The Lilium Initiative is dedicated to education that fosters the American cultivation of sustainable, high-quality, efficacious Asian herbs in collaboration with Traditional Chinese Medicine herbal practitioners for the benefit of patients, farmers and the planet.

Our Story

The Lilium Inititiative was born from a cohort of students in Peg Schafer’s 9-month apprenticeship program in 2018. At the end of this incubation, a dedicated group of acupuncturists, farmers, gardeners, TCM students, website designers, and writers emerged with a longing to be part of the movement for locally and sustainably grown Asian herbs. They felt a great respect for the wisdom of Chinese pharmacology and herbalism and yet a growing concern for the environmental impacts on the medicine with reports of over-harvesting, questionably organic growing practices, and the growing demand for Asian medicinal herbs worldwide. They saw the need for more U.S. farmers to learn to grow sustainable, medicinally potent, Chinese herbs to help supplement the growing market for these, as well as connect these farmers to the TCM practitioners, herbalists and vendors that are committed to getting their clients the highest possible quality herbs. This common goal brought them together and is the foundation of the Lilium Initiative.

Our Why

As people living in the United States we are so lucky to have access to the wisdom of ancient China in the form of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the herbal medicine of this discipline. Many of us have had incredible breakthroughs in our health with the support of Chinese Medicine practitioners and herbalists.

There are, however, some ongoing concerns that merit attention: unsustainable wild collecting causing some herbs, in China, to become endangered; import and export bans effectively removing herbs from the U.S. pharmacopoeia; large-scale agro-industrial chemical farming methods that deviate from traditional and natural ecologically-based cultivation practices as well as repeated long-distance supply chain failures putting into question the all-too-familiar herb adulteration, pesticide and heavy metal load issues. Pricing, due to many factors, but mainly an importation issue, remains unstable.

We are in an era of rapid changes. The worldwide popularity of Chinese medicine is growing, which means the demand for Chinese herbal medicine has expanded not just in Asia, but in Europe, Africa and the U.S. as well. This is at a time when some of the herbs are already over-harvested or endangered. Thus, as consumers of Chinese herbal medicine in the United States, at this time in our global crises of climate change and species loss, we have a responsibility to contribute to the conservation of these species. Conscientious domestic production of these medicinal plants will alleviate the majority of these issues and will not only preserve the true gift of traditional Chinese herbal medicine for practitioner and patients but aid in the conservation of species under pressure. The Lilium Initiative is fortunate to foster an exceptional medicinal herb collection and is happy to bring this resource to a domestic supply chain. 

Through supporting American-based farmers, Chinese herbal practitioners and herb users we can reach the highest possible standards of safety, efficacy and sustainability.

OUR TEAM

Lilium Initiative is a volunteer-run, 501c3 non-profit organization. Our team consists of members from a wide variety of backgrounds, including farmers currently growing Asian medicinals in North America, licensed practitioners of Traditional Asian Medicine, students, and community members that are dedicated to furthering our mission.

Our current Board Members are:

Rupert Adams, Board Member

Denise Cusack, Vice President, Board Member

Ron Dunham of Algonquine Botanicals, Board Member

Amanda Fisk, President, Board Member

Vivian Henderson, Board Member

Robyn Klein, MS, Secretary, Board Member

Jonathan Major of Still Moon Farm, Board Member

Dr. Jasmine Rose Oberste, DACM, Board Member

Kyla Pessl, MSPH, MSTCM, Board Member

Rachael Witt, RH (AHG), EWCH, Board Member

Disclaimer

The resources on the Lilium Initiative website are for educational purposes only. The information, opinions, advice, programs, presentations, products or services of other individuals, businesses or entities does not constitute a formal endorsement. Lilium Initiative is not responsible for the website content, blogs, e-mails, videos, social media, programs, products and/or services of any other person, business or entity that may be linked or referenced on or through the Lilium Initiative website. Should our website link appear in any other individual’s, business’s or entity’s website, program, product or services, it does not constitute a formal endorsement of them, their business or their website.