Wild harvesting is how our ancestors have gathered herbs, roots and flowers for thousands of years. The unique nature of the herbs which have grown uncultivated (in natural conditions of their growth, without outer stimulation, therefore not containing harmful substances) is that such plants have undergone a natural selection – only the most resilient, strong plants, rich in nutrients and active components, survive.

Wild harvesting has a number of requirements: the time of gathering has to be aligned with the time of maximum accumulation of valuable nutritive and biologically active substances in the plant. If gathered prematurely, plant stock can’t be used for therapeutic purposes. Since ancient times, healers and herbalists, who have been healing people, have been working on the calendar of gathering medicinal herbs. On the same spot, it is recommended to gather leaves every year, roots and root stock every 2-3 years, and some plants every 5-6 or more years in order for nature to accumulate lost reserves.

Another important rule is that gathered plant stock should be used as soon as possible by drying or other processing methods. For example, grass which has stayed in a basket for more than 3-4 hours, self-heats which results in vitamins and other biologically active components bring destroyed and losing their unique properties.

Natura Siberica products contain wild harvested plants which means these ingredients are rich in nutrients and have active components that offer powerful results. The majority of wild-growing herbs used in Natura Siberica products are certified by ICEA as organic including Rhodiola rosea, Snow Cladonia, Siberian geranium, Asian yarrow, Siberian Dame’s rocket and Siberian Hawksbeard.

Natura Siberica started its own farm in 2013 – the first and largest organic farm in Russia which is certified by the European bio standard EU 834/ 07. The farm spans 33 hectares and is located in a unique region called Khakassia where many of the rare Siberian herbs naturally grow. Working closely with local farmers 16 hectares of land has been cultivated and planted with 14 species of rare Siberian herbs. This has created jobs for the local communities, where they manually gather the wild herbs for the Natura Siberica products and are paid premium prices for their work.