Our story

Our love of working with herbs first grew along separate paths – one of us more through their practical use, the other through learning and education. When our paths came together, Hanuman Herbal Farm was born in 2009. The virtues of Hanuman, our guardian and inspiration, guide us in our work: sincerity, compassion, a willingness to help and a tireless spirit of discovery.

You will find us on the edge of the sunny village of Konjšica, where two small streams meet, surrounded by forests and steep green hillsides. This unspoilt corner of nature, not far from Litija, is where we grow our herbs and much of our own food, while exploring natural and especially permaculture-inspired ways of working with the land. At first glance, Hanuman Herbal Farm may look a little wild – but that wildness is part of its character: genuine, natural and free from synthetic chemicals.

We believe that plants have a consciousness of their own and that they can offer us more when we approach them with respect, humility and sincerity. At Hanuman Herbal Farm, all herbs are harvested by hand, dried naturally and carefully stored throughout the year. We also pay attention to our thoughts and to the atmosphere in which we work. From these plants, we create herbal teas, tinctures, salves, herbal oils and other preparations.

Alongside our own practical experience with medicinal plants, we have continued to deepen our knowledge through herbal workshops and courses with herbalists from Slovenia and abroad. Today, we also share what we have learned through our own herbal workshops for people of all ages.

Medicinal plants, both wild and cultivated, accompany us everywhere – in the kitchen and workshop, in the garden, on walks and journeys, and throughout our learning and teaching. Herbs are part of our everyday life. And for that, we are deeply grateful.

Do you enjoy stories? Below the photographs, you can read the longer version of our story.

They say people love stories… Would you like to know how my journey with herbs began?

While I was still at university (studying something that had absolutely nothing to do with herbs), I worked in a pizzeria and was always looking for something new to learn, a new challenge, something I could keep growing and improving in. At first, I thought I might become a bartender 🙂. But as luck would have it, there was no course available – for two whole years. And by then, I was slowly getting tired of bars and parties anyway…

I stepped away from that world and began looking elsewhere – in nature, firewalking, dancing, sensing energies :), exploring eco-villages…

Then one day, a good friend said to me: “Find something that allows you to help people and is good for you, too.”

I felt it immediately. A quiet voice that had been somewhere inside me suddenly came alive. I knew that herbs and plants were calling me. And I loved the idea that this was a world I could keep discovering again and again – a world where there is always more to learn and where the journey of learning never really ends.

At the age of 23, I started attending lectures about herbs, visiting herbal farms and workshops, reading books and learning everything I possibly could about medicinal plants. It wasn't my job, of course – I was still finishing university…

Finding a job straight after university isn't always easy, especially when what you really want is to work with herbs. “A factory? No, thank you.” (Don't get me wrong – that can be perfectly fine too.) After some encouragement from my mother, I even went to a local factory once to ask if they needed anyone. When they said no, I smiled with relief and happily walked away. At that moment, I knew for certain that it wasn't where I wanted to be.

Then I found a job at a garden centre… and I was put in charge of the herbs. Seeing all those flowering plants every morning… it was wonderful. And when I came home, I would head straight back out into the meadows and forests, learning about and gathering herbs. I grew up, and was still living at the time, on a secluded hill farm where medicinal plants grew in abundance. In a way, they were all like old friends from childhood…

Later, things at the garden centre became a little less harmonious, and my wish to create my first radio programme about herbs led me to a local radio station. I became a journalist, and I truly enjoyed the work. But one of the best things was that I still had plenty of time to gather herbs.

Around that time, I also officially registered my small herbal activity, set up my first market stall 🙂, created my own little herb garden 🙂, and got my own radio programme, *Zeliščni šopek* (*A Bouquet of Herbs*), where I hosted various Slovenian herbalists. I learned so much from them.

One day, my boss at the radio station said to me: “Monika, do you really think you'll be able to make a living just from herbs, little creams and things like that one day? You know that's not really possible.”

Inspired by a wise man whose books I had been reading, I replied: “The only thing standing between me and that life is time.”

Even today, many people ask me whether it is really possible to make a living from herbs. My answer is: “Well, I'm still alive.” Of course it's possible. Many things are possible. Yes, you have to work hard. But when you do something you truly love, there is so much joy, satisfaction and personal fulfilment in it. And I believe that is how you can offer your very best to others.

Then I spent two months in America, naturally once again learning from an experienced herbalist – Darrell Martin in Louisiana. I returned home even more determined to continue along my herbal path.

And that was when Tomaž and I met.

“Oh, so she's the one who makes those teas? Yes, please, I'll take another one,” he said to the shopkeeper in a store where my teas were sold.

The god of love fired his arrow, and just one year later, we began a completely new herbal story together on an abandoned farm.

Of course, in the beginning, not everything was quite so rosy – or easy.

But before we get to that, let me tell you a little about Tomaž and his story…

Tomaž’s journey with herbs is quite different from mine. It began with an unfriendly doctor and some painful medical examinations, which led him to decide that whenever possible, he would try to take care of himself with herbs. (Just to be clear – doctors do incredibly valuable work and deserve our full respect 🙂. They saved both my life and my daughter’s 🙂.) But this particular experience was what set Tomaž on his herbal path. From then on, he turned to herbs for all kinds of problems – from painful knees to other aches and everyday ailments.

This happened when he was in his early twenties. He worked in various jobs and always loved spending time in nature. For a while, he even worked on a farm and dreamed that one day he might live on a farm of his own. And not only that – he wanted the farm to become his livelihood, so that he would not have to work somewhere else.

Life eventually gave him that opportunity. After receiving an inheritance, he bought a small farm in the hills near Litija. He had always wanted to find a place with plenty of clean water – and he found a small abandoned farm where two streams meet and where a mill once stood. It was steep and tucked away in a little valley, but the surroundings were unspoilt and there was water in abundance…

And so, in 2009, we began our life together on this rather neglected little farm.

The beginning was not easy. We didn’t really know what we should make – more teas, more tinctures? Would anyone even buy tinctures? Where should we sell our products? How do you actually begin? We sold Tomaž’s better car, kept my old Golf, and used the money to set up a small space for processing herbs.

Then we ploughed a field that had been abandoned for more than 50 years. It may sound romantic, but it really wasn’t. We simply turned over the thick turf – and when everything started growing back… oh dear. Luckily, we also gathered wild herbs from other places in nature, otherwise we wouldn’t have had very much to sell 🙂.

In the autumn of 2009, I think it was the first weekend of September, we set off for our first market stall together – at the medieval games at Bogenšperk Castle. That part was actually a little romantic, because we had been married there just over a month earlier 🥰.

Once we started selling our products at markets and events, we finally began earning a little money. We lived very simply, and when we realised that people really were interested in what we made, we started setting up our stall almost every weekend… all across Slovenia. Medieval festivals, village festivities (oh dear), cultural events, all kinds of fairs – even freezing our way through a New Year’s market in Celje 🤨…

Little by little, we improved our packaging, found our customers and developed our range of products. During the winter, we could slow down a little during the week. But in summer, weekends were spent at markets, while weekdays were for gathering herbs and working on the farm. Every now and then, we managed to take a day off.

Once, after spending the entire weekend selling at an event, we set off for Soriška Planina on Monday to gather herbs. When we got there, we simply looked at each other – we were completely exhausted – and kept driving. Over the mountain we went, straight to Bohinj for a swim instead.