Our Story

Our original team consists of three people – Ivannia, Solin and Kealy. Ivannia is a tica and has experience working in a kitchen and running a small business in Costa Rica. Solin is a tico and has many years of experience farming using traditional and sustainable methods. Ivannia and Solin are cousins. Both are life long members of our community and grew up learning about medicinal plants in the area. Kealy is a foreigner who has been visiting and living in the area since 2009. She has an affinity for natural medicines and has experience farming, teaching, and working in a kitchen.  

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We started several years ago with two ideas. Ivannia asked Kealy to help her build a natural business, inspired by the jungle and Mariolas (native sting-less bees). With Kealy's herbal background we started to focus on the amazing medicinal properties of the bees and the powerful plants that surround us. 

Around the same time, Solin started talking about the loss of his family's and community's culture and connection to the land. He was watching teenagers be more interested in their cellphones and motorbikes than the plants. He felt like, even though they lived in the beautiful and vast jungle, surrounded by nature everyday, they were not appreciating nor caring for it. As time has passed, the knowledge of plant-based medicines is being lost and replaced with chemical based medicines. Chips and soda are preferred to traditional foods. Trash is left on the side of the road.  Solin's idea was to find a way to celebrate local traditions and culture, and call attention back to what is important - caring for Mother Earth. 

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As both ideas started to grow, it did not take long to realize that the ideas complemented each other. Soon, the ideas were combined to one - a medicinal plant company that celebrated Solin and Ivannia's indigenous culture! 

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Today, KIS Botanicals is a locally owned, indigenous-inspired, artisanal herbal company that produces herbal products and hosts a variety of learning and healing opportunities. We integrate tradition, fun, food, plants, medicine, and ancestral knowledge to keep our community's story alive and connect visitors back to the jungle.  

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We strive to reawaken our ancestral knowledge and at the same time create products that aid in the wellbeing of our community and visitors alike. We want to provide access to herbal products while promoting the conservation and preservation of the culture and medicinal plant tradition within the community.

We have spent time interviewing our elders, documenting their use of medicinal plants.  And, we work with local schools to provide educational programs, with the hope that our traditions continue to thrive.  Your support helps both programs. 

We host a bunch of fun activities that take place throughout the year. Check out our programs page, follow us on facebook or instagram, or come visit us with your family or friends for a day of fun with KIS Botanicals.