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Mother Earth and
her precious treasures
A story about the conscious connection
to and love for nature
Portrait: Forager and herbalist on Maui
Every Wednesday and Saturday, the Farmers Market takes place in Napili, on the west coast of the Hawaiian island of Maui. Upon arrival at the market, which consists of about fifteen stalls, the first one immediately catches my eye – it's a rare sight in the USA: there is hardly any plastic packaging. Drip bottles with all kinds of tinctures, honey and olive oils in small glass jars are decoratively arranged on wooden shelves; Various herbal tea mixtures in brown paper bags decorate the stand, with messages such as Love Yourself, Lucid Dreamer or Chillax written on them in colorful handwriting. All products are prepared with care and attention to detail. Sweet baked goods are also sold under a glass dome. A young, petite lady with braces, feather earrings and big brown eyes offers us modestly of her banana bread cookies, which taste delicious. Her name is Melissa.
I like that all products are homemade and almost exclusively from local ingredients. On a chalkboard, transparently and in bright colors, the distance from Napili is highlighted at which the respective plants, flowers, mushrooms and fruits used for her products were harvested or collected. She has been running the stand for nearly two years. The pandemic is a catalyst for her to turn the idea of opening her own business into action. When she loses her job at a restaurant because of the closures due to COVID-19, she gets creative. I would like to know more, but consistently people come to the sales booth, so that a personal conversation does not really happen. At home, I find Melissa on Instagram and write to her. After a week, I receive a message that she would be very happy if we would accompany her in her favorite activity: to go in search of edible wild plants in nature. Melissa wants to show us how to make a tincture from a plant. When I see her standing in front of her car a few days later at the agreed meeting point, she is wearing sturdy hiking boots and carries a small basket with her. In there I can see a knife with a large wooden handle and glass vessels. There is no trace of her initial restraint at the stand: Melissa is full of anticipation and enthusiasm and would like to show us the wild plant she has envisaged for the planned tincture. Her joy is contagious. As soon as we start hiking, she explains to us exactly what fruits, plants and trees there are in the area.
“Since I was 3 years old and
learned to walk, my dad has always taken me fishing and we have always spent a lot of time in nature. [...]”
“It was so much fun for me to get people excited about nature and its plants and birds.That's how I came up with the idea that I don't have to sit in a lab to make a difference in the world. [...]”
Forest-love
Melissa Benedict (27) grew up in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Her hometown is near the gigantic Gifford Pinchot National Forest, in Washington State. Behind her parents' house is a river, where her father often takes her to go salmon fishing together. He shows her not only how to fish, but also which berries, mushrooms and plants you can collect and eat at what time of year. "Since I was 3 years old and learned to walk, my dad has always taken me fishing and we have always spent a lot of time in nature. You see the plants every day and get to know them properly – that definitely helps to develop an interest in them," explains Melissa and is grateful that she grew up in such a natural environment. At the age of eight, she can independently determine edible mushrooms in the forest. Not only has this developed into a passion and a hobby, but the forest has become her second home: her natural habitat – a place of peace and silence where negative thoughts and feelings find no space. Melissa wants to study ecology, but fails the required math courses. After high school, a friend of hers commits suicide. At that time, Melissa is 19 years old. She is not on site because she is studying in another city. This event leaves a deep mark on her and Melissa begins to deal more with the topic of mental health. In the small community where she lives, there are no suitable facilities or sufficient professionals in the field of mental health care. She develops a strong awareness of her own mental well-being and decides to study Human Health and Development. This is followed by further studies in environmental education and anthropology.
