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.
Essiac Extra is our version of a "double strength" Essiac. The herbs-to-water ratio is the same as all of our Essiac blends - the "double strength" part comes from using twice as much Sheep sorrel root (and half as much leaf) in the mix.
The more Sheep sorrel root in Essiac, the more potent it is. Rene Caisse hung her hat on the importance of it as the key active ingredient in Essiac. We don't usually include more than 25% roots in our Essiac formulae, so that we can consistently have enough of a supply to maintain that ratio. But for a while... we are going to make Essiac with 50% roots. The times seem to call for a little extra boost to our good immunity!
With the higher root content, the boiling time for Essiac Extra decoction is lengthened slightly. Other than that the entire preparation process is the same. The recommended dosage is the same, 1-2 fl. oz. (30-60ml) per day. It has a great smooth feel to it and is a little darker than regular Essiac. It tastes awesome!
AVAILABLE WHILE SUPPLIES LAST. In a perfect world everyone would have access to great Essiac made using the public domain Essiac formula, containing Sheep sorrel with at least 25% roots. Essiac blends containing other herbs or a higher percentage of Sheep sorrel roots would be readily available as well with the common denominator being a healthy ratio of Sheep sorrel roots no matter what else. In an even more perfect world, people would be growing their own medicinal herbs and making their own Essiac and being empowered and healed by the very act of hands in dirt nurturing new beginnings.
But the world is not quite perfect yet! Blue Moon Herbs continues to offer the seeds to grow your own Essiac herbs so you can augment the quantity of root in your Essiac without hugely adding to the cost, and we will be upping the root content in our Essiac for a few months, in the form of Essiac Extra.
Fact: Most of the Sheep sorrel in Rene Caisse's Essiac was the aerial parts. Supplies were scarce, demand was high, and she was not able to come near to including 100% roots in her Essiac. She reserved the roots mainly for her injectable therapy which was a Sheep sorrel decoction. Because it was an injection this enabled many more people to receive the medicine as a much smaller amount was used compared to in the tea form. Most likely the success she had during the time she had her Bracebridge Ontario Essiac Cancer Clinic derived from this Sheep sorrel injection. Much easier would be to grow your own Sheep sorrel in a pot on your patio or in your garden and add extra roots when you make your Essiac! Injections of herbal decoctions are no longer an accepted method!
It is not known for certain whether excluding all the Sheep sorrel aerial parts in Essiac is the best course. Some research indicates that juice from the leaves may have properties that add to its overall positive impact. We at Blue Moon like to always include at least some leaves because Rene Caisse did. Essiac with 100% roots would be prohibitively expensive to produce on a large scale. "We the People" can grow it ourselves for next to nothing though!
Conclusion: Rene Caisse did not have enough Sheep sorrel root to make Essiac with all or even mostly roots because she had too many people wanting Essiac. She was the only supplier in the world. In today's world the commercial availability of Sheep sorrel root is very low so it doesn't make any sense to try to include such a high percentage unless you grow your own. We are working on the supply end by growing and contracting for growing specifically for the root. For the time, we are very pleased to offer Essiac with Extra Sheep sorrel roots, while supplies last! Enjoy your Essiac Extra!
Maybe it's the only thing that really can. Stop, Listen, Be. Take time for a re-set. Sipping hot liquids appears to be a good idea. That was not medical advice.
Blue Moon Herbs is a small independent Montana business that has been proudly making high quality Essiac tea herbs for the general public since 2007. We also have a commitment to community connections and win-win solutions that benefit everyone, especially those most in need.Our mission is to be a shining example of how much more a company can be beyond just providing goods and/or services.
Blue Moon Herbs is one of the top sources worldwide for high-quality and affordable Essiac herbs, Sheep sorrel roots included. The vast majority of Essiac mixes have no Sheep sorrel roots in them at all - only leaves. The Sheep sorrel in our Essiac blend is 25% roots. Generally the ratio of sorrel roots to aerial parts in Essiac is unstated, because it is such a tiny amount. Arupa Swiss, in Germany, is a good source for European customers, with 30% roots. They follow the proper techniques and formulae as taught by Mali Klein. Because of what's going on in the world right now, it makes sense to order your Essiac herbs from as close a source as possible to reduce the cost of shipping expenses and the wear and tear on systems caused by shipping small items over vast distances. We are pleased to suggest Arupa as an option for folks across the world from the US. Thanks!
