Ethos

Desert People is a seasonally minded small-batch body medicine shop that specializes in holistic skincare & whole-plant methods–most of our ingredients are sourced locally within the Sonoran Desert bioregion, being either respectfully wild foraged, urban foraged, homegrown, or acquired from small family farms that uphold regenerative practices

 

The Sonoran Desert is a boundlessly mystical place

It is ancient, wise and unfathomably rich with a diversity of life that can only be found here

By some grace of God I was born and raised on these lands, and the sense of awe I feel towards my ancestral home bursts more with each passing day

Nothing has guided or impacted my life more than the time I've spent wandering the trails, arroyos, and canyons that surround me

Time well spent paying attention to the rhythms, cycles, and ways of the land.. mesmerizing in the colors, textures, sounds, aromas, and silhouettes that touch against the sky

Cultivating a living breathing relationship with the land has brought a profound sense of kinship, purpose, and direction in my life – and Desert People is where I'm able to share the sentiment with you...

 

Desert People is a small scale production that works in reciprocity with what's naturally available during the given season, all botanicals used in our products have been either responsibly wild-foraged, urban-foraged, homegrown, or sourced from trusted local and regional farmers and providers (I also make it a point to only harvest and work with plants that I have experience and personal relationship with)

Since the earliest days of humankind people have taken plants and fats and brought them together in the name of medicine – with whole-plant infusions and extracts being of the most ancient and effective forms of herbalism around

The products I share are intentionally simple, holistic, and made to work with the intelligent nature of your body's ecology and microbiome

My journey has led me to the believe that the human body is a supremely intelligent being innately designed to heal and support itself when provided a balanced environment

Yet.. I can't help but see our commercial market saturated with products that disrupt (and in some cases even assault) the body's delicate ecosystem

On a mass scale we're seeing people & the landscapes they're inherently apart of be inundated with synthetic forever chemicals, fragrances, questionable preservatives & emulsifiers, stabilizers, hormone disruptors, microplastics, and harsh actives without any real understanding of their long term holistic effects

I love sharing wholesome handmade products that go against this paradigm, and am inspired to contribute to a culture where less is more & where one product can be used as many

Lastly, I do my best to keep transactions between real people. Which means that when you pay me, you're paying so many other actual human beings – from the local small family farm who provides our grass-fed pasture raised suet (that I render into tallow), to the family who grows and produces our gorgeous sonoran jojoba oil, the small business that supplies our glass bottles, the herbs local growers provide, down to the labels printed by a small local shop

Thank you for being here! Your support is appreciated beyond words and I very much look forward to bringing a piece of this beloved desert into your hands

Melissa Aparicio, founder and maker behind Desert People