedtime to bring our peaceful wits back together... even if not everyone is getting along on that bigger stage, is important.. The Scope of our Mission Given the Current Affairs of the World We want to do all we can to keep the right information and a good product available and serve as many people as we can with what we have. We have always shipped our products internationally but the cost and reliability of shipping overseas has been a money and time drain that is making it more difficult to flesh out the work we are trying to do right here at home.
When the pandemic lockdown began 19 months ago, we bought supplies in advance, anticipating that prices would be rising. It was a good move, as we still have a good store of tea-making, packaging and office supplies on hand. Not only that, the availability of some of these items has been impacted by supply chain issues. Planning ahead has worked well for us as we are not out of stock on anything! Herbs have substantially risen in price and it is a new ballgame with supply and demand in that world, which we are tackling by growing our own Sheep sorrel. We continue to look for a good contract grower in the Northwest US and/or an experienced commercial organic herb grower that is looking for work and might like to help us in our garden.
For the Record and from Debbie's heart We are cheering for the little people that look out for each other, guided by an inborn kindness of the heart. I stand behind our fairly elected President Biden, the Constitution, doing the right thing, cooperating and collaborating to find and learn from the truth as if nothing was more important. I am for being kind and respectful towards all and really listening. So here we are coming out for all that is good, including Essiac. I hope we can all agree that the best way to stay indivisible and keep liberty and justice for all of us is to work together with an eye to what's best for our kids and all those who will come after them so they can enjoy the safest happiest healthiest future there can be, one cup of tea at a time...
Friends and families are struggling with lots no matter what your politics are. It is so hard sometimes but I believe we should never give up on trying to work together for the common good, in a respectful honest way that will help us all.
Where to get good Essiac information The best source of information about Essiac is not so much from universities, medical doctors or even herbalists and definitely not unfamiliar sources on the internet. It is an old recipe that has been kept alive thanks to the dedication of a succession of people who have all done their part. Its a story with many chapters that spans way over 100 years although the written record doesn't begin till then. In the 20th century Essiac came out of the wilderness and began its journey in the modern world. Sheila Snow and Mary McPherson were there helping and supporting Rene Caisse and Essiac for much of it.
Mali Klein and Sheila Snow - a 15-year collaboration Mali Klein helped Sheila write about the story of Essiac and Rene Caisse, and is the one who brought to light the previously well-guarded silence about Sheep sorrel roots being Caisse's 'secret ingredient'.
Based on her own research findings and personal journey with Essiac, and all she learned from Sheila and Mary and the archives, Mali strongly advocates for research on Essiac and has shared the knowledge base she and Sheila amassed worldwide in print and electronically at the Essiac Council.org. Sheila Snow and Mali Klein combined have authored 7+ books on Essiac, which represents the vast majority of the entire body of literature in print on the subject. The most recent is the Essiac Essentials Handbook. Besides on our website, is also available on Amazon and other platforms as an ebook. We sell the softcover version. It addresses the questions former industry studies on Essiac have left unanswered, and represents a very compelling argument for more and better research on Essiac based on the latest research findings on the individual herbs.
The Essiac Council The Essiac Council.org website was created to showcase the Sheila Snow Fraser Essiac Archive Collection, a body of historical information about Essiac that Mali Klein and Sheila Snow amassed over 25+ years of research and recently finished the work of converting to an electronic format for anyone to freely access online. It also provides ongoing real-time data. It has a very good searchable database to look up specific questions. The website is not beholden to any corporations or outside influences. The Essiac Council website has a list of suppliers worldwide that are making very high quality Essiac.
Overseas shipping of orders suspended as of November 1, 2021 A number of factors have played into our recent decision to suspend international shipping except to Canada, until the pandemic and the problems that we currently have with the global supply chain function are resolved better. 1. Deliveries increasingly encounter issues and are neither delivered nor returned with no explanation. Sometimes a substantial amount of money is lost because of the lack of accountability, which negatively impacts both us and the customer! 2. More and more customers are confused by misinformation gotten from the internet, canceling orders that have already been shipped and can't be resold if returned. 3. New VAT charges hugely increasing the cost of shipping to Britain from the US 4. Last but not least, it just doesn't make sense to send small packages long distances when now finally there are good sources for Essiac overseas. Our friends in Ireland, for example: Rene Caisse Tea Ireland!