As a student, she is a member of the Sierra Club – the oldest and largest nature conservation organization in the USA. She is also involved in environmental education at the US Forest Service as a Wilderness Ranger. On a hike with the Sierra Club, Melissa has to lead a group to earn her certification to guide hikes. She remembers that it was mostly people from big cities who wanted to refuel their empty batteries in nature. "It was so much fun for me to get people excited about nature and its plants as well as birds. That's how I came up with the idea that I don't have to sit in a lab to make a difference in the world. I can also facilitate new connections to and passions for nature outdoors – for people who have not previously had the opportunity to develop a relationship with nature," Melissa beams. This guided hike triggers something in her: it fulfills her to inspire people for nature and to share her own joy for it. It allows her to develop an even deeper awareness of the preservation of nature. "This group hike made my sense of responsibility towards nature even stronger, as I was seeing the positive effect this experience of nature has on other people," she explains in retrospect. During her studies, she goes on many outdoor excursions – her field guide is always with her. In the meantime, she no longer needs it, as she already knows many wild plants by heart. After finishing university, for a year she does social work with disadvantaged children and young adults in rural low income areas which lack proper access to healthcare. She describes the work as tilting at windmills, so she suffers a burnout and returns to her hometown. She wants to earn as much money as possible in a short time so that she can move to Hawaii – this is her secret dream and her call to adventure that gives her perspective and hope. Melissa wants to see the unique natural paradise in Oceania that she dreamed of as a child: learn to dive, marvel at the unique coral and fish world, as well as the tide pools – all that she cannot find at home in this tropical form. Above all, however, she wants to go to a place whose temperatures and vegetation allow her to forage and harvest fruits, mushrooms and plants all year round.
She starts a full-time job as a waitress and although the work is physically and mentally exhausting, she earns enough to move to Maui within a year. Her source of energy is the forest, where she repeatedly seeks refuge to relax and leave the pressure of everyday life behind. In the presence of animal inhabitants of the forest and seclusion, she seems to feel more comfortable than among humans. "After my shifts, I spent as much time as possible in the forest and went to forage there. I just needed that. That made me happy," she explains. We stop abruptly, because suddenly we are faced with a small family of mushrooms. Melissa eagerly informs us about their genus and characteristics – and her eyes are shining throughout.
“First the joy arises,
then the concrete idea.”
Inspiration – Thoughts – Reality
Melissa is 25 years old when she has enough savings and finally travels to Maui. "It all started with the idea of moving to Maui," explains Melissa, who can't believe that she has built a life for herself in the dreamlike natural paradise. For two months she lives and works on a farm, where she does not need to pay for food and lodging. She watches many documentaries by Anthony Michael Bourdain, an American chef and author who inspires her deeply, because he mainly uses freshly harvested plants to prepare his food. The authenticity and enthusiasm, with which he shares his knowledge, inspires her. From time to time Melissa is at the weekly market and helps its owner with selling vegetables and fruits. At Christmas time, she dares to ask him if she may sell homemade cookies at his booth and makes 30 dollars in sales that day. "First the joy arises, then the concrete idea. I love baking. It was just so much fun to sell my homemade cookies and then I thought to myself: if I just bake twice as much, then I can maybe earn twice as much," Melissa describes, beaming all over her face. It is the little things that visibly give her pleasure and for which she can be enthusiastic. Again and again we stop because we encounter small natural spectacles on the way such as a yellow-orange snail, whose color patterns she examines in amazement. Over time on Maui, in addition to sweet baked goods and focaccia bread, homemade cosmetics and health products are added. Melissa acquires all the knowledge through eager self-study from books and videos. To ensure that she is independent and mobile, she also ships her car from Washington to the island.
Melissa finds the wild plant she is looking for: Jamaican Blue Vervain. In addition to the health-promoting properties of this plant, I learn that liquid extracts (tinctures) are four times more potent than a conventional brew of herbal tea. She pulls out her knife, carefully separates the stems and then places them in her basket.
