Texas Turmeric Processing

Texas Turmeric is already grown with Permaculture Principles of Design making the grow process ecological and regenerative. Permaculture Principles are applied with processing the turmeric as well. I've seen in India a woman cutting fine, thin slices of turmeric with a broad knife that she held with her feet. Even though it increases my labor we chose to use simple tools and our own human bodies to cut the turmeric. Every single slice of the raw root before it's dried is cut by my own hand. This reduces the need for appliances and electricity. In Texas we like to roast Hatch Chillies like they do in New Mexico, in a metal rotating flame roaster. A similar machine is used in India to speed dry the turmeric rhizomes, burn off the peal and more. From this stage the hardened, dry, whole rhizome can be kept whole or ground into a fine powder. When I trained as a Temple Pandit in South India, Sri Karunamayi Amma would tie a dry turmeric rhizome on a thread and tie it to a pilgrim or seekers arm as a "konkana" a protective omen. Turmeric and the processing of it is so directly connected and tied to the culture of India, like the konkana thread tied to the arm of the devotee.

We view the harvesting and processing of Turmeric as a sacred ritual.

We'll light incense chant mantra and perform

every task with mindfulness. We are creating

a healing product for the well being of others

it's important to us the entire process be mindful

and connected to the sacred.

Once every slice is lovingly cut by hand, like rings in the trunk of a tree the turmeric tells us the story of her growth patterns. In Permaculture Principles like Observation and Patterns in Nature... studying the story of growth patterns helps us become better growers, learning what the plant needs for optimal growth directly from the plant herself.

Permaculture Methods of air nets, solar dehydration and other slow dry methods are used to dry the slices of turmeric and keep energy costs lower. Once dried to a crisp we use some machinery and some mortar pestle to grind the slices into a fine powder. We sift the powder through a screen, and this is the final herbal medicine that enters the jars that we ship out. Even though it feels like a powder, our product is so fresh that when boiled or cooked with, the fine granules rehydrate and fluff up, revealing their fresh potency. I hope you have learned a little of the mindfulness, love, and devotion we pour into our Divine Work!