Some people get lemons and make lemonade. When Juanita Corbett found herself knee-deep in rose hips, she decided to make rose-hip oil.
“At first, I wasn’t impressed that wild roses seemed about the only thing that wanted to grow on our land,” laughs Corbett, co-owner of The Hills Health Ranch & Spa in British Columbia’s rugged Cariboo country. “But after a while, I realized God doesn’t make junk. There had to be something good to be done with such abundance.”
There was. It was a chance to become a green leader in the Canadian spa scene by modeling sustainable harvesting practices in her own backyard.
In 1998, Corbett became North America’s first spa manufacturer of cold-pressed, naturally extracted rose-hip oil. First, she exhaustively researched the therapeutic value of rose hips — they’re loaded with cell-strengthening bioflavonoids, plus vitamins A and C. Next, she hired local pickers at a premium wage to roam her pine-covered acreage and pluck the bulbous reddish-orange “fruit” of wild roses. Today, Corbett exports her high-quality Canadian Hills essential oil to leading international spas, along with other locally sourced products, such as soothing wild chamomile oil and peppermint antiseptic spray.
Like Corbett, Yukon entrepreneur Bev Gray saw economic potential in nature’s beauty bounty. The long-time northerner opened a small shop in downtown Whitehorse selling balms, lotions and teas made from wild local ingredients such as rose petals, balsam poplar buds, fireweed, yarrow, dandelion roots and nettles. Aroma Borealis opened in 1998, and now has loyal customers around the world.
Gray employs four full-time staff and hires local pickers every summer to harvest for her store’s line of natural products. Says Gray: “I don’t think there’s a better way to earn a living: roaming the hillside, breathing the fresh air and looking for healing plants.”
www.TheHillsHealthRanch.com www.aromaborealis.com