We come to a duck pond, which is picturesquely surrounded by trees and resembles a postcard backdrop. We sit down, remain silent for a while, observe the landscape and let the sun shine on our faces. I don't want to break the silence, but I am curious if she actually realizes that she is currently living her dream. Like a little girl, Melissa giggles and ponders. Apparently, she doesn't seem to be really aware of it yet. She tells me about a special moment she experienced a few weeks ago while diving:
Melissa sinks about 15 meters deep to the bottom of the ocean and stays there for about 20 minutes. She closes her eyes from time to time, breathes calmly and slowly. She pulls off her fins and clamps them under a few boulders so that they are not swept away by the current. A triggerfish swims to the stones and tries to stick its nose under them. Then he swims towards Melissa's hand, then again to the boulders. It feels as if he wants her to pick up the rocks. So she does it and the triggerfish starts eating under the stones while Melissa holds them up. The fish seems to trust her, that she will not drop the stone."I just thought: wow, I just started a symbiotic friendship with the fish," she raves as she recounts that moment. Melissa still carries her child in her when she talks about animals and plants and when sharing all her knowledge and personal experiences about them – she is then in her own magical world, where there are no barriers. I like to listen to her. She seems childlike in her descriptions and her big brown eyes shine with enthusiasm all the time.
When the pandemic breaks out, she is suddenly on her own, because she lost her position at the restaurant. However, Melissa has saved enough money for her own stand, which she sets up two times a week. Loyal customers continue to come. "I realized that people are willing to invest in good food," she explains gratefully, because it allows her to stay afloat and continue living on the island. As the pandemic slowly subsides, Melissa begins to offer occasional free introductory courses for tinctures and herbal hikes on a donation basis. "Once I wanted to go foraging and did a hike, with three people accompanying me. I shared my knowledge with them and they were so enthusiastic afterwards that they even gave me money for it. That was so cool, because I would have done this hike anyway!", she still reports in disbelief. But this experience strengthens her self-esteem as well as her self-confidence. In the long term, she wants to offer more workshops and pass on her knowledge about the collection of wild plants and their properties – in the most ethical and moral way possible.
“[...] That made me very insecure at first. Then I did a self-check and asked myself what my concrete intentions were.”
Ethics and knowledge transfer
So far, Melissa is still hesitant with her desire to offer serious workshops on Maui, because she is afraid that she might not carry them out "ethically enough". She explains to me that many Native Americans, for example, have a cultural heritage in which the knowledge of plant science is extremely sacred and is only passed on to relatives and chosen ones within the bloodline. One must deal very responsibly with traditional knowledge of the ancestors and not misuse it for monetary purposes, as it is often the case with tourism, for example. The indigenous people, who would carefully preserve their expertise for generations, would have a close spiritual and historical connection to the (medicinal) plants in their territories. They would be angry with people, who would share that foreign, protected and valuable knowledge unreflectively and claim it for themselves – without becoming aware of the cultural identity and heritage of the indigenous. Melissa is therefore still struggling with the idea of imparting knowledge on Maui that does not originate in her own culture."A former fellow student at university once called me a hypocrite about how I could move from the mainland to Hawaii. That made me very insecure at first. Then I did a self-check and asked myself what my concrete intentions actually are," she says in retrospect. She is concerned with the transfer of knowledge, which could simply be lost if this practice is not passed on correctly. Without awareness of one's own ethical behavior in nature, this could in return lead to the extinction of plant species.
“Wherever I go to forage, I make sure that I know who lives nearby. If there are elderly people for example, I always try to go further and find another tree with the same fruits. [...]”
Excursus: Hawaii – "Extinction Capital of the World"
The eight Polynesian islands in the Pacific Ocean not only represent the most remote archipelago chain on Earth, but Hawaii is also referred to as the "extinction capital of the world," whose flora and fauna, as well as unique biodiversity, are critically threatened with extinction. Many of the remaining native (endemic) plant and animal species are now considered endangered. This has several causes, some of which date back centuries: Many well-known factors such as climate change, global warming, rising sea levels and the extraction of natural resources for human needs lead to the destruction of Hawaiian ecosystems. In particular, human influence plays an exorbitant role: both the first Polynesians and the later Europeans cleared native forests for sandalwood trees and introduced non-native (invasive) species such as dogs, chickens or pigs, partly for agriculture. As a result, the native vegetation was lost through cattle pastures and later large parts of the native forests were cleared for sugar cane plantations. Plant species are considered particularly endangered in Hawaii: Of a total of around 2,700 plant species, about 950 are not endemic, with 800 of the native species classified as endangered. In this archipelago, four mammal species, including the sperm whale and the humpback whale, as well as other endemics, are threatened with extinction. Almost 50 percent of the 140 bird species have already been lost. The heavy burden on nature continues to this day and is intensified by the influx of tourists. However, today's situation in Hawaii is by no means an isolated case and illustrates what happens around the world when collective awareness and willingness to support and to implement change at all levels (federal and state governments, media, conservation organizations and population) does not shift sustainably.