If you are already an established customer, and can't find a US address to receive your order, we will still try to work with you, just contact us. The change will be effective November 1, 2021.
Trust your sources We recommend that you get your information from the most reliable sources you can find. We are sorry but we can only provide the herbs, the books about them, Essiac Tea-making kits and Essiac Seed kits, but we are legally barred from giving advice or claims that are medical. When a business sells Essiac, it cannot talk about its properties, but the reverse is also true. Sites like the Essiac Council are free to provide information about the relationship between Essiac and wellness because they aren't selling a product.
Why good Essiac is not easy to find As you will see on the Essiac Council site list of suppliers, there are only a handful worldwide that even include Sheep sorrel roots in the tea. Most use only the leaves because there is currently no commercial source for Sheep sorrel root. There are contract growing arrangements which require significant financing. With growing climate change issues, the western US has felt it this year with drought and wildfires.
On top of that, historically the established organic herb farms have been hesitant to grow Sheep sorrel without a contract because Essiac is not well-known enough to speculate and just plant Sheep sorrel, which they can't even harvest until the second year. As a result, they are hesitant to invest in it. They need the money from good cash crops more than the mission to keep the world in Essiac, which is truly a labor of love. We are growing our own Sorrel for the roots and will have to rely on it solely to stay in business within one year. This is a little tricky since we are trying to be a company that makes the tea and now also be organic farmers. However, we love our garden and are beyond excited to bring in our first major harvest next spring!
The Good News In 2019 three of us from Blue Moon Herbs joined Mali Klein at the First International Health Congress on Integrative Oncology in Geneva, Switzerland. Mali Klein presented the section on Indigenous Medicine and Essiac and gave the world a gift from the past that may play a very vital role in leading a large number of people out of the woods of today's health crises with a simple option that is a good companion to whatever else may be available. How? We can all grow these herbs ourselves in our own backyards or balconies and make our own Essiac. It is all spelled out in the Snow/Klein books how to manage with what is available. Essiac is getting some traction in Europe and around the world. There is much more to come. We carry the seed.
Blue Moon Herbs - Who We Are and What We Are About
From the heart of Montana’s beautiful Flathead, greetings and Happy New Year from Blue Moon Herbs! Our company is a small one with a simple mission around healing and Essiac. We make Essiac tea using organic high quality herbs and we replicate Rene Caisse’s known protocol and formulae. We hang our hat on the central importance of the one ingredient she believed the most deeply in - Sheep sorrel, specifically the root. The more of it in the Sheep sorrel portion of Essiac, the better.
But this isn't just about Essiac. Its about doing things right, and what our values are at Blue Moon.
About giving and receiving...we are here for Essiac, not the money. However, it does greatly help provide a living for about six of us. We don't count our hours. We just try to do right by the money we get, which is $15 per hour. Because we are committed to respect, honesty, trust, and good communication, it works great! When you love what you do, and you all share in the work done and the benefits gained, it can be a great way of having success, not just financial and not just for some but for everyone. (Hey, Congress...!)
I have long wondered what a world where money simply didn't matter would look like. It sure would change a lot of things. I think it would be good to reflect on this. What if we got to choose?
What if we could take care of our health care needs without worrying about the cost and/or the service being covered? Blue Moon Herbs doesn't have a health insurance plan. Our steps in the right direction at this point include free soak passes at the hot springs, or a trip to the naturopath, as needs arise. It is just a token, but we are there for each other if anything comes up at least. Of course we all have free Essiac 🙂 We are healthy and happy and our fingers are crossed. We have been and remain COVID-free at Blue Moon. But wouldn't it be so great if we could have affordable health insurance that covered the services and medicines we'd like it to, and with just one small deductible for everything. We get to create the future we want. Once the dust settles at Congress, right?! 'We' is all of us. Even the ones we can't relate to. Ironic but true. We all have work to do.
Our Mission
In a nutshell, the We Can Change the World Even if It Doesn't Always Seem Like It Federation's Blue Moon mission is pretty basic: to get Essiac to who it is supposed to go to, one way or another, while providing a model for how this can be done in sustainable win-win ways that benefit both Main Street and everybody back at home.
