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Mika, John and Wilderness Poets
WILD CHILDS
Mika and John both enjoyed childhoods filled with wonderment. Mika grew up in New York City and was cast on Sesame Street at age 5, though she was more interested in growing veggies on the rooftop of her Chinatown loft. John grew up in Chagrin Falls, Ohio and helped his parents raise bees for honey and tap maple trees for syrup. They both shared an insatiable desire to be in the wilderness.
SEARCHING
Mika’s global family (British Mom, Japanese Dad) led her to Wales for summers working in her Aunt’s vegan restaurant. She also traveled to Berlin where she discovered that hemp seeds were common in food…more on that later. John was living between a tropical farm in Kauai, Hawaii and a remote fishing village near Juneau, Alaska.
OREGON
After graduating from Vassar College, Mika followed her passion to learn about food and plants as medicine to an apprenticeship on the “Herb Pharm” in Williams, Oregon. John moved to Portland to complete his Masters in Teaching at Lewis & Clark College. He was teaching poetry to middle school students.
SERENDIPITY
John was posting an ad on Craig’s List ride board the summer of 2004 looking for someone to share the journey in his VW Van to Alaska. Mika was on route to the Alaskan wilderness as well. Let’s just say, they found a way to the wilderness together and shared lots of poetry.
HEMP NUT BUTTER
They got married in 2006, and began doing some serious cooking. Their favorite ingredient was hemp seed nuts. Mika was well aware of hemp’s unsurpassed nutritional value. They started grinding and blending other seeds and nuts with hemp in their kitchen. Soon their Hemp Nut Butters were being devoured on toast, oatmeal, waffles, and were a perfect creamy base for nutritious, vegan dips and sauces. Friends and family caught on. Everyone wanted to know what to call it.
WILDERNESS POETS
John had used ancient and historical poets in the classroom to inspire his students. Poets have a special way of whittling things down to their bare essence. The planet is at its highest state in the wilderness. Hemp has the ability to nourish people and return wilderness to the planet.
Wilderness Poets is the culmination of Mika and John’s combined passion, joy, and commitment to promoting nutritious foods and sustainable agriculture.
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THE WORD IS OUT
In 2007 Mika and John moved their operation from their tiny cottage to a kitchen of a friend’s restaurant. They sold their first jars of Hemp Butter to a local food co-op in Portland and began offering samples at community events and farmers markets.
New Seasons Markets (Portland’s largest natural food chain) and Whole Foods soon followed. In February 2008 production moved into a commercial manufacturing facility. They are in the process of getting all Wilderness Poets products to be Certified Organic. Mika and John continue to oversee each step of production to insure every jar is fresh and delicious.
Wilderness Poets Hemp Nut Butters are rapidly expanding into Natural Food Stores, Supermarkets, Co-Ops, restaurants and cafes across the U.S.
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