Michael's Stories | Martha's Stories | Shalom's Stories

President & Co-Founder Michael Volchok shares his stories

1989: Michael listening to Martha at an herb show.
Birth of Blessed Herbs Twenty years ago and struggling to support 4 children, we were asked to pick Mullien and bought groceries with the $30... Read more. I like the woods The thoughts of humankind, the pressures of our small mindedness and the vibrations of our busy lives have not been laid down there... Read more. My first experience with herbs All the infection left his leg and the wound drained naturally, I became a believer... Read more. My personal pain and hope. I have lived most of my life with a deep uneasiness that never allowed me any real lasting peace. Yet, I am finding that I have hope, despite these old and crusted patterns of behavior. Read more. More stories by Michael - Drying our first herbs - Searching for true species - Washing roots - Our first powder machine - Our first liquid extracts - About my wife Martha - Pricing herbs - Advice on buying herbs - Handling & Storing herbs - Where we find our herbs - Environmental Concerns - Where we are today - Go lightly , Go simply.	My first experience with herbs by, Michael Volchok I didn't really know much about natural healing until I met up with Martha. She has worked with herbs and healing since she was a little girl picking up every stray dog and cat in Boston and mending their ills. My first real experience came over twenty-five years ago when a friend of ours, who was a carpet layer, came home with a very large infection that had started in his knee and was running down his leg. It was red, inflamed, filled with puss and looked awful. He was in a lot of pain. Martha knew about poultices. (Poultices are herbs that, when made into a paste and put on the skin have the ability to pull the bad stuff out of the body.) Anyway, back to our friend. We took him to the emergency room because he didn't know if he believed in the power of the poultice. The doctor on duty said the poultice would work but it would just be slower than his lancing. The carpet man decided to go home and let Martha help with his leg. The short story: over the course of the day, in and out of hot baths, and the use of the poultice, the discomfort left his leg and his knee and the wound drained naturally and the situation cleared up. I became a believer when I got to see all that natural and mellow healing take place right before my eyes. A very ugly and infected wound could not withstand the power of light.