When
I first came to Ibiza 5 years ago it seemed I had to travel
half way across the island to find a good range of produce
that was ecological – and those shops that did exist
often struggled to find enough customers who understood what
they were trying to do. But with awareness growing and more
and more people choosing to eat this way, new shops are starting
to spring up in local communities, making it much easier for
people who want to integrate healthy eating into their lifestyles.
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Ecological
or ‘organic’ is not some mysterious new fangled
concept, but simply a return to what the human race has
been doing for thousands of years: eating food that has
not been covered in artificial fertilizers, pesticides
and synthetic additives. The concept of ‘whole
food’ is beginning to change as people realise
that it doesn’t have to mean an endless mountain
of brown rice and lentils – it can in fact mean
delicious chocolate bars, fine vermicelli noodles and
delicious natural yoghurts. These are amongst the delights
I found, as well as fresh fruit and vegetables coming
from the ecological finca "Can Parades" in
San Miguel.
The shop is run by Dwain and Julia who both felt they wanted to bring something
positive to the island. Not only do they sell food and nutritional supplements,
they are qualified to help people who need advice to make the choices that are
right for them. Dwain is trained in Traditional Chinese medicine and Julia is
a qualified Naturopath – both of these disciplines include inten-sive training
in diet and how it relates to many of the health problems we encounter in ‘civilised’ societies.
At the back of the shop is a treatment room and between them they are able to
offer dietary therapy and advice, acupuncture, reflexology, massage and natural
facial treatments. They can also design programmes according to individual requirements
such as for weight loss or quitting smoking.
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Although
they only recently moved to Ibiza together, Julia is half Ibicencan
and spent her childhood here – but after 15 years away,
training and working she longed to return: ‘Ibiza is
in my heart… This is my home’. They fell in love
when they worked together in Italy. For a long time they were
just friends and work mates, but it became more and more apparent
that they shared the same values in life. At last the romance
began… they got engaged in front of the Grand Bazaar
in Istanbul and got married in Ibiza in 2007.
In the course of their work and interest in medicine from differ-ent cultural
perspectives they have both lived, worked and travel-led in many countries. Dwain
is originally from Vancouver, but until he made a connection with Ibiza had not
really found a place that called him to put down roots. It seemed the time was
right for both of them to begin a new venture and soon after the wedding they
went back to Tuscany to pack all they could into a Renault Clio, strapped the
massage tables on top and drove across Europe to embrace their new life.
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They
had both dreamt of creating their own space to work in
and to be free to bring together all of their skills
and experience, particularly to create their own wellness
programmes and to have the space and time to do things
like making
their own oils for massage and beauty treatments.
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They want to be accessible not just to those who have already
tried healthy eating or alternative therapies but for those who
would like to explore these things for the first time. Above
all they want to help as many people as possible to discover
the vibrancy and well being that can come from a multi-dimensional
therapeutic approach carefully tailored to individual needs.
