TRAditional healing for today's wellness.

“The Medicine Comes From Within”
In support of my consulting and educational work, I also grow, blend, donate, and sell herbs and herbal products. Herbal reclamation is my soul purpose, and I integrate it into my educational work whenever possible because plant medicine is so powerful. 

Every culture uses herbs — they are a gift from the Earth to all humans. Everyone has herbalism in their ancestry, and we have been severed from it due to industrialism, capitalism, white supremacy culture, and patriarchy. Remembering and reclaiming this gift is a healing process for myself and the people I work with. 

Plant medicine has saved and supported me personally through many life hardships — including family caretaking, difficult life transitions, toxic work environments, and confusion about the future — as well as celebrations. I want other people to be held in the comfort of its leaves and flowers.

Sarita’s Botanical Sanctuary 
This is my herb and flower farm, located on a half-acre of land in West Asheville, NC on ancestral land of the Cherokee . With a variety of large raised beds, I grow herbs and flowers. I’m also a land steward of the forested area of the land, where I’m currently planning cultivating forest botanicals, ceremonies, and spaces of rest.

Much of the medicinal herbs from the Sanctuary are provided to the Aflorar Herb Collective, which distributes free herbs to people of color across the country via donations to local and national organizations and groups. Herbal support for people of color is so very close to my heart because herbal medicine was taken from our cultures, then turned into a multi-million dollar industry. We need to reclaim this medicine by increasing accessibility to its healing properties. My Sanctuary is contributing to that effort.

Sarita’s Botanica & Remedios
Using the herbs and flowers from the Botanical Sanctuary, and from other local producers when needed, I create dried and blended herbs that can be smoked, burned, or steamed. My specialties are tea blends for daily wellness, as well as spiritual bath, teas, bath salts, salves/pomadas, face steams, and smoke bundles or blends for clearing and cleansing. ​

Sarita’s Herbal Ministry
In my herbal ministry work, I coach or consult with individuals about herbs. Sometimes these are herbal enthusiasts, business owners, or farmers who need support building their businesses. Other times they are individuals who are burnt out, stressed, or want support around wellness and traditional practices. These sessions are provided on a sliding scale and are usually 1-2 hours long, in person or online. Participants walk away with an herbal care kit that supports their specific needs and issues. We usually talk about their cultural wellness practices, how to use plant medicine in their daily lives, so they can live easier, with less stress and illness.

I am so honored to have met Sarah and have the opportunity to experience an incredible Herbal Farming weekend immersion in North Carolina with her. I was in the early stages of finalizing my Signature House Tea blend for my company and needed help and advice for sourcing, blending, and packaging. Sarah was able to thoughtfully share the sourcing and blending process through direct hands on experience on her small farm in North Carolina. After that experience, I had the tools and knowledge to build and launch my tea line. Highly recommend this immersion to anyone who is interested in learning the seed to table process!
​Hediya with House of Leyli

Seed to Sew
All cultures have medicine. When they emigrate, they carry that medicine with them. As an extension to my herbal support work, I’m undertaking a new venture called Seed to Sew. 
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Inspired by my abuelita from Colombia, Cecilia, I desire to bring a tradition from my family into my business and remember the legacy of my ancestors. My abuelita was a dress and wedding gown maker in Bogota Colombia. She taught my mother to sew and this craft is in my blood.  

Additionally, blessed by North Carolina’s long textile manufacturing history, as well as a need to carry my own herbal medicine with me when I travel, I’ve developed, designed, and prototyped a “daily wellness kit bag” based on the design of first aid kit bags. I’m planning to produce these bags in North Carolina, domestically made, and using recycled, upcycled, or natural fiber materials. In addition, I plan to create and make tea bags to use with the remedios I create. The sewn goods project would not be possible without the support of Russell Shurtz (@circleabrand) and classes through Carolina Textile District.