farmer. business person. climate activist. herbalist.humanist.

Some people thrive in the hustle and bustle. I was never one of those people. I like a deliberate pace and balance in my life. I think most farmers are like that. I’ve worked in some form or fashion in my family’s farming business, Weiser Family Farms, for over 20 years. The biggest challenge of working in a small family farming business is implementing a crop plan in the face of Mother Nature’s ever changing moods.

My job made me very sensitive to changes in the environment. If I expected to thrive in farming, I needed to listen to the needs of my plants and soil. I needed to be sensitive to the environmental conditions I was growing in. It was because of my focus on the environment that I was drawn to the climate movement. As a member of a National, now International climate activist group, Citizens’ Climate Lobby, I have worked these last dozen years or so to create a more livable world through political action.

A radical change to my personal focus came about when I came across a book by zen master Thich That Hang titled, “Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet”. I learned that to be of the best service to mankind one must first be of service to one’s self. Hence my quest to heal my own body and mind through herbal medicine, in particular tea. Maitri Tea is the result of that quest.