Originally published in The Laurel of Asheville

Story by Michele Bryan | Photos by Jeannie Dunn

This year Red Moon Herbs (RMH) will celebrate its 20th year of creating herbal products from plants not endangered or exotic, but easily found in our area. A RMH birthday and Earth Day celebration will be held from 2–9 p.m. at Warren Wilson College on Saturday, April 20, and is open to the public.

RMH was founded by Corinna Wood and Jessica Godino in 1993. Since then, the company has grown into a thriving online business and wholesale company, distributing herbal tinctures and other products nationwide. Corinna has helped coordinate several ongoing educational programs, such as the Southeastern Women’s Herbal Conference and Wise Woman Herbal Immersion Program.

Last fall, Jeannie Dunn became the new owner and director of Red Moon Herbs. She continues to work in collaboration with Corinna whose main focus is on these annual programs. Jeannie was raised to appreciate the power of the earth and its role in sustaining and supporting life. Drawn to Asheville from the eastern part of the state, she attended the Southeastern Women’s Herbal Conference in its first year and later enrolled in the Herbal Immersion Program at the North Carolina School for Natural Healing.

The intention behind RMH is to craft herbal tinctures from indigenous, fresh herbs. Corinna and Jessica follow the Wise Woman Tradition, which works with an ancient approach to growing herbs in harmony with the earth’s cycles. The two pay close attention to moon cycles, weather, and seasons in order to grow potent herbs and harvest them at their peak for earth-based health. “Food is our medicine … medicine is our food,” says Corinna, paraphrasing Hippocrates.

“We are dedicated to using fresh herbs so batches can only be so large,” Jeannie discloses. “We could go with (more) dry and that would not be the same quality.”

Jeannie believes that herbs support our bodies, minds, and spirits. Tonics, infusions, and teas are all ways to reap the benefits local herbs hold for us, but she is ready to take it to the next level. “I want to make it more chic to use herbal extracts and make them even more easily utilized through lip balms, sprays, and more.”

She has planned upcoming demonstrations at fairs and local markets to show people how they can use her herbs. This summer, her class at A-B Tech will be called Beyond Tea: Botanical Beverages.

For more information, including registration for the Warren Wilson event, visit redmoonherbs.com.