We operate from the core principles of permaculture: caring for the earth, caring for the people, and sharing the bounty. We use sustainable and intensive organic methods both in the field and in our office, where we work as a team on all operations.
We sell the herbs, tea-making supplies, books and more online and in stores in Montana’s Flathead Valley and the region. We also make the Essiac herbs available to those in need at reduced or no charge in our area through the Glad To Be Here Project, which we designed to bring people together around inexpensive, simple ways of staying well, including taking Essiac! We encourage others to do this too. In that spirit, we offer the Essiac Master Batch, which includes 2 lbs. 13.5 oz. of Essiac herbs, enough for a fine Essiac caregiving effort, or several families pooling their resources for the lowest per ounce price for the herbs.
We grow and wild-harvest part of our own Sheep sorrel roots and are proud members of the Made in Montana program. In addition we contract with a commercial organic grower specifically for Sheep sorrel roots. This is because although the Sheep sorrel “herb” is commercially available, the roots are not. Once in a Blue Moon” – Essiac with the Sheep sorrel portion 25% roots…that’s us!
Our purpose rests on honoring the legacy of the Native American Medicine Man who first brought the knowledge of the tea out of the Northern Ontario bush in the 1890s, sharing it freely with an English woman. We also honor the legacy of Canadian nurse Rene Caisse, who refined the formula in the 1920s and brought it to the general public. We follow all that is known about Nurse Caisse’s working methods and materials and always keep an eye to what will be best for future generations.
Rene Caisse’s dream 50 years ago was for Essiac to be known and available to everyone everywhere. Mali Klein has devoted the last 25+ years of her life to this vocation, researching growing methods and treatment protocols with the various Essiac formulae. Alone and collectively with Sheila Snow, she has produced six books on Essiac. Ms. Klein recently completed the curation of the Sheila Snow Fraser Essiac Archive Collection, which is the world’s largest collection of Essiac history, including news clippings, private correspondence, business records, patient histories and more.
Shortly after January 1, 2020 the Essiac Archive custodians provided 45 individuals and organizations across the world with electronic copies of the entire Essiac archive collection. One of them, Debbie Jakovac (me), is the owner of Blue Moon Herbs. Watch the website to see Essiac history being shared for the first time as the entire collection comes out over the coming weeks and months.
Mali and Debbie have collaborated since 2010 to keep Essiac going on into the future beyond our lifetimes. The amount of heart and soul that Mali has given for Essiac is our inspiration to continue this work.
We support exploring what herbal medicine can mean in the 21st century for keeping and/or regaining optimum health. We believe the best way Blue Moon Herbs can do this is by providing the resources so people can freely make their own informed choices. A Cup of Tea can always help....
“As far as her mom was concerned, tea fixed everything. Have a cold? Have some tea. Broken bones? There's a tea for that too. Somewhere in her mother's pantry, Laurel suspected, was a box of tea that said, 'In case of Armageddon, steep three to five minutes'.” Aprilynne Pike, Illusions
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.
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
December 3, 2015: Summer is now just a memory and winter seems to have moved in overnight. Its taken six months since we approached Bracebridge, in Part 1, to finally pull into town.... fitting metaphor for how time seems to have been flying by this year.
Rene Caisse on the doorstep of her Essiac Cancer Clinic, c. 1930s.
The Lee Building, 2012
It was wonderful to come back to Bracebridge. This was my second trip. I retraced the steps of the prior visit, going to pay my respects at Rene Caisse's grave, and visiting the site of the Rene M. Caisse Cancer Clinic, now called the Lee Building. I visited with the secretary in what is now law offices, but there was no trace of the former clinic ever having been right in that exact same spot.