Sources:
https://www.worldmap-knowledge.com
https://biologicaldiversity.org
https://www.fws.gov
“I'm now at a point in my life where I'm no longer trying to please everyone, so it's much easier to do my own thing. I love what I do.
I'm convinced of it and I feel good.”
On Maui, Melissa begins to connect with locals and those who have lived on the island for decades. There it is especially difficult to see the difference between whether a piece of land is public or private. Before picking or collecting anything, however, she always assures herself that the owners give her permission to harvest there. According to her, it is extremely important to know and respect the local people well. "I once harvested papaya because I thought it was on public land until the older owner saw me and warned me to leave his property and leave his papaya tree alone," she says sympathetically. Often it is the (own) ignorance that leads to conflicts." Wherever I go to forage, I make sure that I know who lives nearby. If there are elderly people for example, I always try to go further and find another tree with the same fruits. Because these people may no longer be as fit and vital as I am and are dependent on the trees near them," she explains thoughtfully. Furthermore, Melissa makes sure that she always leaves enough plants of a species in the form of seeds or flowers at a collection point so that their reproduction is not hindered. Melissa only harvests plants that are invasive: these are introduced and foreign to the area. They tend to grow more strongly and sometimes take over on the island. I learn that the flora and fauna on the Hawaiian Islands is highly threatened with extinction, so Hawaii is often referred to as the "extinction capital of the world". "In particular, I never touch rare plant or flower species, always only introduced plants, because I know that they exist in abundance and multiply quickly often to the detriment of the ecosystem," explains Melissa.
“[...] Nevertheless, it has also been a tradition in my family that we went fishing in the forest and collected food, for the simple reason that we could not afford fresh mushrooms, berries or salmon from the supermarket. This is my identity. [...]”
"I'm now at a point in my life where I'm no longer trying to please everyone, so it's much easier to do my own thing. I love what I do. I'm convinced of it and I feel good," she explains firmly. Melissa wants to create a solid curriculum before offering workshops and make sure she is passing on the locals' knowledge of plant science correctly and morally enough. She wants to combine her own 17 years of expertise in collecting and harvesting edibles in the forest with ethical instructions for action and proactively sensitize and educate people on the topic so that they can act self-reflectively and mindfully. "It's important to me that people don't collect too much at once, because you can easily be carefree and forget that the real work only starts after the harvest: the whole processing and storage process can take up to many hours. I definitely don't want to waste food or let it rot," explains Melissa, who has already experienced exactly that. Her lesson: Less is more. Another ethical aspect is not to underestimate word of mouth. Many locals would be annoyed by those who unconsciously mark "secret spots" on social platforms so these are no longer secret places, because crowds of people, especially tourists, would track down the place. "There is a beautiful hike in my home county – it was a favorite place of my childhood. But I haven't been able to go there for ten years because the area is constantly overcrowded. It's sad because it doesn't look the way I remember it when I look at pictures of it on social media," she explains depressed, visibly disappointed by the development that hordes of tourists are bringing with them – a phenomenon that is emerging all over the world. As far as collecting and harvesting are concerned, according to her, one should definitely know several places and position oneself more broadly: once the "wrong" person knows about a collection location, the probability is high that it will be completely harvested the next day.
Dealing with criticism
A major concern of Melissa is that the knowledge of the accurate preservation of plant life on Maui and elsewhere could become extinct. Many herbal remedies have already been lost because these wild plants have become extinct – also the result of ignorance and incorrect handling. It is therefore very important to her to counteract the lack of awareness of one's own behavior. Determination drives her to want to change this. "There will always be people who don't like what I do. There will always be a hail of criticism," she says. I admire her self-reflection, her awareness of nature, and the urge to make a difference, knowing very well that her public engagement can cause resentment.
