How did you arrive here, where is here?
For years, I've used the herbal knowledge I've gained from my family, community & extensive research in hundreds of texts and books regarding herbalism & botanical medicine. My mother is a nurse, grandmother is a descendant of Maroon herbalists & grandfather was a chef, gardener & dental practitioner in Jamaica. They each passed down & imparted to me knowledge about medicinal herbs/pharmacognosy rooted in traditional Chinese & Caribbean cultures, with or without realizing. Home-cooked meals with ingredients fresh out of the garden were the norm and I was taught early on that food is medicine. I've taken these teachings along with me on this journey, stepping heavily onto the path of Spiritual Herbalism & holistic wellness. I collaborated with plants to formulate products for Aliensauce and various other companies since 2015. From 2019 to 2021, I began & completed a Spiritual Herbalism apprenticeship program in Brooklyn, NY. — Sacred Vibes Apothecary. This apprenticeship taught me in my adulthood, that maintaining a relationship with the plants and my ancestors would change my life in an honest &healing way, every single day. I welcomed the journey and am a life-long student.
How do you regard plants and work with them?
As much as I’ve a voracious mind and would consume as much information as I could about practical applications of plant medicine, I’ve learned what it is to be thankful & appreciative of getting to know each plant one by one. This gratitude — born of my experience with plants, mentors, community, my spiritual practice & way of life - IFA — has stirred up familiar feelings towards the land for me. “By the fruits we know the tree,” and there is no truer statement when regarding plant history, taxonomy, cultivation, parts & usages. The earth, untainted by human colonization & destruction, provides us with everything we need. Mother Earth has exhibited the largest scale of compassion I know of, and my ancestors knew this truth & embodied this knowing in their practice. That's why I regard & nurture plants the way I do, allowing them to shine in daily rituals. What started as an interest combined with a labor of love for friends & family, has since deepened & expanded into a loving service I wanted to extend to anyone I can mutually access.
I first began with external goods — Deodorant, toothpaste, facial toners, teas, etc. The products we buy for use on our skin & in our bodies shouldn't contain harsh chemicals & unsafe metals that disrupt our body's natural/healthy processes. I find that as we advance technologically with time or look to the world of capitalism for our herbal understanding, we still manage to overlook very obvious hazards & environmentally destructive harvesting/manufacturing techniques. Aliensauce is about an honest attempt to use plants with 100% reverence and remembrance, & to operate through spiritual & scientific integrity always. I believe in making products that are effective & small-batching so they last with as little need for commercial preservative. But it IS important to inform community about the differences between various preservative methods before making assumptions about all of them. As we wouldn't want to forsake something that's helpful just because we know nothing about it. Education is key & in that regard, we must always consider the source. As an avid researcher/student/practitioner of holistic living, I am adapting to what Mother Earth asks of me with respect to mind/body/spirit. Keeping informed on what ingredients are safe, effective & sustainable - respective to nature, history, conscious cultivation/wildcrafting & context in which it is being used.
While I still collaborate with plants & community to create external formulations, I have been focusing much of my energy now into internal formulations (tea blends, tinctures, etc.) and consulting with clients to meet them where they are & to assure that their needs are met. As I continue to further my education in herbalism/holistic wellness & do the work, I will make it my mission to share what I’ve learned the best way I know how. Chopping wood, carrying water.
What can customers expect?
Every ingredient used in Aliensauce products are with purpose, absolutely no inactive ingredients over here. Every menstruum, solvent, base are considered with intention & prayer. Every plant is collaborated with within right relationship. All ingredients - herbs, hydrosols & essential oils are sustainably & reliably sourced. No chemicals are used for gardening, harvesting, plant infusions, extractions or refinement. All products & services are handcrafted and offered with love, gratitude, remembrance & spiritual intention. <3