Looking for ginseng information?

Rural Action – A membership-based, nonprofit sustainable development organization, and is providing a haven for wild herbs. The organization has projects in 14 counties in Appalachian Ohio including a sustainable forestry program, which works with landowners, agencies and small businesses to develop sustainable practices; a sustainable agriculture program that creates marketing opportunities by linking local farmers and producers with consumers; and the watershed restoration program that restores damaged watersheds in the region.

For information about Rural Action write P.O. Box 157, 19627 Walnut Street, Trimble, OH 45782; call 740-767-4398; or visit the Web site at www.ruralaction.com.



The National Center for the Preservation of Medicinal Herbs – A 68-acre research and educational facility and botanical preserve located near Rutland in Meigs County. The center was founded by the Frontier Natural Products Cooperative in 1998, but is now a program of Rural Action. The center’s most important work is to ensure the survival in the wild of native medicinal herbs by researching methods for organic cultivation of plants currently threatened by over-harvesting.

For information about the center write 33560 Beech Grove Road, Rutland, OH 45775; call 740-742-4401; or visit its Web site at www.ncpmh.org.



Roots of Appalachia Growers Association – RAGA is a nonprofit organization of medicinal herb growers based in Glouster, Ohio. RAGA serves as a support network for growers, providing information about how to grow, market and prevent poaching of ginseng and other woodland medicinals. RAGA hosts monthly meetings that cover growing techiniques, getting quality roots, making compost, ag tax issues, disease detection and prevention, legislation and more. The association offers education, site evaluation and marketing information to its members.

For information about RAGA contact Lyna Gunter, P.O. Box 17, Glouster, OH 45732.