Zhiva

Zhiva More details coming soon! Stories and tales made of Plants, Dreams and Spirit.

"Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better."Albert EinsteinNo greater teacher than Her. 💚✨🙏 ...
01/07/2025

"Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better."
Albert Einstein

No greater teacher than Her. 💚✨🙏

Sretan Međunarodni dan biološke raznolikosti!Danas slavimo čudesnu raznolikost života koja nas okružuje i podržava, od m...
22/05/2025

Sretan Međunarodni dan biološke raznolikosti!

Danas slavimo čudesnu raznolikost života koja nas okružuje i podržava, od mikroorganizama u tlu, preko ljekovitih biljaka, do cijelih ekosustava koji hrane, liječe i povezuju sve nas.😊✨

Kao netko tko živi u dubokoj simbiozi s biljkama, tko u svakom svom dahu osjeća njihovu prisutnost, bilo kroz posmatranje, istraživanje I učenje, brigu o njima, berbu, presađivanje, uzgoj ili samo tiho divljenje, svjesna sam koliko je svaka biljka dar. Svaka ima svoju ulogu, svoje mjesto i svoju poruku.

Zato danas, i svakoga dana, Zhiva poziva na to da njegujemo biološku raznolikost, učimo o njoj, podržavamo je i čuvamo.

Priroda nas uči kako živjeti usklađeno. A biljke nas uče kako voljeti tiho, a snažno.

Zahvalnost svim zelenim bićima i ovom čudesnom svijetu. 🙏🌿

́e

Before heading to Panama, I shared a few words about TG and received so many beautiful messages from those curious to le...
06/05/2025

Before heading to Panama, I shared a few words about TG and received so many beautiful messages from those curious to learn more about this truly unique, once-a-year gathering on the Caribbean beach of Panama. We welcome over 50 Indigenous communities from across the globe into a co-created space of cultural exchange, ancestral knowledge, and connection with Earth, each other, and self.

I’ve been immersed in this colorful, ever-evolving world for nearly 10 years. Every person I’ve sat with by the ocean or fire offered me something lasting, a story, a perspective, a medicine. I carry those gifts with deep gratitude.

Since I manage a lot of communication for the Gathering and the NGO behind it, I rarely share my personal insights and experiences in more detail although I profoundly enjoy writing...😅 Yet, In my free time, I’d rather tend to my garden, forage wild medicine, pray in the forest, and share time with a few dear souls. But it’s really a pity that this sacred gathering continues happening without more people knowing it even exists. 🤔

So here I am, sharing that Early Bird tickets for Tribal Gathering 2026 are now live!
Tickets start around €250 with the current discount, and that includes access to all 16 days of the gathering, full of tribal workshops, cultural sharing, art spaces, music, circus shows, and community programs like the Red Tent, Art Huts and it's daily hands on activities, four music stages, and free camping if you bring your own tent (which you can also easily buy in Panama City). You can join for the full gathering, or choose just one part like Indigenous Elders Week or Youth Week and still use the same discount.

Truly, this can be as budget or luxurious an experience as you want, and honestly, even hostels in Panama City cost more than what TG offers in return.

Here’s your 15% discount link:
https://geostore.tribalgathering.com/events?aff_ref=23
Or use the code REATG at checkout.

Feel free to message me if you have any questions or want to feel into it more.

✨🙌

Dragi ljudi,Evo me napokon u svojoj skromnoj proljetno- ljetnoj rezidenciji/uredu među Žumberačkim brdima... Srećom, bil...
06/05/2025

Dragi ljudi,

Evo me napokon u svojoj skromnoj proljetno- ljetnoj rezidenciji/uredu među Žumberačkim brdima... Srećom, bili smo vrijedni čitavu zimu, pa je tokom zimskog "mirovanja" unatoč svim šansama I izazovima ipak dovršena izgradnja nove kupaone, a građevinu na minusima presjekla sam radnim posjetom Panami, da ugrijem I srce i stare mi kosti 😁

Dojmovi sa se još slježu iako sam već ozbiljno u planiranju i slanju pozivnica plemenima za 2026 izdanje.. I dok vani rominja kišica, a vatrica pucketa u pećici, rekoh vrijeme je. Iako dosad nisam nudila fitoterapijska savjetovanja, biljne pripravke ni usluge jer sam osjećala da želim prvo završiti sve što sam započela – i imati diplomu u rukama prije nego uopće otvorim prostor za to, bez obzira koliko dugo već živi moja nepokolebljiva strast I ljubav sa PriRodom, i taj trenutak je stigao. Diplome su već neko vrijeme tu, ali tek sad mi se posložilo i dozvolilo da to i podijelim s vama. ✨

Od sada nadalje me možete kontaktirati za fitoterapijska savjetovanja, biljne pripravke, suplementaciju i superfoodse. Surađujem s raznim ljudima i organizacijama iz područja holističkog zdravlja, uključujući renomiranu firmu Sunday Natural, čije vam proizvode mogu ponuditi unutar cijele EU.

