Forest Farming
Value Added Products
This video series provides insights into various ways that non-timber forest products can be used to bring further value to the forest farmer. Forest botanical production can be taken a step further by processing different plant parts into medicines, creams, essential oils, salves, teas, and other value-added products.
We have over 150 forest farming videos! Be sure to check out & subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Value Added Products
Join us as we go behind the scenes to show a glimpse of where these herbal concoctions can be made, how different products are created, and what the business model is for each company we interviewed. Our hope is to provide a broad view behind the herbal products industry, from growing medicinal herbs in the forest as seen in our forest farming videos, to drying and post harvest handling, to finished products that incorporate these forest botanicals.
Essential Oil Distillation Process
Blue Ridge Aromatics Q&A
In this video, we speak with Ian Montgomery, owner of Blue Ridge Aromatics. Ian explains how he sustainably sources material to distill and answers several other questions about the distillation process.
Producers of Value Added Products
Asheville Tea Company
Paris Apothecary
Susan Leopold, Director of the United Plant Savers, began the Paris Apothecary to carry a variety of herbal remedies and elixirs made both in the region and beyond. The apothecary is also a great place to educate consumers about herbal tonics, the plants used to create them, and how those plants are cultivated and harvested.
Herbal Ingenuity
A botanical raw ingredient supplier gives a behind-the-scenes tour of their facility in North Carolina.
Mountains to Sea
How does a business get off the ground? We joined a small start-up in Western North Carolina to film the production of an all-natural body scrub made with locally sourced ingredients. Incubator kitchens like Blue Ridge Food Ventures provide a clean, regulated space for small businesses to produce and package items ranging from hot sauces to dog treats. Co-owner of Mountains to Sea, Amanda Vickers, walks us through the process of creating a salt scrub at Blue Ridge Food Ventures.
Gaia Herbs
Blue Ridge Food Ventures
Located in Asheville, North Carolina, Blue Ridge Food Ventures provides facilities and guidance for small businesses to create and market value-added products.
