“Since Gaia Herbs was just a seedling in 1987, the company has remained true to one purpose: connecting people, plants, and planet to create healing. Plants and people evolved together. We are inextricably linked."
Gaia’s founder, Ric Scalzo, gets to enjoy the scent of herbs daily in Brevard, NC.
From seed to harvest to production, on this tour you will get to know Gaia Herbs and their 350-acre organic farm in Brevard, North Carolina. Gaia is a 36 year old company that has become one of the biggest makers of organic herbal supplements here in the states. They maintain an extremely hands-on production process, from their seed banking practice to their clean extraction process, Gaia’s “seed to shelf” quality-control and overall transparency is impressive.
Gaia Herbs does not necessarily focus on native species on the farm for raw material contributions to their final products. They grow about 20% of the raw material needs for the company (only some of which are native). The other 80% is sourced globally. In fact, some of the raw materials come from plants that are invasive in our region. You can enhance your relationship with herbs by learning from the Gaia Herbal Reference Guide, to identify those that are native, whether they are considered Threatened or Endangered in the US, and those with invasive plant profiles. The facility portion will really lean into the extraction details that apply to all herbs.
According to the Gaia Herbal Reference Guide, Partridge (Mitchella ripens) is one of those plants that you would not really notice unless you were admiring the carpet of our forest and happened to spot one of the bright red colored berries. The species name, repens, means "creeping" in Latin and this is exactly how it spreads itself across the ground. The Iroquois prepared them as a relish, mashed and stored them as a dried cake, or dried and took on the trail as hunting food. They have very little flavor reminiscent of wintergreen if anything.
This private tour has a cap of 20 participants due to the facility portion and capacity in the production space. A waiting list will be maintained. From 9:30-11:00 am our group will get a personalized tour of the farm followed by a 11-12:00 facility tour. Everyone who arrives for the tour will sign a printed liability waiver upon arrival. If a walking farm tour is not appropriate for everyone, we may be able to arrange for a van/driving tour of the farm for limited mobility attendees, but please let us know about mobility needs upon registration.
Watch for an email with details, whether you are on the waiting list or a confirmed participant, a few days before the tour.