Ako je riječ o nečemu specifičnijem, ozbiljnijem ili osjetljivijem, uvijek sam spremna konzultirati se s iskusnijim kolegama i po potrebi ih uključiti - jer moj pristup nikad nije "sve znam" nego "tražimo najbolje rješenje za tebe". 😄🙌✨ Ne dajem savjete bez da sam upoznata s tvojom anamnezom, simptomima, navikama i mogućnostima, i uvijek se prvenstveno oslanjam na cjelokupan uvid u tvoje zdravstveno stanje.

A ako ti jednostavno treba malo zraka, tišine, zemlje pod noktima i mira od gradske buke - nudim i mogućnost radne terapije u prirodi, sat vremena od Zagreba, gdje ptičice pjevaju, a tijelo i um mogu odahnuti. 😊 Dođi, podružiti ćemo se, možemo ubrati neke od biljki saveznica baš za tebe, naučiti nove stvari i vrijeme provesti korisno, aktivno i zdravo 😉

Ako osjetiš poziv ili potrebu, tu sam.

Vaša Živa

Zhiva is back! After an incredible adventure in the Panamanian jungle, working with GeoParadise & Tribal Gathering, I’m ...
01/04/2025

Zhiva is back! After an incredible adventure in the Panamanian jungle, working with GeoParadise & Tribal Gathering, I’m home and ready to share more goodness with the world!🙌🏡

Spring has quietly arrived in my absence, and I’m thrilled to collaborate once again with Mama Nature, various tribes, and wise Elders and bring you natural products, plant medicines, and vibrant plants ready to thrive indoors and out.

The first seeds are sown, many gifted and exchanged... let’s invite abundance, spread joy, and cultivate life this season! ✨🌱

Odlazak na Zumberak morati će pričekati još par dana, ali već se kuhaju razni planovi za aktivnosti i druženja u Zhivinoj kolibici, a do relokacije u proljetno ljetnu rezidenciju - haustor se polagano puni zelenilom 😅🙌🛖🌿

For the past nine years, my journey of working closely with Indigenous tribes has immersed me in their traditions, knowl...
04/03/2025

For the past nine years, my journey of working closely with Indigenous tribes has immersed me in their traditions, knowledge, and especially their deep relationship with the plant world. Through this connection, I’ve had the privilege of learning about their botanical wisdom - how plants are not just medicine but also carriers of culture, spirit, and history. Over time, I’ve sought ways to respectfully bring some of these sacred medicines back home, bridging worlds while honoring their origins. Today, I want to introduce you to yerba mate - something many of you may already know, yet perhaps not in the way the Indigenous peoples of South America have understood it for centuries. I hope some of this resonates, offering new perspectives on a plant that is far more than just a drink. But first, I'll focus more on botanical and therapeutic facts about the very plant 🙏✨🤗

Yerba mate is an evergreen tree native to the subtropical regions of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. It belongs to the holly family (Aquifoliaceae) and can grow up to 15 meters tall in the wild, though it is often pruned for easier harvest.

🌿 Botanical Characteristics

Scientific Name: Ilex paraguariensis

Family: Aquifoliaceae (Holly family)

Native Regions: Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil, Uruguay

Active Compounds:

Caffeine (stimulating & energizing)

Theobromine (also found in cacao, providing a gentle energy boost)

Polyphenols (powerful antioxidants)

Saponins (natural immune boosters and anti-inflammatory agents)

🍵 How Yerba Mate Is Consumed

Traditionally, yerba mate is dried, aged, and crushed into small pieces to be brewed as a tea-like infusion. It is commonly drunk from a gourd (mate) with a metal straw (bombilla), and in some cultures, it is shared in a ritual circle.

Yerba mate is unique in that it combines the stimulating effects of coffee, the antioxidant power of green tea, and the mood-enhancing benefits of cacao - all in one sacred drink.

Yerba Mate (Ilex paraguariensis)
The Sacred Drink of the Guaraní & Beyond

Yerba mate is more than a stimulant - it is a cultural anchor, a spiritual offering, and a bridge between generations. Long before it became a national drink of Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay, it was a sacred plant of the Guaraní and other Indigenous peoples of South America.

