The Healing Plant workshop is warmly known for producing a range of products that nourish body and soul for our community and beyond. We make herbal teas, cough syrups, creams, ointments, elixirs, herbal spices, tinctures, and more using biodynamic ingredients grown in our garden with a whole lot of care.
Recently, our team came together to create a special Quince-Lemon Elixir. We harvested quince fruits from our garden, cleaned and processed them, and put them through our robot coupe (a professional-grade food processor). After that, we mixed the quince with spring water and let it sit in the incubator for 7 days. Every morning, we took it out of the incubator 1 hour before sunrise to expose it to the early light, and put it back 1 hour after sunrise. Every evening, we took it out of the incubator 1 hour before sunset to give it another moment of light and put it back 1 hour after sunset. This procedure allowed the quince preparation to be saturated with the rhythmical and breathing powers of sunrise and sunset.
After this 7-day process, we warmed the quince preparation, adding organic sucanat, honey, and lemon juice, and paying close attention to the mixture's temperature and sugar levels. This careful process allowed the quince to unfold its full potential, revealing all its best properties. We then sterilized the bottles, filled and labelled them, and made them ready for sharing with our local and greater community.
Marc, our workshop master, shared that this procedure was developed by Rudolf Hauschka, who drew inspiration from Rudolf Steiner and Ita Wegman. Rudolf Steiner's insight that ‘rhythm carries life’ gave R. Hauschka an understanding of the connection between rhythm and life. As he stated, when the fruit is harvested, we bring a life process to an end, and through the rhythmical procedure of making this substance, we create a dynamic equilibrium in it and lift it into a new stage of development. This process restructures the substance’s life organisation, directing it towards its final goal, the human being.
In naming this elixir, Marc drew inspiration from the Ndebele name Nokukhanya, which means ‘Mother of Light’. This name captures the essence of this elixir with its qualities of warmth and light, and its nurturing properties, as well as the care our team puts into the entire process of creating it. This delightful Mother of Light Quince-Lemon Elixir has various therapeutic benefits, including relieving stress, fatigue, and anxiety; promoting relaxation; soothing digestive issues; and supporting immune function.
All of us at the Healing Plant are honoured to share this special elixir with you. May it bring you warmth, light, and nourishment!
Submitted by Nokukhanya Ndlovu