Meet our team old

 

Owner and Founder – Jennie van der Byl

Jennie, Itzi and Buzz

I’ve had the pleasure of enjoying a life and career immersed in two of my greatest loves – animals and plants.

Through painstaking observation and hard-earned experience my father learnt the benefits of organic farming principles, and applied them early on in his successful nursery business. This was during the time when organic farming was very unpopular and frowned upon as being “inferior” and “unscientific”, so he bravely withstood a great deal of pressure, but through mindful observation he had the courage of his convictions and knew he was on the right track. During my school years,my father and I set our own plant-growing trials to compare inorganic fertilisers to natural manures and composts. These observations set the foundation to my comprehension of holistic health, be it for plants or for animals.

I grew up virtually on horseback, and taking care of a full complement of farm animals. Managing the feeding for my horses, and working with them competitively and successfully in eventing, dressage and show jumping, along with later managing a Thoroughbred pre-training, breeding and rehabilitation yard, also taught me what was required to achieve glowing, healthy horses from the inside-out. I saw that both plants and animals need a full spectrum of nutrients in a natural, bio-available form to achieve optimal health and longevity.

In the modern world of monoculture farming, and the stark absence of diversity in pasture, I witnessed first-hand the benefits of adding herbs to my horses’ diets. And recognising the lack of market availability of herbs for horses at the time, I then studied and qualified in traditional herbalism, and in 2003 founded Honeyvale Herbs and pioneered registered equine herbal blends in South Africa. After seeing their results, happy equine owners were soon requesting herbal blends for their dogs, cats and poultry as well!

And then word spread further yet, and soon we received requests for custom blends for baboons, elephant, camels, giraffe, racing pigeons, buffalo and all types of antelope. This can take quite a bit of research, as not all herbs are safe for all types of animals due to their differing physiologies! And this is partly what excites me about the service we provide…safe, professionally developed blends for all types of species, as then you can rest assured that their ingredients and dosage levels guarantee both safety and efficacy.

Later I qualified as an Equine Herbalist and Iridologist in France. And having qualified previously as a Permaculture Design Consultant, it further reinforced how all things need to be kept in balance with each other and working together harmoniously… be it diet, training, environment or medical treatment…the aim is always to provide the body with whatever it needs to heal fully and completely, and not to just treat the symptoms. The body is truly incredible at healing itself, provided you feed the organ systems and tissues with what they NEED in order to heal.

Over and over again it’s been an absolute joyfor me to see the transformation in animals who’ve been given a second chance at a happy and healthy life…through the incredible healing power of herbs.

 

Sales and Distributions Manager – Melissa Maeder

About Us profile pic of Melissa Maeder

“I have happily been part of Honeyvale Herbs since 2015. I absolutely love, and always have loved, the herbal approach to all things living and am so enthusiastic about it; and even more so after seeing how dramatically my horse has benefited positively from it! I liaise with all clients, manage orders and deliveries, and ensure our clients are happy with their requested products. In my spare time I enjoy being with my horse, taking my whippet for walks on the beach, doing yoga, and just generally being in and around nature.”

 

 

Social Media Manager – Megan Mulholland

Megan and Ali

 

‘’Hi Im Megan, Social Media manager at Honeyvale Herbs and mom to a little hurricane (and 5 dogs). I have a passion for creating relationships of quality with our clients and I love the creative outlet my job gives me. I’m able to create beautiful content with visually delicious herbs! I worked for Honeyvale Herbs from 2011 till 2015, and after having a baby, I am very excited to be back on board. In my downtime I try to be consistently active in charity projects and spend quality time with my family  (including the multiple fur babies)”

 

 

 

 

 

Packing Room Quality Controller – Hussein Jabu:

Jabu

 

Jabu has been part of the Honeyvale Herbs Team for five years. He is our herb guru and maths genius in the packing room. He knows exactly how each herb should look, smell and taste. He keeps a sharp eye out on quality, and every one of our carefully prepared, hand mixed blends is meticulously checked by him. In his downtime Jabu enjoys relaxing with his family and playing soccer.

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