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The Herbalist
Wise Women of the West is dedicated to:
Creating unique, hand-crafted herbal products with a story.
Utilizing traditional ingredients from exotic cultures and locally grown and wild-crafted plants in original combinations for healing body, mind and spirit.
Seeking inspiration from traditional knowledge, scientific research and intuition.
Promoting cross-cultural understanding through shared reverence for the healing power of plants. | Argan Oil Last May I went to Morocco with a group of herbalists, herb growers, healers and producers of herbal products. The trip was called “The Plant-Lovers Tour”. Lead by Rosemary Gladstar and Shelly Browning, we went to farms, traditional herbal healers, herbal spas, a rose oil distillery, and a women’s argan collective, as well as to many tourist attractions. I learned about many ingredients I’d never heard of before including argan oil. I learned that goats love argan fruit and that the nuts are not digested, but come out in their feces. Now that people are trying to market argan internationally, they don’t want the nuts to pass through the gut of the goat, although traditionally there was no objection to this. At one of the many women’s argan cooperatives, we learned the meaning of the expression “a hard nut to crack.” We got to sit down with the women and try cracking the nuts the way they do, by hitting them with a rock on a larger rock anvil. Many a smashed finger that day, but it did bring about laughter among the women. When they noticed the pants I had on (big baggy ones from India) they insisted that I dance for them. They all stopped working and sang, clapped and laughed while I did my version of a belly dance. They did not object to being photographed, but some of them did not want their faces to be seen. The oil they make is used for healing and cosmetic purposes, as well as in cooking.
Upon returning home, I created products using the same things used in the hammam, the traditional Moroccan bath. In this bath, one is dowsed with water, coated with beldi, then scrubbed with rough gloves or brushes to exfoliate the outer layer of skin. Quite an experience! After the bath you get a marvelous massage. My Hammam Bar, uses several Moroccan ingredients including argan oil. It is made with ghassoul (a red clay from the Atlas Mountains traditionally used for facial masks and to wash the hair), beldi (a soap made from black olives - a wonderful exfoliant), black cumin seed oil (nigella sativa), kelp, and essential oils in an olive oil base. The soap can be used for face, body and hair.
Round bar is $5.50 Rectangular is $7.00 To see my other products Go to The Souk For more information about argan oil and its benefits see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argan_tree
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Argan tree with golden fruit 
Goats in trees eating argan fruit 
Women's argan cooperative 
Hamida's Hammam Bar - round 
Hamida's Hammam Bar - rectangular 
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