Its leaves carried stories, ceremonies, and teachings - a drink shared among warriors, shamans, and elders for strength, clarity, and communion.

🌱 A Sacred Offering: Myth & Origin in Indigenous Tradition

The Guaraní, one of the first stewards of yerba mate, tell a story of its divine origins:

Long ago, the Moon Goddess Yasí and her companion Araí (the Cloud Goddess) descended to Earth in human form. In the dense forest, a jaguar stalked them. Before it could strike, an old man intervened, offering them refuge in his home.

As a reward for his kindness, Yasí gifted his people the yerba mate tree, saying:

"This plant will nourish you, give you strength, and bind your people together in unity."

Thus, yerba mate was not just a drink—it was a legacy, a connection between the human and the divine, between earth and sky.

🌀 Yerba Mate as a Ritual & Medicine

Among the Guaraní and other Indigenous groups, yerba mate was used in:

- Ceremonies & Councils – Shared in circles, reinforcing unity, trust, and collective decision-making.
- Spiritual Fast & Endurance – Consumed by shamans and warriors to sustain energy during vision quests, long journeys, or fasting rituals.
- Healing & Purification – Known for its purifying properties, yerba mate was used to cleanse the body, clear the mind, and sharpen the spirit.

Even today, drinking mate is an act of communion, a way of connecting not just to the people around you, but to the ancient rhythms of the land and its wisdom keepers.

🌿 A Living Tradition

While yerba mate has traveled far from its Indigenous roots, its essence remains alive in every shared gourd. The ritual of passing it from hand to hand, drinking from the same vessel, is a reminder that knowledge, stories, and traditions live through us if we choose to honor them. 🙏

So next time you sip yerba mate, remember: you are partaking in something far greater than a simple drink. You are tasting history, myth, and the pulse of a culture that refuses to fade.

Our wonderful friends from Argentina and Paraguay offered to bring some, I can order more if you DM me in next couple of hours 😉

Love this kind of useful info, ready to stock up on seeds this season 🤗https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1C5PMcWbem/
01/02/2025

Love this kind of useful info, ready to stock up on seeds this season 🤗

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1C5PMcWbem/

One of the biggest questions I get is where I get my seed .
I try to save and use my farm grown seed but sometimes will buy from Amish or naturally grown sources .
In the case of carrot , which I grow A LOT of , I will save the tops from my processing of carrots to replant for seed.
By planting the top of a carrot you will not grow a new carrot but you will grow flowers from what you can produce seed.
When he do a carrot picking project I’ll end up with hundreds of tops . I will sow these in a row outside so that they will produce a massive open pollinated seed crop .
Each carrot top has the potential of creating 1000 flowers.... you figure every time I plant 300 carrot tops I’m harvesting about a Lb of carrot seed . Between what my farm consumes including snacks for my son and all my pickling projects , I easily grow about 10 Lb of seed a year and sometimes more .
Sometimes I’ll run out of my rainbow blend and will hit the seed store to stock up but I never run out of my personally developed varieties
I haven’t bought lettuce, cabbage, cauliflower ,Broccoli, garlic , corn, beans pumpkins , squash , pepper , tomato , or onion seed in years !!

Jesensko obilje. ✨🙏Ako te zanima trnina ili glog, neven, echinacea, macerati smilja ili gospine trave, lavande ili ruže ...
04/10/2024

Jesensko obilje. ✨🙏
Ako te zanima trnina ili glog, neven, echinacea, macerati smilja ili gospine trave, lavande ili ruže damascene, zlatnica, matičnjak, gavez, chilli ili čajne mješavine za mirisne zimske dane - piši mi u inbox 😊🙏✨🤗

Igrala sam se puno ovo ljeto, pa će biti viškova ukrasnih kopriva, chilli papričica, escheveria, 30ak sadnica echinacea ...
14/09/2024

Igrala sam se puno ovo ljeto, pa će biti viškova ukrasnih kopriva, chilli papričica, escheveria, 30ak sadnica echinacea i pokoja krizantema. 😄✨🌸

S obzirom da idu hladniji dani, valjalo bi ove najšarenije teglice lagano unositi u kuću, pa ako netko ima želju priuštiti si malo kromoterapije ove jeseni i zime, izaberite si Coleus po svom guštu i šapnite u inbox kojeg da vam rezerviram 😉 Iza 1.10 vam mogu dostaviti na području Zg, ili svratite tokom listopada do Zumberka na šalicu čaja i razgovora, i nezaobilazno prebiranje po vrtno livadnim viškovima i Zhivinim skrinjicama s blagom 🤗❤️