The thing is that there will always be critical voices as soon as you express yourself and take your own position. In an increasingly polarizing society, which is favored by social media and where every individual has an opinion on something, it is very challenging to express one's own opinion and actually remain steady. With factual, solid and honest arguments, however, you can confidently stand by yourself. The louder and more aggressive counter-arguments become, the more one should turn into silence and convince with actions serving the common welfare. Maybe it's not about converting other people, but rather about staying true to yourself and your values and finding ways to convince yourself who you want to be and how you ultimately want to feel.
"Of course, I have no cultural or historical identity when it comes to collecting and processing (medicinal) plants like the indigenous people and I am aware that it is a valuable wisdom of theirs. Nevertheless, it has also been a tradition in my family for generations that we went fishing in the forest and collected food, for the simple reason that we could not afford fresh mushrooms, berries or salmon from the supermarket. This is my identity and so I have acquired all the knowledge over the years. So why shouldn't I be entitled to pass on my knowledge?" argues Melissa confidently. The uncertainty and fear of doing something wrong is subtly present, but at the same time she realizes that it is impossible to please everyone and she knows where she sees herself in the future – this gives her the necessary self-confidence to continue pursuing her goals.
“It's all like a big puzzle for me, everything is connected. [...]”
GATHER
"Sometimes I have to stop myself once I've started talking about a plant and can't stop raving because I want to share all my knowledge," Melissa explains. But it is precisely one's own enthusiasm and passion that are a prerequisite for authentic mentoring and educational work. Melissa explains that she learns something new about plants on Maui every day. Although she has been living here for two years, she does not yet know all native plants and animals. For her, nature is a place where she feels connected to everything and in harmony. All her senses are sharpened at the same time. "I never listen to music when I go collecting in the forest. Because sometimes birds take you to the plants you're looking for. You hear a bird singing and know that it likes to eat a certain plant, then the bird can lead you to exactly the plant you are looking for," Melissa describes and her voice is very calm and gentle. She follows the melody of her heart, which makes her get up every morning to do exactly what fulfills her. "It's all like a big puzzle for me, everything is connected. Even if I see a plant that I don't want to know about at first because I actually want to find another plant, it will teach me something about the plant I originally wanted to know more about," Melissa says. Her stand as well as her products bear the name "Gather", which has several meanings. On the one hand, it is exactly what her passion simply expresses – "collecting" food. This happens completely involuntarily according to her, which means that she can't help but devote herself completely to her passion. And on the other hand, it means "bringing together" people outdoors through natural resources – creating and preserving a collective awareness of nature and its treasures.
Dreams
Melissa is still at the beginning, but she has already taken the most important step: she has made the decision full of confidence to turn her passion into a profession and to become self-employed. Even if a door does not open, Melissa will find other ways to live her dreams, because there are plenty of them: One day, for example, she wants to make the discovery of an unknown species or genus herself – whether plant, animal, insect or reptile does not matter at all. Furthermore, she would like to travel to different places at some point and interview locals, who have lived in one place for generations and know everything about the local flora and fauna as well as history, to document their experiences and knowledge. "This is also a big problem in terms of the debate about the forest fires. Indigenous people are not even integrated into the discussion and finding solutions, although these people have been living in the affected regions for centuries and know exactly which plants and trees to plant or to burn and when," she explains. Melissa wants to find out through her project to what extent the expert knowledge of scientists and indigenous people differs and whether patterns can possibly be recognized. Her last wish is to one day own her own piece of land and practice permaculture. She can imagine returning to her roots in the Pacific Northwest – to the origin where it all began: the discovery of and love for nature.
Text: Katharina Hahn
Photos and English translation: Johannes Hahn (Website, Instagram)
Publication: 19.11.2021
More infos about Melissa Benedict: That Gather Girl
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