We are inspired by simplicity. As has been the case for more than 100 years, Essiac appears to do no harm, and it just may do some good! Goodwill, kindness and respect also do no harm and will surely also do us all some good. Let's 'take it to heart.' Let us be patient but committed to justice and peace beyond Blue Moon (or wherever you are). It may take a minute yet.
Giving Back - the Glad To Be Here Project
The Blue Moon Glad To Be Here Project is our ongoing informal effort to get Essiac herbs to anyone interested and in need in our local area, especially Tribal members (We live and do business on the Flathead Indian Reservation). After all, the tea came to our modern times from Native Americans. There is much more healing to come. Our inspiration: Moke Eaglefeathers, passed on five years ago this coming May 2021. The circle is completing. As a white person, I am not sure what it means, but I want to thank Moke again in a way that will honor him and also help lives.
This grassroots approach grows good things. It's not funded by mystery money from unknown people, it is local. It develops organically, fed by real time communication and collaboration between real people. In the end, the will of the people will always prevail. Small is beautiful. It matters in the 'big' picture. Big depends on it to show the dance step of moving towards peace.
"Peace begins with a smile." - Mother Theresa
I like going by the Four Agreements - basically: Take nothing personally, Don't assume anything, Do your best, and Keep your promises. Even if that's not what you are surrounded by, hold steady.
The Future
Our future is a canvas, still blank, and awaiting our brushstroke. It remains to be seen what kind of picture we will create but one thing is for sure. Its up to all of us to create something original and beautiful without hurting anyone along the way. That's my prayer for the next week, and onward. We all want a world we can feel happy and safe living in, all of us.
Stand down? For sure!! How about, let's Sit Down. Let’s put love over hate, truth over falsehood, and goodness over evil, as Peace Pilgrim, one of my biggest heroes, advocated. Let’s not paint with blood. Let’s all take turns and cooperate. We were wired to work together. Let’s do it!
Accepting loss
I read a story about a woman whose baby had died but she kept carrying it around looking for someone who could bring it back to life. Everyone kind of looked at her a little funny, but finally she found a wise man that told her he could help her. All she had to do was bring him one grain of rice from a household that had never known sorrow.
We all know the frustration when we think we are right and the other guy is wrong and he won’t listen to reason. But real solutions come from real problem-solving, and a sincere mutual desire to work things out fairly. I don't know how you get there, but it seems like we all have to search our souls for the best way we can be part of the solution while harming no one else. Because ultimately we will come to realize that we are all feeling the same emotions even if for different reasons. That is just reality. We all want a future with a place to live and love that is safe and clean and where the citizens respect each other and work together to create a great place to raise kids and enjoy all life has to offer.
We can get our balance back by creating solutions that work for everyone and hurt no one. Let’s start by getting behind what we believe in, and being there for those we care for, as we do what we can to bring the Light of Love back in all its Brilliance.
I was very lucky. I was a friend of Mick Holien’s. I only regret it didn’t start until 2017. When I met him, he was just over a year into his MS diagnosis and retirement, neither one having been his choice. He was still getting around pretty good, driving and boating and having fun in the land off the right end of the radio dial up here in Polson.
Memories drift in of a June not so long ago on Flathead Lake with Mick and his friend Dick Bratton, the sun setting on a perfect day. Dick was Mick’s ever-available helper and great friend. He always included him when there was something going on. He made it possible for Mick to have a fun, active life, in spite of his increasingly tough time getting around. Dick loved proudly introducing Mick as “the Voice of the Griz!” (University of Montana Grizzlies.) Mick would always get mad at him for doing it but he always kept doing it anyway because we were all so tickled to know Mick and it was so much fun to introduce the celebrity Fun memories! Allentown, October 2017 - a special belated birthday meal. .. a street dance in front of the Cove.. the 2017 Griz-Cat game, televised at Woods Bay in the convention center with Mick, Stacy, and Dick (in a holstein cow costume playing the Griz fight song on the bagpipes during halftime, no less!) The Polson/Ronan ‘crosstown’ game in Pablo that winter, with black ice and Mick at the wheel! Safe there and back!
