An
Introduction to Young Living Essential Oils Part 2
Young Living Farms
After seeing the number
of herb farms going out of business in France and Egypt,
I was concerned that the day would come when quality essential
oils would be difficult to obtain. I felt I needed to locate
farmland and begin cultivating my own crops in order to guarantee a supply
of therapeutic-grade essential oils. I wanted to see
if! could grow herbs and produce oils.
In 1989 I started
experimenting on one-quarter acre of ground growing sage
(Salvia officinalis), clary
sage (Salvia sclarea), thyme
(Thymus vulgaris), lavender
(Lavandula angustifolia), bergamot
(Citrus bergamia), tarragon
(Artemisia dracunculus), and German chamomile (Matricaria
recutita CT bisobolol oxide type A). I fabricated my first little
distiller by welding two pressure cookers together and building a swan
neck out of copper pipe that ran to a copper-pipe coil condenser. The
distiller was placed on the kitchen counter, and its water supply for
cooling came from the faucet. Our production was small, but the lavender
I distilled tested to be of the finest quality. I knew that I could produce
high-quality oils, and this confirmed my beliefs and was the beginning
of the fulfillment of one of my dreams.
In 1991 I built a
second stainless steel portable distiller with an 80-liter capacity and
continued to experiment in learning the ancient art of oil distillation.
I became excited
and started searching for farmland that had never been contaminated. My
prayers were answered when in 1992 I was led to a pristine valley in a
wilderness area of the Idaho Panhandle. Located near the small logging
town of St. Maries, this area had never been plowed or subjected to any
chemicals, pesticides, or fertilizers. I purchased 160 acres and began
seeding and cultivating my first 2 acres of lavender with seed I had brought
home from France as well as transplanting what I had grown before on my
quarter acre in Spokane, Washington. In 1993 I planted 30 acres of lavender,
clary sage,
thyme, and
peppermint.
In the fall of 1993,
I harvested my first peppermint crop and built my third portable, wood-fired,
steam distiller. It had only a 500-1iter capacity, but
I was excited to smell the aroma of the first peppermint distillation.
That was a great learning time and gave me the desire to produce oil in
quantity for Young Living.
The next
year, I increased the planting to 50 acres of crop. I also began wildcrafting
about 25 acres of tansy (Tanacetum vulgare), which grows abundantly
on the hillsides, river bottoms, canals, and along the water banks throughout
the area. I designed my fourth distiller to be stationary with a 3,100-liter
capacity. It was built out of stainless steel with a special decompression
chamber and manifold to produce low-pressure, low-temperature steam. I
cut and peeled the logs, dug out the hillside, and laid railroad ties
for the floor. I bought an old 25-horsepower boiler for $500 from another
farmer. It had to be retubed and reconditioned in order to produce steam.
I lowered it in place with an old tractor and went to work hooking everything
together. It was a historic moment when I, along with my staff, fired
the boiler and produced the first steam. We distilled clary sage, thyme,
lavender, and tansy. We soon realized that our operation was growing and
we would need to increase our distilling capacity, so we gradually replaced
the logs with cement as we added more cookers and a new 100-horsepower
boiler in 1995.
Having distillers
in close proximity to the herbs under cultivation enabled us to distill
the herbs immediately after harvesting, while they were still fresh. This
helped us avoid any compromise in oil quality that might have occurred
if the raw plant material dried out while being transported long distances.
For our 1998 production, we installed one 1,400-liter cooker, one 3,100-liter
cooker, one 6,900-liter cooker, and one 12,500-liter cooker. In 1999 two
more 10,000-liter cookers were added.
In 1995 I
located another 138 acres of rich farmland in Mona, Utah, nestled between
the foot of majestic Mt. Nebo and Mona Lake. This magnificent stretch
of acreage is irrigated with pure, mineral-rich mountain water and is
ideal for growing many kinds of herbs. In 1996 we put this land under
cultivation, growing organic peppermint, clary sage, and German chamomile.
We built a 4,100 liter cooker, installed a 250-horsepower boiler, and
started distilling that fall.
In April 1996 we bought
more land and increased our Utah farm to a total of 1,600 acres, enabling
us to cultivate more herbs. In addition to peppermint
and clary
sage, we are now cultivating and distilling thyme,
basil, melissa
(Melissa officinalis), German and Roman
chamomile (Matricaria recutia and Chamaemelum nobile
respectively), spearmint
(Mentha spicata), and lavender
(Lavandula angustifolia). We are also wildcrafting juniper
(Juniperus scopulorum and J. osteosperma) and rabbit
brush (Chrysothamnus nauseosus) from the hills near the farm
and trucking in eucalyptus trimmings from California for distillation.
We have increased the number of cookers to four 4,100 liters, one 6,900
liters, three 8,700 liters, two 12,500 liters, and one specially designed
1,600 liter cooker for melissa and chamomile, along with a second 350-horsepower
boiler. In 1999 we added a new 800 horsepower boiler and we will be continuing
to add more cookers until we reach our production distilling capacity
of 30 cookers. This makes us the largest distillery for organic therapeutic-grade
essential oils in North America and perhaps even the world.
