Moscow Food Co-op Producer Profile

by Leah Christian and Eugene MacIntyre, from the March 2002 newsletter

In search of an ideal place to live with her closest friends, Sharon Sullivan has found a community to call home in the city of Moscow. The residents of Moscow and the members of the Moscow Food Co-op are especially thankful that Sharon and her partner Chris have decided to settle in Moscow, because it means a steady supply of Sharon's Tortoise and Hare Herbals will continue to be available at the Co-op.

Sharon specializes in making teas and tinctures under her Tortoise and Hare logo. She also sells lip balm, lotions, salves, and baby products at the Co-op. Using all natural products in her products is important to Sharon. She says, "Everything I buy is certified organic." She also tries to find her herbs locally when possible. Once Sharon completes nursing school next year she says, "then I plan to grow (herbs) from my own garden."

It was while serving in the Peace Corps in southern Africa for four years that this California native began her interest in natural wellness and healing. "It all started in Lesotho when I started living with a traditional healer," Sharon says. The experience was inspirational and changed her perspective on the natural and spiritual world around her. There was little in the way of traditional, western scientific medicine to be found in Lesotho, according to Sharon. Plant medicine is dominant there with a concentration on Shaman practices of ceremony and ritual.

Once she realized that natural healing played a role in the future path for her life, Sharon underwent formal training from Rosemary Gladstar in Vermont. Ms. Gladstar invited Sharon to live at her residence for nine months and work daily in the garden. The complete immersion in natural healing and wellness training provided a solid foundation for Sharon's knowledge, and the daily work in Ms. Gladstar's extraordinary garden created a complete experience in working with herbs and other natural ingredients that Sharon believes work wonders on the human body. Sharon was also able to get familiar with plants that were not available in Lesotho.

Sharon started selling herbal products after returning to Northern California. She sold to local co-ops nearby. She wants to keep the business small enough where she can make everything herself and really know the people of the local community.

In 1997 Sharon and her partner moved to Moscow at the suggestion of some friends from the area. She soon began working with the Co-op, supplying the health and wellness section with Tortoise and Hare teas and tinctures. Now she also provides personal consultations to provide a more in-depth session with people.

She is presently in the middle of a nursing program to gain training in traditional western methods of health and medicine. While it takes some time away from her business, her goal with nursing school is to "take that (knowledge) and integrate it with my more systematic integrated whole view of good health." In this process, Sharon has also moved her business home to spend more time with her daughter.

The lifestyle of southern Africa still remains with Sharon, even while she lives through the hustle and bustle of western society. She says that the name of her company, Tortoise and Hare, came from her memories of southern Africa. "A lot of the feeling came from living in Africa at that slow pace – slow but steady," she states.

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