After April 2018, Mick was one of only a few friends who still called me to have lunch now and then after a change in local rules. I really appreciated his continuing friendship. In October 2019 I reached out to Mick about a mutual friend. Mick really helped me. I started coming out to see him more often, bringing supper sometimes and just hanging out. He had a handful of caregivers but always appreciated my efforts. I really got some insight into the juggling act (and sometimes high wire, no safety net act) involved in living alone with MS and the value of being able to count on your friends to get you out of a pickle sometimes.
In Nov. 2019 - this time I drove - we went to a Griz game! We had dinner at the Finley Point Grill when we came home but it wasn’t till later that I learned that was pretty ambitious for Mick! Last winter Mick had to go in the hospital and then the rehab center with some complications. Luckily he was discharged just days before the shelter-in-place order was issued, so at least he got to be at home during the pandemic, and COVID-free.
Mick always went for it regardless of the odds. He lived with courage and I am sure he died courageously too. He never stopped planning for a better future. He never gave up. He had most recently been working on a GoFundMe for a vehicle, and had actually bought the vehicle and was soon to be going for rides and seeing the outside of his living room again. He had had equipment installed at his home to make it easier to get around, and had just bought a new recliner chair that could do anything. He was in pain most of the time but he never dwelled on it.
I think of all the people who have struggled and lost their futures, and sometimes even their lives, in this year.
I kept believing Mick would get better, or at least we could have our friendship indefinitely. We had set up for pizza and the Seahawks game Thursday the 19th of November but sadly had to cancel, even though Seattle did win.
I am so glad I gave him a big kiss on the top of his head the last time I saw him, on the 14th. Glad I didn’t know it would be the last time. He passed away Nov. 27. It happened too fast.
Like so many people who have lost a loved one, I find myself asking why couldn’t we have gone on for a long time still, loyal friends and stalwart defenders of doing your best, making dreams come true as best we could, getting into mischief and hilarious situations, having great visits, just wonderful companionship. Why only one year? I needed more time. He did not want to leave life. I was not ready. Now we have our memories of this man that so many people loved, respected, and admired.
Mick Holien has inspired me to never give up, and to never stop planning for a better day and to always keep doing my best. Thank you Mick for being my friend and someone I could count on. His legacy in the valley will live on through the Boys and Girls Clubs! You will be greatly missed, Mick! Thank you for Kobe. See you in heaven!
The Ancestral Medicine Section of the First International Health Congress on Integrative Oncology and Ethical and Sustainable Patient Care was held on Saturday, June 29, 2019. The place: Geneva Switzerland! We were there to see Mali Klein's presentation on the subject of the relevance of Essiac to health and healing in the 21st Century. Following Mali's presentation on Essiac are presentations by her co-panel members Dr. Patrick Shan (France) - Traditional Chinese Medicine and Dr. Manan Soni (India), Ayurveda. The speakers are very informative and provide a great perspective on the nature of healing and the common themes that cut across cultural and temporal boundaries.
It's all in the attitude, I'm hoping. Plus, spring really is in just only about 2 weeks. We got stuck in Kalispell MT last Friday due to blowing snow and cold. Decided to go to Home Depot and get flower seeds!
I am really excited to plant all kinds of stuff in our gardens including the rainbow in flowers! And we are going to try a lot of different experimental ways of growing Sheep sorrel. I pried a big bag of organic potting soil out of a snowdrift in the outdoor garden center - they were on sale and just outside the automatic door which still opened.. 🙂 Damn shopping cart kept getting stuck in the snow and a big wind was blowing and it was dark out and well below 0...
The month of March has been record wintry weather for this time of the year even in Montana. It is way more like January than this last January was! This is very strange, actually. Anybody else having a record-setting March? Sheep sorrel isn't one bit scared of snow but is sure not going to sprout anywhere but inside for now in these parts LOL...happy spring seed starting everyone!
Wishing all of our friends, colleagues and customers a very happy, healthy 2019! Above, from left to right are the team at Blue Moon Herbs with Mali Klein, who visited recently - Emily Angelo, Danielle Yoder, Anais Starr, Debbie Jakovac, Mali Klein, and Hannah Rostocki. Not pictured are Angie Vance, Danielle's and Emily's daughters and sons, who are Junior Blue Mooners 🙂 nor the many more who remain anonymous but have helped us help you better through their friendship love and support.
