Meet the People - 6

Another in the series Meet the People - Ordinary and Extraordinary New Zealanders doing Interesting Things - Valmai Becker’s Phytofarm is a long way from the paper shuffling that dominated her many years as joint owner of the Canterbury College of Natural Medicine. Now Valmai spends her days on a dreamy 30-acre farm in the pretty, secluded Okuti Valley, near Little River, forty minutes east of Christchurch, where she’s established a large medicinal herb garden - a restful, revitalising place where she shares the extensive knowledge she has gained over her last thirty years as a practising naturopath and professional member of the NZ Association of Medical Herbalists. Valmai runs a series of seasonal herbal medicine workshops based around her own large herb garden, making everything from herbal teas and medicinal oils to shampoos, soaps and scented hand creams. Now that autumn has arrived she’s busy filling her drying shed ready for the Autumn Workshops, which will be held on April 8,10,19,23,28 and 30. www.phytofarm.co.nz