Testimonial
On
May 8th of last year (2002) I was in a car accident. A young girl was
waiting for me to pass so that she could make a left hand turn when she
was hit from behind by a BIG yellow school bus. She was slammed into me
& when I "came around" I had sheared off a stop sign &
flown 65 feet up the road. I was going to get out to asses the damage
but decided that my leg might be broken & that I just might have to
wait for some help. It was only later when I tried to reconstruct the
incident that I knew of a certainty that my Guardian Angel had driven
that last 65 feet.
On examination at the hospital it turned out that I had broken a bone
in my left foot, had broken both the tibia & the fibula in the right
leg, broke my pelvis, 7 ribs, the left ulna (arm) & had a gash in
my head that required 30 + stitches. Two weeks later they realized that
I also had the center lobe in my left lung right behind my heart (they
said that was why they missed it on the x-rays) & the lower lobe of
the right lung collapse on me. I wasn't too concerned because other than
some pain ... I felt fine :>)
My
son & my mom are also Christians & I knew that many people were
sending up prayers. All of this was before I was introduced to YL. So
I relied on the "vities" that I was taking & some homeopathic
remedies that I had my husband smuggle in to me ... hospital staff &
physicians get REAL nervous if they don't understand what you are doing.
I had also been certified as a Reiki Master in February & did some
"self Reiki".
I
was in the hospital for 2 1/2 weeks & a care center for another 2
1/2 weeks. During that time & for a few weeks after I came home I
had 9 physical therapists work with me. From the get-go the thing that
bothered me the most was my right foot! They had found nothing wrong with
that in the x-rays. When I would mention it to each one the attitude was
"Gee ... that's not on my list."
Finally
the last one in November said "Let's see if we can figure it out."
He finally found out that there was a bone in that foot that was miss
aligned ... "out of place" He used some tractioning techniques
& re-aligned it. What an immediate relief! But by that night the foot
hurt again as well as the entire ankle area. At first I was upset but,
then I thought .... "Gee, that has been out of place for 6 months
... the ligaments & muscles & tendons have all been either shortened
or lengthened ... not to worry." Well, It still hurt! Everything
that had been broken had long since stopped hurting.
In
February I was introduced to YL! What a happy day. I ordered the PanAway.
When I got it I smeared a couple of drops on the top of my foot that evening.
I was sitting on the couch. A while later when I got up to go to the "computer
room" to do the daily bookkeeping ... as I put weight on it ... for
the first time in 9 months there was NO PAIN OR DISCOMFORT AT ALL!!! I
was a happy camper!!! This lasted until about 3 or 4 the next afternoon
when it started hurting again. I again applied the PanAway. Same thing
... but, it lasted a little longer. I also was doing Valor as I had been
told that it would help with bone healing. It was still a little stiff
& ached somewhat but I didn't limp any more. I was then told that
lemongrass was good for nerve healing. Well, I had some of that so I thought
O.K. I'll try that & I started putting some of that on. I guess that
after all those months the nerves had been affected too. That was the
end of it!!!
All
of this was confirmed for me last week-end. My computer Guru was here
helping me "set up" my VCR's, DVD & T.V. so that I could
run them all efficiently. As I turned to go & get a cable for Ron
I tripped over the rug & jammed my foot as I caught myself from falling.
It hurt a little bit when I did it but, "no big deal".
I
had done a "Sleep Disorders Test" over Friday night & later
I fell asleep sitting up at the computer. I laid down for about an hour
& took a nap. When I woke up I found that I could bear NO weight on
my left foot .... another broken bone??? After we closed the store for
the night my husband took me to the Emergency Room. After the usual x-rays
I was told that I had just torn some ligaments "pretty good".
Before
I went to bed I applied some PanAway. The next morning I could still not
bear any weight on it. My husband went to the shop & found a pair
of crutches before I got up. I used them all day & mostly rested on
the couch. During that time I again applied PanAway & Lemongrass 2
or 3 times.
On
Monday morning when I got up I could walk "right out" almost
totally normal! Only a little stiffness. Anyone who has pulled or torn
a ligament or sprained an ankle know that it "takes a while"
before normal movement is restored. Well, NOT with our wonderful oils.
I totally believe that Gary Young has been blessed by God with the knowledge
that he has!!! And I, for one, thank God that he has been "open"
to accept that knowledge & act on it. It has led to fantastic blessings
for us all!!!
May
God continue to bless him & give all of us the words to share these
miracles with others.
Elaine
Kitcher
This
information is intended for educational purposes only. It is not provided
in order to diagnose, prescribe, or treat any illness or disease of the
human body.
|
Diana
Hooper, Independent Distributor of Young Living Essential Oils Member
#378910