Update as of February 9, 2019:The light is now noticeably coming back here on the 47th parallel, both in length and intensity. January was a bit of a winter no-show as we watched points east of Montana getting the business. But ever since February came, it has been blizzarding and making up for lost time. I'm just about done dreaming of hills blossoming in green and gold and planting Sheep sorrel and a candy store's worth of vegetable and herb seeds, many from Strictly Medicinal Seeds and, snow or not I shall plant seeds next week! Inside. Ho hum! Outside and planting and prepping the irrigation system, adding lots of wood chips, etc., all too soon by May or maybe even April it'll be time to trade in the parka for gardening duds! Its been a few years of getting underway with infrastructure in our garden in Hot Springs Montana. Just recently we tested our Sheep sorrel seed and it is ready and viable, 50% germination rate, and those tiny seeds guarantee a good outcome.
This original blog was posted on January 12, literally just a few days before...you guessed it...winter officially really started nailing us... 🙂 Boy do I sound naive!
How Bout the Weather this Winter!
"Another six short weeks and what so far is the warmest winter I can remember in my whole life of living in Montana won't have enough blast left to make a cold snap. Hopefully there will be moisture of some sort coming, though. Our area is naturally on the dry side and we need snow in the mountains in the winter to produce a spring runoff for the valleys.... I could even rake the yard but I am holding out for snow in hopes it doesn't come to that!...It is so seductive to think maybe we'll get away without a real winter. But it being Montana and all...it always seems to come...and actually I really do like it like that. It feels 'normal.' All I know is it is Way Too Soon to call winter a no-show..." Winter has shown! It is still showing!
The Glad To Be Here Project
2018 was dedicated to strengthening our community connections. Danielle, Emily, myself, Hannah and Angie began volunteering at the local soup kitchen. Soup kitchens are great places to give Essiac away as there sure are ample folks in need who appreciate it. Essiac is a new idea to many, often welcome and encouraging.
In this vein, we have started a project encompassing our Flathead Valley and surrounding communities called the Glad To Be Here Project. There are many reasons for being glad to be in the heart of Western Montana, with the grandeur of Glacier National Park and the Mission Mountains and Flathead Lake right out your window. We believe a little bit of the healing energy of this place is in every packet of herbs we put out.
Glad to be here is a state of mind though, and the positive effects from Essiac can make it apply to wherever we find ourselves. There is beauty inside us no matter where we are.
However...there are people here, just like everywhere else, that live with poverty and despair because of health and other problems. We are giving Essiac herbs and/or made-up decoction ready to consume to anyone in our area who would like to try it for a few months or if in need, longer, at no charge. We will be keeping close track of the folks who want to take part in our follow-up research but for those not wishing to share their personal information, no questions asked. Essiac doesn't care about all that.
The heart of our mission is to simply put people and Essiac together. That is truly what we are about more than anything - that and encouraging others to do what we are doing, in their own communities. Say Yes to being an Essiac tea-maker and/or Sheep sorrel grower (for the root). There's a big change coming and it's returning herbal medicine to its well-earned place at the table. "Essiac is a worthy vocation." - Gregory Klein
The Glad to Be Here Project is putting Buddhist philosophy (lovingkindness, gratitude, service) into action and it is also an experiment to see how high quality local Essiac can make a difference in lives!
The big projects and huge organizations have a role to play but we all do. What it ultimately boils down to really is about making a difference in a direct way, with benefit for giver and receiver alike from one-on-one connections, one person at a time, one day at a time. Saying "Yes" and keeping promises.
It was Rene Caisse's dream that Essiac become freely available for everyone everywhere. We CAN change the world. We were told that one person was not going to be able to, but the rest of the story is that people coming together to heal what is broken opens the doors of miraculous positive change where anything is possible. May the Force be with you!
We have a new partner for sourcing Essiac done properly in Europe! We have been working closely with a team based across Germany and Switzerland, Arupa AG, to produce a fresh organic crop Sheep sorrel. It's been two years in the making and I have now received word that the sorrel roots and tops have been successfully harvested and will be available to us in the next couple of months. Germany has long held a reputation for producing some of the finest herbal medicine in the world and we are very pleased to announce we will be offering an international sampler: Essiac with German Sheep sorrel and Essiac with US Sheep sorrel - both top quality and certified organic!
Our new partnership with Arupa AG means that we will also be able to offer our overseas friends and customers a more local source for good quality Essiac herbs. This will help bring down the high shipping rates considerably as well as reduce the delivery times. For more information click here. All teas are now in stock and can be ordered online from the link.