✨🤗 🌸🌺🌼Oduvijek sam bila fan odijela i rasprodaja tipa  "kakvo je kakvo je", pa me posebno veseli predstaviti savršeno ne...
28/07/2024

✨🤗 🌸🌺🌼Oduvijek sam bila fan odijela i rasprodaja tipa "kakvo je kakvo je", pa me posebno veseli predstaviti savršeno nesavršene biljčice iz našeg rasadnika koje smo odlučili ponuditi u zamjenu za donaciju GeoParadise organizaciji s kojom radim već dugi niz godina 🥰 Donirajte makar i 1 euro, i ponesite begoniju kući, that simple 😊

Organizacija Geo radi kao neprofitna, nevladina, humanitarna organizacija i od 2011 radimo na projektima podrške plemenima iz čitavog svijeta, sa naglaskom na Centralnu i Južnu Ameriku.

Trenutno smo posvećeni razvijanju programa za majke i djecu koji žive ispod granice siromaštva, u teško dostupnim i prometno izoliranim područjima u pokrajni Darien u Panami. Već dugo imam namjeru kupiti šivaću mašinu za žene u Darienu i organizirati tečaj šivanja za njih, kako bi njihova kooperativa koju su osnovali na inicijativu naše kolegice, imala potrebne alate za šivanje platnenih menstrualnih uložaka. Platneni ulošci smanjiti će negativan utjecaj bi okoliš, što je od velike važnosti, posebno uzmemo li u obzir činjenicu da tamo ne postoji nikakav sustav zbrinjavanja otpada. Uz to, žene će imati priliku prodavati svoje rukotvorine i u drugim okolnim selima, a planiramo ponuditi njihove proizvode i u GeoParadise-evom charity shopu čim se naše dame malo izvješte 😊✨

Profit od prodaje ovih begonija ide u tu svrhu, za pomoć tim majkama.

Donirati možete pri preuzimanju cvijeća, ali i na link ispod u slučaju da samo želite podržati ovaj projekt. Hvala svima! 🥰

P. S. Za dogovor oko preuzimanja i svega ostalog - inbox 🙏🙂

https://geoparadise.org/indigenous-maternal-child-welfare

Kakav toplinski val? Na Zhivinom brdu se sadi sve u 16 🤣 A u dolini se hladi na oko 16"😅
18/07/2024

Kakav toplinski val? Na Zhivinom brdu se sadi sve u 16 🤣 A u dolini se hladi na oko 16"😅

Interested in planting, introducing and using versatile and beautiful Echinaceae plants in your garden and diet?Zhiva an...
29/06/2024

Interested in planting, introducing and using versatile and beautiful Echinaceae plants in your garden and diet?

Zhiva and OPG SaboloWitch stocked up with Purpurea and are accepting your orders 😉

DM us 🌿❤️

For those who wanna know more, just like us, here is the "not such a brief history of the enchanting Echinaceae plant". We stumbled upon this text during one of our reaserches we've been doing diligently, while working on our exploration of herbal remedies used by the Indigenous cultures which Zhiva is honored to be invited to closely collaborate with for past 8 years 😊🌿✨

"The 18th century German botanist, Conrad Moench, named the genus Echinacea, which comes from the Greek echinos, meaning hedgehog, referring to the spiny, round seedhead which reminded him of a hedgehog or sea urchin. The species name, augustifolia, means “narrow-leaved”. In some older literature, the names of Rudbeckia and Brauneria were used for this genus instead of Echinacea.

Early settlers soon adopted the plant’s medicinal value from Native Americans as a remedy for colds and influenza, and took it to Europe in the 17th century.

Schar describes a typical scenario of herbs being introduced to the established medical society. A German country doctor discovered this remarkable American plant and its benefits and offered to show doctors its powers at a medical conference. He said that he would allow a snake to bite him and then cure that bite with nothing but echinacea. Nevertheless, the doctors ignored him. Dr. Meyer then presented this same offer to two other doctors named King and Lloyd, electics who belonged to a now-extinct branch of medicine. Uncharacteristically, these two doctors listened to the message and not the messenger and looked further into the herb’s power. Despite initial doubts, the herb was introduced into the 1887 Materia Medica.

