Hi! I’m Danielle, the co-founder of High Desert Nectar. In 2016, my Dad and I pursued the world of cannabis, and in the summer of 2019, we planted our first seeds. I landed in Bend, Oregon after a traumatic accident in the summer of 2015, when I broke my back, wrists, shoulders, ribs and heart while traveling through SE Asia. After canceling my plans to move to NYC to secure a six-figure job in the city, I packed my bags and ventured west with a newly reconstructed spine.
Fate pulled me to recover and repair in the mountains of Jackson, WY, and soon among the cannabis plants in Southern Oregon. During this transition, I discovered the importance of letting go and fully accepted my long road to recovery. Most academics don’t graduate with an MBA to become a ski bum and cannabis trimmer, and most of those faced with traumatic injuries do not turn to cannabis as a medicine. I was a walking experiment, on the verge of an awakening. Here, I made a promise to myself: I would not partake in prescription drugs and painkillers throughout my recovery process.
With the help of open spaces, rivers and expansive lands of the west, my vacant mind could move into an introspective place within my heart and slowly let go of the hauntings I had been carrying. In between seasonal jobs, I felt a pull back to Oregon, fully enchanted by the cannabis culture and community that they had originally welcomed me to during harvest season of 2015.
“Trim Season” they called it. What a spectacle. It was during this time that I connected with the plant and grew curious about the growth process from seed to maturity. I realized the societal stigma was dark, but the reality was true: the cannabis plant is medicinal. I connected with the plants, witnessed them thrive, benefitted from their natural healing and realized my personal growth process ran parallel with that of the plant’s. It was there that time slowed and I came back to me. Back to earth, back to heart, back to center.
Throughout my explorative process, I realized the importance of the phrase, “you get what you give.” If we give our plants healthy soil, clean water and organic nutrients, we will get a pure, nutrient-dense end product. If we ingest food from our garden, touched by our hands and nurtured by our hearts, the food will be filled with love and heartiness. Throughout my own introspective process, I have become an advocate for giving back to our earth and into our bodies. There is a vast difference in the quality of vegetables from supermarket chains and those from your own garden. Nutrient density, lack of chemicals and GMOs are the foundation of life + healing.
As a hemp farmer, I have integrated this thought-process and ethos into our own practices at High Desert Nectar. It is up to us to feed our body the cleanest, most pure nutrients to get the most benefit from their renewal, from their nectar.
Cannabis helped ease the pains of my injured spine, calmed the anxiety of my restless mind and cured the sleepless nights. Cannabis is plant medicine -- and one with a daring stigma that I will fight to break down.
Whether you’re familiar with the endless benefits of this plant or diving into its intricacies for the first time, you’re in the right place. Kindly set aside any norms and stigmas. Allow for renewal, curiosity, connection. Let this healing nectar aid in your pursuits, from soil to spirit.
Be easy, be love.
Danielle