Growing Small Businesses in Community
There are many ways we support each other and work together at Earthaven and we’re always looking for ways to improve upon that.
Almost two years ago, my friend and Earthaven member Delphi Dofflemyer saw a need to support female business owners. She gathered five village women to begin a journey that we’ve been on together ever since. We formed our Women + Business Circle to support each other with business development, inspiring and encouraging each other along the way.
We meet monthly to check in about our businesses, what we are doing in our lives, and new directions and to receive support and feedback. We have had a few day-long retreats to have more time to explore new ideas, have photo shoots, and feed our inspiration together.
For many new business owners, offering their gifts to the world can feel daunting. Especially as women living in rural Appalachia, finding opportunities and inspiration to continue to put yourself and your gifts out in the world can feel hard. This circle of women has been an amazing gift in my life. It gives me a space to explore what I have to offer and how I want to offer it.
Having four other women who can give me feedback in real time is invaluable, whether it is about the specifics of text on my website or the big picture of my offerings. Hearing the journeys of the other women in the circle — about their exploration of business and how they offer their gifts — is so connecting and feeds my own inspiration. We have found many ways, both large and small, to support each other’s journey.
It is such an honor to witness each of these women’s journeys. Hearing from each woman monthly, through her ups and downs in business and in life, has helped me to honor their work deeply. It’s also been an amazing reflection for me to see where I am on my own journey.
Here are our businesses:
Medicines of the Womb
Delphi Dofflemyer
Rooted in ancient wisdom and weaving together Maya abdominal therapy, traditional uterine massage, and holistic breast care, Medicines of the Womb offers botanical medicines, education, bodywork and self-care rituals for the sacred feminine.
IG & FB @medicinesofthewomb
Alchemy Herbal Wines
Griffin Abee
Offering ancient plant medicines in modern times; inspired by the bees, the seasons, and a long history of female brewers concocting special formulas to support and celebrate their communities.
IG & FB @alchemyherbalwine
Priestess of Cycles
Kaitlin Ilya Wolf
Providing guidance, support, and facilitation for earth-centered ritual and ceremony, including rites of passage, women’s circles and Red Tents, and personal ritual. Kaitlin will support you on your journey of grounding your life in ritual and spirit. She is also teaching Growing Women’s Circles or Red Tents for the School of Integrated Living and offering a Red Tent for Earthaven Ecovillage Experience Week.
IG & FB @priestessofcycles
Tantric Life Coach
Mana Vermeulen-McLeod
Using the principles of Tantra to guide people on the path of the Householder. This spiritual path allows for the Mundane to become Sacred within a person’s everyday life. Based in breath work, somatic awareness and mindfulness, this path allows for a re-awakening of one’s own deeper body-based knowing.
IG & FB @tantramom
Elements Naturopathic Medicine
Dr. Monique Mazza
Providing whole-person primary care medicine that is reconnecting to the healing vitality within nature, community, and oneself. She is also teaching Soil Health=Human Health: Feeding that which feeds us for Earthaven Ecovillage Experience Week.
IG & FB @drmoniquemazza
Through meeting to support our businesses, we have also found new ways to connect as friends and community members. Living in community, there are so many aspects of life that are interwoven. The web we are weaving through the Women + Business Circle is holding more than “just” business.
Meeting regularly with a group of people to support each other in business or other ventures is an amazing way to build community. We’d love to inspire more Women + Business Circles to be seeded. Please reply to this email if would be interested in learning more.
In community,
Kaitlin Ilya Wolf
Earthaven Ecovillage Member
Priestess and Ritualist
www.priestessofcycles.com