Meet Phyllis

In March 2005, I was sitting in a class about soil health. My eyes were filling with tears. These weren't unhappy tears though. To explain why, I need to step a bit further back...

I grew up on a small farm in the Santa Clara Valley with 5 siblings.

My mother was the daughter of a California dairyman and made the effort to have a family cow for us. Milking Freda and then Diana was a part of the daily routine, before and after school. One of my fonder memories was of licking the cream off the stainless-steel nesting funnels from the mechanical separator that we used to take the cream off the gallons of milk the cow produced.

So I guess it's no surprise that for most of my adult life I hankered after having a farm where I could milk my own cow.

My mother also bucked the diet tide for us growing up in the 1950s in a land of white bread, Coca Cola and Hostess Twinkies.

She was instead a nutrition stalwart who baked wholemeal bread for us, making sure we had fresh vegetables and salads every day.

We didn't eat any processed foods and felt embarrassed about our funky lunches at school. But I am so pleased she gave us this start as it inspired in me a life-long interest in nutrition and health.

My university training was in environmental management, environmental toxicology and soils. Here I began to see a most powerful tool for reversing climate change.

Deep-rooted, diverse pastures producing high brix plants can pull CO2 out of the atmosphere in astonishing amounts and store it long-term as soil carbon or humus. Informed estimates indicate that increasing soil carbon levels on all cultivated land by only 1 - 2 % a year can rapidly reverse global warming.

I have seen this happen with farms focused on reviving soil microbes, rebalancing soil minerals and grazing taller, diverse pastures. The benefits to water-holding and plant growth are impressive. While I was studying environment, agriculture and soils, my Kiwi husband was researching pesticide policy for his PhD. His doctorate confirmed that pesticides and other hazardous substances are very laxly regulated while being consistently harmful to our health and our environment.

So I had all these concerns, desires and specialised knowledge floating around in my head but no way of connecting them.

That is, until I all the pieces of my life's interests fell into place when I attended a class by Dr Arden Andersen, USA medical doctor, Air Force flight surgeon and biological soils expert.

Listening to Arden Andersen's detailed explanation of how to grow nutrient-dense food from re-mineralised soils that have active microbe communities, without the need for poisonous pesticides, was a revelation for me. This was the connection between all the things I was passionate about!

That is what brought on my tears.

It was the dawning realisation that the rest of my life was going to be dedicated to getting that perspective on soils and health out to people.

Since then, I've spent more than a decade adding nutrients to my farm's soils and growing lush, mineral-rich, diverse pastures.

I’ve nurtured cows and calves in the best possible way to raise happy, healthy animals.

I’ve brought together natural ingredients and ancient wisdom.

Pure sunshine,
rich soil,
and happy animals
in one of the most special places on earth.

This is how I produce Helia, our exclusive skin balms for a better planet and a better you.

"This is awesome stuff!"

My 12 year old daughter had eczema on her face, arms and hands. She saw changes on the first day of using Helia Repair. This is awesome stuff! After 10 days she has NO EVIDENCE of eczema anywhere on her body!! Elise Winston - Texas, USA

"... after trying a number of different creams your balm worked"

My baby girl's cheeks kept coming up with an angry red rash that cracked, angry red skin every time she got a fever. And after trying a number of different creams your balm worked, yea!! Janet - New Zealand

“...the nurses were amazed at how quickly my skin healed.”

I fell off my bike with substantial skin loss on my hands and forehead. I had been using other products, but they were not working well. Then I remembered your balm and applied Helia. The damaged skin grew back, and my knuckles healed very quickly. People, like the nurses were amazed at how quickly my skin healed. Johnny - California, USA

"... it has cleared it up better than anything else I've used, including prescription creams"

I used it on my psoriasis and it has cleared it up better than anything else I've used, including prescription creams from my doctor. The areas on my arm where I had sparingly used the Helia has gone pale pink and receding, whereas the unapplied psoriasis patches were bright red and looked 'angry'. Barry - Seattle, USA

My Cows

I love cows' calm generosity as they provide us the essence of life-long health - pure, natural dairy Vitamins A, D and K2 for us to drink or ferment.

A glass of their creamy milk, straight from the cow and warm, or chilled for several hours, is, to my mind, the most fulfilling and decadent beverage.

Here in our lush New Zealand pastures, all our hand-reared cows have names. Each year we choose the next letter of the alphabet for the names of that season’s new-born calves.

Last year it was the letter L, hence calves called Lamont, Lexi, Lierre, Laura, and Likely. This year when the calving starts there will be Meade, Markham, Mike and Michelle frolicking in the paddocks.

I like to be able to call a cow by its name when I scratch it or tell it to get moving. The cows and calves respond affectionately, and a bond of care is formed. 

The animals trust me but still respect me. It makes farming so much nicer!

Our Jersey cows' milk is particularly rich in fat-soluble vitamins and immune-boosting compounds because they graze on my lush pastures. I am staunch on the value of leaving dairy calves to nurse directly on their mothers for 7 months or more. All our animals are healthier, contented and more productive that way.

Our balms have unprocessed, completely pure and wholly natural skin-nourishing compounds. Many of the fat molecules in Helia are the same as those that are naturally in your skin.

It's another way of cows generously nourishing us, this time through our skins.