Patrick Kooyman has spent well over a decade as a practicing herbalist and is the owner of Blue Lotus Ethnobotanicals, a Nelson, BC-based business specializing in dual extract tinctures made from medicinal plants and fungi. Patrick is passionate about sourcing high-quality, local ingredients and wildcrafts or cultivates many of the medicinals he uses in his preparations.  He is also an accomplished teacher and communicator, leading workshops, herb walks and more.
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My relationship with Patrick and Blue Lotus started back in 2016, after a conversation at a Farmers’ Market.  Since then, he’s become one of my favorite people to grow mushrooms for and learn from.  This year, the relationship is coming full circle as we start carrying Blue Lotus products on our website.
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In this chat, Patrick and I discuss some of the finer points of tincturing and wildcrafting, and ways to cultivate a healthy relationship with your local bioregion.  Patrick also shares some of his personal favorite medicines to work with, and the phrase “beta glucan polysaccharides” is thrown around at least once.
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