American Eclectics, a group of doctors prominent from 1830 to 1930 who used botanicals in their practices, were a major force in bringing echinacea to the forefront of herbal medicine. They promoted it as a blood purifier for venereal disease, as well as an agent for treating migraines, rheumatism, tumors, malaria, and hemorrhoids. After their decline in the 1930s, the herb also fell into disfavour, but regained its stature when interest in herbal medicine revived in the 1970s and 1980s.

In a 1914 issue of Gleaner, Dr. J.S. Leachman reported that the cornflower root was used by early settlers in Oklahoma for their own sicknesses, as well as in their livestock. It is reported that if a cow or horse did not eat well, it soon began to thrive when Echinacea was added to its feed.

Once used by Native Americans, pioneers, and earlier generations of doctors, the herb fell out of favor after the advent of antibiotics in the 1930s, and only recently has been rediscovered — and exploited into hundreds of commercial preparations that claim to boost the immune system and ward off cold and flu symptoms. Within the last fifty years, it has achieved worldwide popularity as an antiviral, antifungal, and antibacterial. The first pharmaceutical company to research the plant was the Sandoz Company. Its findings were published in Germany in 1950. They found the root to possess milk antibiotic activity against Streptococcus and Staphylococcus aureus.

The native distribution of the plant does not extend into Mexico, indicating that its use there is as a result of trade between the tribes of the southern portion of the Prairie Bioregion and Mexico. Several tribes, including the Apache, Kickapoo, and Potawatomis, are known to have retreated into Mexico in the 19th century and may have taken the dried root with them. However, Mexicans often refer to a closely related species (Iostephane heterophylla) that they use which is found in Mexico.

Excavations of a Pawnee earthenlodge village called the “Hill” site, located near Guide Rock, Nebraska (occupied around 1800), uncovered roots identified as being from the purple coneflower. These were identified by the ethnobotanist Melvin Gilmore at the University of Michigan’s Ethnobotanical Laboratory in the early part of the 1900s. In 1917, he reported that the macerated root of the purple coneflower was used to treat snakebite, as well as other venomous bites, stings, and poisonings by all the Indians of the Upper Missouri region. He stated that these, and other, tribes used the purple coneflower “for more ailments than any other plant”.

Native Americans who used the herb to treat toothaches, sore throats, coughs, and infections. Their preferred method was to suck on the root. Researchers now feel that this is the best method as it activates the saliva and disease-fighting resources in the mouth, attacking anything that comes in. Most tribes used the plant to treat snakebites, fevers, and old, stubborn wounds, as well as on burns, swollen lymph nodes, and insect bites.

*The Blackfoot chewed the root to help alleviate toothache, while several tribes used the juice from the plant to treat burns, wounds, ulcers, and other skin conditions.

*The Sioux applied the freshly scraped root as a poultice against hydrophobia caused by the bites of rabid animals.

*The Cheyenne used it for sore mouths, the Choctaws for coughs, the Comanche for sore throats, the Crow for colds, and the Delaware for venereal diseases.

*The Dakotas used the freshly scraped root as a remedy for hydrophobia and snakebite and applied it to wounds that had putrefied.

*The Lakotas ate the root and green fruit when they were thirsty or perspiring and as a painkiller for toothache, tonsillitis, stomachache, and pain in the bowels. Echinacea is still widely harvested for a variety of medicinal uses by the Lakotas on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota.

*The Omahas recognized two kinds of echinacea: the male (nuga), or the larger and more masculine plant and the smaller, “female” (miga) herb. They used some parts of the plant for sore eyes. Their medicine men applied the macerated root as a local anesthetic so that they could remove pieces of meat from a boiling pot without flinching.

*Winnebago medicine men used it to make their mouths insensitive to heat so that they could put a live coal into their mouths to demonstrate their power. These feats helped create confidence in the ability of the medicine men to heal.

*The Kiowa have long used the plant in a cough medicine. They, and the Cheyenne, treated colds and sore throats by chewing a piece of the root and letting the saliva run down the throat. In the 1930s, they were still using the dried seed head as a comb and brush.

*The Cheyenne made a tea from the leaves and roots as a remedy for a sore mouth and gums. The same liquid was rubbed on a sore neck to relieve pain. Toothache caused by a large cavity was relieved by letting a tea from the plant come in contact with it. They also drank the tea as a remedy for rheumatism, arthritis, mumps and measles, and made a salve for external treatments of these ailments. When the roots were mixed with blazing star (Mentzelia laevicaulis) and boiled, the resulting tea was drunk for smallpox.

*Hidatsas warriors were known to chew small pieces of the root as a stimulant when travelling all night."

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