Ancient Forest Products is a Forest Friendly Enterprise
Pure Sage Country
The forest is our home. It is our garden. Long before we ever even contemplated
becoming a forest products business our respect for the ancient and
deep woods and fertile deserts was thoroughly established.
As mentioned elsewhere on this web site, we have lived and raised our family here in the Southern Cascade Temperate Rain Forest for decades. We have spent many wonderful days in the high Oregon deserts.
Wild Crafter Juan
Greed is a great demon that has instilled a destructive mindset in those who
want to simply 'use'our
forests. That is another reason we are very sensitive about our relationship
with the woods. Ancient Forest is determined not to overstep our
bounds in violating a long standing trust that has existed between
man and forest from ancient times.
Sage Camp
Ages have come and gone when mankind lived harmoniously and in a
sustainable fashion in our forests and deserts. The aboriginal First
Nations people learned the hard way of the give and take in
wilderness living. A deep and abiding wisdom attended all of the
actions and interactions with the 'Great Garden'. The laws and
principles that governed the forest depths became their laws. To
violate them meant death not only for you but perhaps your entire
family or tribe. To uphold and understand the laws of nature meant
that abundance and beauty were in your path.
Marcos Wildcrafting
It is the principles of giving and taking, so that all were sustained,
that made and molded them as a people. While many other cultures far
afield were devoting themselves to the development of iron and
machinery to "master" nature, the aboriginal tribes were
discovering ways to grow and live without destroying the beauty of
LIFE that unceasingly carried them through their days of living.
In spite of the great changes that have taken place in a relatively
short time in this part of the world, not all of the ancient wisdom
has been lost. It is this treasure trove of light that we have hoped
to rediscover and implement in our family and the Ancient Forest
Products business model. It is a way of life.
Joshua Gathering
Our approach to the seasons of harvest are attended with respect and
sensitivity. Not only this, we are fully convinced that our attitude
is mirrored in every facet of the process that goes into preparing
the natural products that we send out across the lands. It is
reflected in all of our items. Our lives depend on it.
We have consciously chosen to deal measurably and conscientiously with
the forest and the desert and to always give back to show our
appreciation. The notion of giving back, reciprocity, saturated the
lifestyles of the First Nations people. It was never, "take, take
take!". That is not nature's way.
Our collecting of herbs always keeps that which is proper in the forefront of our minds. We rely on skill rather than cutting corners to meet the need. Limbs are not brutally mutilated when the rich volatile oil laden tips are gleaned. Neither is there more taken from a tree or shrub than is appropriate. We have found the living things of the earth to be repeatedly generous in their giving if we are gentle in our taking. Every harvesting area of our "garden" is carefully evaluated before we begin and after we leave. We are careful to attend the surrounding area as though it were a precious flower garden. We do not deal violently with nature's generosity.
High Desert Juniper Stands
We regard the regions in which we harvest to be very pure with a minimum
of pollution from exposure to rigors of modern life. Those components
of our incense and smudge wands that are domestically cultivated we
consider as important an element as any other.
We purchase high quality organically grown herbs
from certified and
reputable sources. This, of course, adds to the cost of the
production of our products but it is a value that should not be
compromised.
Joshua and Samantha with Juniper
So there in a nutshell you have the fundamental paradigm of our business
model. All of the wild crafters associated with us are thoroughly
trained in this respect and we consider them an extended family. We
strive to reflect the generosity of the forest to those who work with
us in giving them a fair wage for the hard work associated with
forest work.
This goodness we extend to you in our ancient forest incense and wand products. Every aspect of our efforts are quality control monitored. We seek to maintain an open atmosphere of free communication in our extended family and with our customers. Join us in the Ancient Forest.
Proprietor, Mitakaye Oyasin
Sue Ann Lake
© Ancient Forest Products