For the first time I was able to visit the Rene M. Caisse Memorial Theatre Exhibit. I took over 1000 photos of what Bracebridge still has in its Essiac archives, both in the Town's vaults and the Bracebridge Public Library's Archives. Over the coming months they will begin to populate our very own 'virtual' Rene Caisse Room!
I loved going for a healthy bite to eat at the "Deli Lama" at Muskoka Natural Foods, and met many friends old and new. I learned that Rene's statue had been very purposely located right where patients seeking Nurse Caisse's "Essiac" treatments had been instructed to "cross the bridge and then turn left" - her clinic was just a block away. They called it the Bridge of Hope.
My 2012 visit happened in the fall, the maple leaves were beautiful! This time the scenery was late Spring at its finest, and 100% delightful. I stayed at the Inn at the Falls, just a block away from the former Clinic, on Dominion Street. The nice woman at the front desk, Judith, put me in touch with local historian Ken Veitch, who was the most gracious, helpful host and guide to all things Rene Caisse and Essiac that I could have ever dreamed of!
And then, after just a few short days of exploring and researching, it was already my last night in town. As I sat under a full moon on a little bench outside the old clinic, I wondered how it must have felt for patients to find the door locked when the Clinic closed for the last time in 1941. I thought, wouldn't it be great if that door could be once more unlocked...a small garden with the herbs growing by the bench...and the Rene Caisse Memorial Room restored to its former glory... in the most fitting home I could ever imagine (just turn left at the statue) 🙂
There are still many people in Bracebridge who remember Rene Caisse, love her and are very loyal to her memory. But many younger people don't remember, and one wonders, what will happen in just a few more decades when there will be no one left that lived during Rene Caisse's actual lifetime (1888-1978)? Rene and Essiac will not be forgotten in Bracebridge. But will the few boxes of papers and memorabilia (mostly out of sight) be enough to ensure her legacy goes on in a lasting or meaningful way?
Sheila Snow, Mary McPherson and Kay Beers at the opening of the Rene Caisse Memorial Room
The Rene Caisse Memorial Room was opened in 1995 and from what I can tell, it remained open for a little over a decade. I believe the Woodchester Villa, where the exhibit was housed, suffered weather-related damage a few years ago, and it was announced that the Rene Caisse exhibits had been moved to the Rene M. Caisse Memorial Theatre. I was thrilled to see the exhibits on display this trip, but I couldn't help but note that the display was a lot smaller. Mali Klein had shot video of it in the late 1990s, and it occupied several rooms then. Now, three shelves in a display case. In a recent local write-up on the renovations it appears that it has not yet been decided what to do next at Woodchester Villa... but Rene Caisse and Essiac do not seem to be part of their plans.
Ken Veitch and Bracebridge Town Clerk, 2015
Ken Veitch was the Bracebridge Town Clerk for more than 30 years. He knew Mary McPherson well and was there when she signed her affidavit making the Essiac formula public. Ken's Grandmother benefitted from Essiac treatments with Nurse Caisse. Ken was very generous with his time and arranged for my access to the City's Essiac Archives. He also introduced me to several other local residents with links to the history, and made my visit to Bracebridge a learning journey extroidinaire. Ken is a first-class researcher and indexer and has written several local history books.
How does one preserve a legacy? Books, statues, museum exhibits....the best legacy is a living one I believe. I think it would do Rene's heart good to see so many people using and benefitting from Essiac today. It would sure be great to see something more lasting and well-curated going on with what is left of the history in Bracebridge, though.
My time in Bracebridge seemed so short..and then it was time to head for "the Bush" - Northern Ontario. Vision Quest time. Back to the source, where the original Native American formula emerged into the modern world in the late 1800s. The adventure continues....
The term 'open source' is based upon "sharing information from publicly available sources (as opposed to covert or clandestine sources)."
I have been following a Facebook group called the Rene Caisse Essiac Tea Users Group. It has been quite a journey and has really brought home a few realizations. Facebook is like a slice of the greater world and … although free speech is a precious thing, things can sometimes get lost in the translation….or buried in the posts! Read More →