Thank you everyone for a great 2018! May our world be blessed with peace and prosperity for everyone everywhere in 2019.
Debbie Jakovac
Owner, Blue Moon Herbs
"This is the Way of Peace: overcome evil with good, falsehood with truth, and hatred with love." - Peace Pilgrim
Well here is some food for thought...The laws of supply and demand are by nature always playing catch-up, and right now that is happening with whole herb sheep sorrel. Awareness is really increasing about the central importance of sheep sorrel root in the Essiac formula, and more and more Essiac producers are being queried about whether they include the root, and how much compared to the arial parts. Still, almost no one can say they include any at all. They would have to grow their own sheep sorrel if they wanted roots. There are no commercial farms growing it for a whole plant or roots-only harvest at present.
At Blue Moon Herbs, we always did find a way to have at least 10% sheep sorrel root in our Essiac formula. We wildcrafted in the earliest years, and started growing our own sheep sorrel in 2013. That way, if our commercial source ran out, we would still have our own sheep sorrel root. Fast forward to fall 2015 and that very scenario played out. I got the official word that our commercial source was sold out, and their back-up source had had a drought-related crop failure. It was just in time for our first harvest from our Prize Bed out at the North 40 - the Long and Winding Row (300 feet long half-buried hugelkultur bed with drip lines). And then, I got the word that we would have to dig up our whole crop this spring because the land it was on was going up for sale.
Providence seemed to be ringing in with the new year, when I learned of a beautiful piece of property for lease that would be perfect to move the sorrel to, along with our six slippery elm trees. It had beautiful deep top soil and deer fence around 20 acres, with irrigation...just minutes from town. A bright flare of "Oh, this is going to be EASY!" sputtered out when they decided not to lease the property. Then...another late January OMG moment as I thought I had found the dream plot of land. Just a few minutes out of town, lake view, trees all around (it was a former Christmas tree farm that had had the center harvested out). But no.......
So. Plan C. Third try is a charm. Life is about relationships....in the world of Essiac, that means Essiac caregivers, making the tea for friends and family unable to do it, Essiac at the local Farmers' Markets...in the tea houses...available for all who wanted to take it. A group working together could supply the tea needs of their whole area. Some folks growing the herbs, some making the tea, some showing others how, and everyone benefitting in myriad ways. The theme at the center of it all is this herb sheep sorrel. It welcomes a challenge. It volunteers freely of itself! The pioneers keep life going and sheep sorrel is often the first on the scene, later leaving just as it arrived, all together, all at once, work done. A Guild - creating and strengthening the vital connections that support a healthy, thriving community. Whether it is a family of plants that grows together, each providing properties valuable to optimal survival for all, or a group of people with a common passion to create a beautiful community.
For about a year now we've had a Facebook group called the Essiac Growers Guild. It is a vehicle for sharing info and ideas about growing the Essiac herbs. Now it is happening on the ground! The Greater Flathead Valley Essiac Growers Guild. At present, membership is open to anyone willing to participate by sharing what they are doing - whether it is growing one small bed for personal use or contract growing for Blue Moon Herbs, to all points in between. As there is just one Chapter at this point, anyone on Planet Earth can join our Chapter. That's the 'Greater' part of our name. 🙂 We've gotten together a core group of people and gardens here in the Flathead area and a couple locations in Washington and in several other Montana towns. We will help each other while we have fun and make friends and it will 'grow' from there!
We encourage friends to get together for a potluck over this and consider forming your own local sister Essiac Growers' Guild. Signing up for the newsletters on the website or signing up for the Essiac Growers Guild on Facebook is the best way to follow what's happening. Feel free to contact us by email or phone at (406) 883-0110.
Our website would love to put up links for other sheep sorrel growers or Essiac producers that are following our same standards! Our standards, in a nutshell, are to grow organically on clean soil without any chemicals and in as pristine an environment as possible. To keep gardening data, to take care of weeding and watering while the beds become established, and to treat the plants with respect and friendliness.
For those making Essiac, the standards are found in the research and writings of Sheila Snow and/or Mali Klein, and Mary McPherson's affidavit. The sheep sorrel portion of the Essiac formula should include at least 10% root..and the more the better.
