By Terry L. Watson Photos by Mykel Media Company
H
er journey began in 1998 as a student seeking a B.S. degree in Agriculture at Virginia State University. She first questioned the ingredients of the personal care products she was using. She learned how her body breathes through her skin. She also learned how the products that she used was absorbed through her skin, and eventually entered into our bloodstream. As she read the labels, she noticed that many of the ingredients required a chemistry degree to translate. She also noticed that many products advised users not to ingest them due to possible poisoning. Aura Agape of Charlotte says she knew that she didn’t want to use anything on her body that could cause possible poisoning or death. She learned that animals raised and slaughtered for meat are injected with many antibiotics and hormones, many of which negatively impact the animal’s health. “I remember hearing the voice in my head saying, “You are what you eat…and their conditions too,” Agape recalls. She learned how food and pharmaceutical companies are connected through ownership of parent companies and regulatory agencies. “I realized that the regulatory agencies I have been taught to trust and expect to protect my health interests, were in fact testing and allowing (without knowing the long-term effects) genetically modified crops in open fields to cross pollinate with wild and other cultivated species,” she says. “The foods and medicine that we are consuming, in my opinion, seemed to be a series of experiments and we were the guinea pigs and lab rats.” She made a decision. She knew that if she wanted better, she was going to have to do better. She began her own research and study. In a chemistry lab at VSU, she made the equivalent of the over-the-counter medicine acetylsalicylic acid and realized that the initial ingredient was a tree bark. She asked why not just use the bark? She says her professor explained how corporations are in business to make money and the ways to do so is through patenting a compound. “At the time, no one could patent a tree. I began to study herbology in depth and learn from practicing herbalists,” says Agape. Soon she made her own herbal medicine and personal care products in a kitchen with very simple, yet effective supplies and ingredients. It worked and she continued to make more. Soon friends and family used the products and loved them as well. Who knew? Requests for orders eventually followed and word of mouth began to spread. At one point, her entire inventory could be contained in the kitchen pantry. Once she outgrew the pantry, Agape says her passion became her business, Herb’N Spice, LLC. Herb N’ Spice provides culinary & therapeutic herbal products and holistic wellness services. She makes herbal seasoning blends, spiced honey, seasonal salad dressings, marinades, pesto, herbal skin repair formulas, natural body care products, extracts, capsules, teas and more. She also provides wellness services such as Chakra Cleansing, Kemetic & Usui Reiki, Aqua Chi Foot Detox in addition to Herb’N Wellness Consultation & doula services. Agape holds a degree in Agriculture and also serves as an ordained minister and Kemetic Reiki Master Teacher. In addition to making products, she has continued her herbal and holistic education, and learned additional healing techniques of various forms. Agape’s scope of knowledge and experience is in various plant cultivation and soil conservation techniques, aromatherapy, herbal preparations and foods that heal. Many of her research papers and scholarly articles are in regard to holistic approaches to healing, wellness, and life. Agape creates natural products for the home and body in which their uses range from culinary to therapeutic. She has the passion and knowledge to spread the message and the consciousness that many are already armed with. Agape’s products and services include Herb’N Wellness Consultations, Ra Sekhi (Kemetic Reiki), Aqua Chi Foot Spa Detox, Herb’N Spice Collection, Herb’N Spice Blends, Herb’N Spice Salad Dressings/ Marinades, Herb’N Teas, Capsules & Extracts, Natural Deodorant, Bug-Off! Skin protection mist, children formulas, and more. h
Herb’N Spice, LLC www.herbnspicewellness.com 1327 Beatties Ford Rd Charlotte, NC 28216 (704) 712-9856
September/October 2013
HuamiMagazine.com
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