So, in the vein of the Riddle of the Root, we announce the evolution of the root ratio..as we make the switch from commercially sourced to our own Montana grown sheep sorrel! The sheep sorrel content in our Essiac is now 25% root, down from a high of 65% in 2015...... and up from the 10-20% of pre-2013...for only three out of the past eight years has there been a commercial source for certified organic whole herb sheep sorrel. From late 2013 through early 2016 we have been blessed with a commercial source, and have been able to offer wholesale and the larger sizes and other bargains... and high sheep sorrel root content. Now the cycle is going the other way again. But this time, it is a new game, with more players!
Conclusion 1: There is no higher quality whole herb sheep sorrel than organically grown, hand-weeded and hand-harvested sustainably. There is precious little of it being produced in this way that money can even buy. There is not really even a very robust supply of sheep sorrel arial parts in the US. Thankfully, though, sheep sorrel is not endangered or a problem weed, it's easy to grow, and volunteers freely in all 50 US states and most of the world...this supply and demand problem will work its solution 🙂 Labor of love = highest quality = a joy to provide = people who want to be a part of that.
Sheep sorrel on the Falkland Islands!
Conclusion 2: There is no easy way to equal the quantity of whole herb sheep sorrel that can be produced commercially with that produced intensively and on a smaller scale. Unless a lot of small-scale growers work together to make it happen. This is our mission, to do all we can to see if that can work!
It would be wonderful to see larger-scale production of sheep sorrel herb for the root too and it would be really great to have larger producers participate in the Guild and share their knowledge and ideas.
In search of the holy grail of economy of scale! And sticking with our standards from day one - sheep sorrel roots in the formula, the highest quantity and quality, from us to you.
Its not an easy thing writing about the vision quest retreat I took part in last June, at Grandmother Isabelle's in Northern Ontario. It marked the beginning of a new way of understanding the world....that just keeps unfolding. Well, it wasn't really the 'beginning' and I'm pretty sure there's not going to really be an 'end' either. The sky, the sun making a trail across it, as witnessed in silent awe. The vision quest brought to me my voice in a new way and I am obliged to speak. One place for that has been our Facebook group the Essiac Growers Guild. This is the unabridged version of my most recent post.
Here is the Vision: Locally grown whole herb sheep sorrel, for locally produced Essiac, available in dry form or made up by local Essiac caregivers for home delivery, the farmers' market, local health food stores and eateries, CSA boxes, and good research on the herbs in combination like Rene Caisse worked with them. Jobs for growers and wild-harvesters, tea-makers, care-givers, local money staying in town. A healthy community, vibrant in its ability to make the very most of its own resources for the benefit of all. Less pollution from long-distance hauling of foods that can be grown locally.
The Essiac Growers Guild is getting ready to 'grow 'its first chapter here in Montana's Flathead Valley. We will share our know-how and expertise and stay true to the historically accurate info about the herbs and how they were used, for a greater good. Whether its planting a small bed or getting the truck garden tractor out, all are welcome to be a part of this. Spring is coming, and sooner than it takes to plant a flat of sorrel we will be meeting down at Mrs. Wonderful's Marmalade Cafe for our first get together. Join us if you can, or if you don't live in the area, contact us if you'd like to do the same thing in your area.
There is a market for whole herb sheep sorrel. The best Essiac in the world is small-scale, locally produced, including the whole sheep sorrel plant. There will always be a market for whole herb sheep sorrel because it makes a huge difference in Essiac, and the importance of it is now finally really getting out. Essiac is becoming more and more well known. It's been recommended by Hoxsey, Gerson, and Budwig practitioners as a great adjunct to their therapies. And its 100+ year long anecdotal record proves it worthy of the respect.
But you can't buy it anywhere! The problem is that whole herb sheep sorrel is not being grown commercially. Anywhere in the world. Another 'problem' is that demand for herbs has skyrocketed in the past few years.
And it is easy to grow! Sheep sorrel is easy to grow. Although it prefers a more northern climate, it grows in all 50 states here in the US. It's native to Europe. Sheep sorrel met up with slippery elm, an American native, after arriving in the feed on the boats from Europe some several hundred years ago. Therefore, the people who were here already are the ones who first created this formula. Thank you Native America! And thank you for sharing it with the English woman who gave it to Rene Caisse. The thread has not been broken and there is a treasure connected to it.
Would you like to be part of a positive vision? If you are interested in being part of our collaboration - think WikiMedia - for really getting this right and creating a knowledge base about growing these herbs, harvesting, and/or working with the Essiac formulae, please contact us.
"I have always known that at last I would take this road, but yesterday I did not know that it would be today.” —Japanese Haiku
Greetings all! It doesn't seem like three whole months have passed since Mali Klein's 2014 visit. It is good to have the relative quiet of winter to absorb it all and start making plans for the coming growing season. February is like a lingering chance to do that before the sun is flooding in again and it is time to get back in the field! One of my winter projects was putting together this little recap of 2014 in a video format. So come along for a trip out to our Essiac growing sites in Montana's Flathead Valley to see what we have done in Phase 1 of growing the Essiac herbs. There is also a section with a few harvesting tips and some footage of Watercress and Goldthread in the wild. We hope you enjoy it!
48 years ago today - August 25, 1966, Seattle Colisseum - the Beatles in concert!…. there I was, just 50 feet from the stage, at what was to be the third to last concert the Beatles ever performed. I was just a Montana teeny-bopper, following the Beatles in the teeny-bopper magazines - Tiger Beat, Datebook..I discovered that they were coming to Seattle! A mere 588 miles from Helena Montana and I didn't even have a learner's permit. But I was a huge fan, and that would not stop me. So, I wrote a note. To: the City of Seattle, Seattle, Wash. I asked them how to go about getting tickets to the Beatles concert?
They wrote back! City Commissioner Ted Best notified me that I had two complimentary tickets awaiting me in the City Council offices!!!! After some really fervent begging and bribing, I convinced my parents to take a vacation to Seattle, and my Mom agreed to go with me to the concert, even though she did not really like the Beatles. 🙂
Turns out, the seats were alongside the stage, in the first section, 'totally close'! In fact…Paul did see me, I just know he did. I still can't believe we had such good seats. I tried to sneak off 'to go to the bathroom' - but Mom saw right through that, and would not let me out of her sight. Ok, I confess - I was on a mission: backstage or bust! Seeing the Beatles was one of those pivotal events in my life and the memories really came back for me this Aug. 5….because
…on this magic day just three under weeks ago - Paul McCartney actually came to Missoula Montana and gave a concert!! Haha, Mali Klein and her Essiac master classes have started a trend, perhaps? Meeting in Missoula, always a wonderful adventure! Of course I went to the concert, but this time, Paul did not see me. I was about 200 feet back this time.
But what a show. He really has still got it. In 1966 everyone was screaming during the songs - in 2014 we were all singing along! It was a good day. And the fans sure did come out! Missoula has 68,000 population, and there were over 25,000 concert-goers. They had to flag folks off the interstate so many were coming in to town! The pre-party at Caras Park totally sold out of food, but true to western protocol, I hear there was plenty of beer. It was the largest gathering in the history of the state of Montana!
The following week Sir Paul played Candlestick Park in San Francisco. It was where the Beatles played their last concert, on August 29, 1966. Paul's August 14 concert was the last one before they demolish the stadium.
Labor day weekend is coming and the office will be closed from Tuesday August 26 - Tuesday September 2. All orders placed during that time will ship on Tuesday Sept. 2. May you enjoy the last of August!
We're hitting the road at ReneCaisseTea - heading for Idaho to pick up the new book! Black Root Medicine the Original Native American Essiac Formula,softcover, 54 p., 2014 Mali Klein - the last installment. Order here, and… meet us in Missoula! October 11 - Essiac Master Class 3 - Healing Cancer Can it be Done? Prior attendance not required. Or, meet us in Seattle on November 1 for An Afternoon Seminar on Herbs and Cancer.
"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing."~ Helen Keller
Fun memories! Allentown, October 2017 - a special belated birthday meal. .. a street dance in front of the Cove.. the 2017 Griz-Cat game, televised at Woods Bay in the convention center with Mick, Stacy, and Dick (in a holstein cow costume playing the Griz fight song on the bagpipes during halftime, no less!) The Polson/Ronan ‘crosstown’ game in Pablo that winter, with black ice and Mick at the wheel! Safe there and back! 
