Midwest Eco-Entrepreneurs Join Forces for Organic Farming and Gardening

Mark Thompson READ TIME: 6 MIN.

St. Louis, MO - Three St. Louis businesswomen have joined forces this May to make an impact on organic agriculture and eco-friendly business in the Midwest and beyond. Earthdance agricultural nonprofit, Blissoma holistic skincare and apothecary, and Eco Emi sampling service make the perfect environmentally friendly and socially conscious team representing an earth-to-consumer chain of production and goods. Their partnership program One to Grow On will raise funds to sponsor organic farming and gardening through May 31, 2012.

These young organizations are driven by their values-based business policies and the vibrant, au courante mindset of their founders' missions. In an area of the USA not traditionally known for progressive ecological practices or green lifestyle, Earthdance, Blissoma, and Eco Emi are standout orperations known both nationally and internationally for their concepts and products.

Several years ago 2 young women met at a farmer's market and discussed their plans for conscious projects in St. Louis. One young lady was hoping to reclaim a 100+ year old organic farm in Ferguson and revitalize it as a teaching farm. The other young lady dreamed of rehabilitating a 100+ year old building and the community in the near North side of the city by offering fair wage employment and healthy lifestyle products to residents.

Those young entrepreneurs were Molly Rockamann of Earthdance and Julie Longyear of Blissoma.

While their paths took them to separate parts of Northern St. Louis they stayed in touch and still support each other.

One to Grow On represents their first major collaboration. It is a key example of their commitment to radically restoring a genuine commitment to personal client relationships, connection to the earth, and socially and environmentally responsible operations.

Blissoma makes regular donations to Earthdance to support their mission of growing Food, Art, Relationships, and Music - Sustainably! Molly has often been a product tester for Blissoma and uses the botanical skincare line regularly, and shares it with her "Farmie" apprentices.

Earthdance now trains approximately 30 Freshman Farmies each year in organic agricultural practices, serves multiple farmers markets, a small CSA, and local grocery stores and restaurants. Rockamann also won the Young Food Leader award from the National Resources Defense Council in 2011.

Blissoma has won numerous beauty industry awards for best natural products, achieves consistent rave response from the beauty media, Youtubers, bloggers, and clients, and is stocked in Taiwan, China, and Africa as well as nationwide in the USA via online and brick and mortar stores. Longyear is now a sought-after natural skincare advisor and herbal formulation expert lending natural chemistry and wellness assistance to much of the online natural community.

Both Earthdance and Blissoma have grown to have thousands of online fans and a significant impact in the world of organics.

Each purchase $10 or over made on the Blissoma home website www.Iriestar.com will contribute 10% of gross sales to Earthdance, 10% to the Blissoma sponsored community garden in Hyde Park, and give the customer a 10% discount. One lucky client will be drawn from all those that purchase during the promotional period to receive a $120 gift certificate to www.IrieStar.com.

Three runner up winners will be selected to receive a specially curated box of samples from Eco Emi. The goal is the growth and support of Earthdance's farming apprenticeship program in Ferguson, expansion for Blissoma's community teaching garden in North City, and a chance for clients to access healthier products through Blissoma and Eco Emi.

In January 2011 St. Charles-based Christine Bowman contacted Blissoma about her budding sample box company Eco Emi. Bowman was a longtime veteran of the vegetarian and natural lifestyle path. She wanted to make it easier for people to connect with healthy, green products by curating and sending a selection of her favorite items each month to subscribers.

Blissoma was one of Bowman's favorite brands and would proceed to be included in 4 of the monthly boxes during 2011.

By 6 months into their meteoric start Eco Emi had more than 3000 enthusiastic Facebook fans and a waiting list for new clients. Eco Emi received national press coverage in the Wall Street Journal as well as features on local television and blogs. Despite her rapid growth Bowman kept the heart in her service by personally reviewing every product in every box, and prioritizing products from independent and small businesses.

One of Eco Emi's unique assets is their dynamic and responsive fanbase. Their Facebook page is the focal point of many educational conversations and conversions to natural lifestyle, making it a true mission success for both member companies and subscribers. Eco Emi has a large percentage of teenage and young women fans and makes a significant impact in the environment and the health of their subscribers by creating positive lifestyle and ecological habits in this impressionable and active consumer group.

Earthdance, Blissoma, and Eco Emi represent the evolving face of the new millennium St. Louis entrepreneur. Their leading ladies are tireless, committed, and growing good results locally and far beyond. Their goals are no less large than when they started, and will be fueled by support for One to Grow On, a gardening and giving online event.

For further details visit the Blissoma home website at www.Iriestar.com, the Blissoma blog at www.Iriefromthetub.blogspot.com, and the Blissoma Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/Blissoma. One to Grow On runs through May 31, 2012.

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by Mark Thompson , EDGE Style & Travel Editor

A long-term New Yorker and a member of New York Travel Writers Association, Mark Thompson has also lived in San Francisco, Boston, Provincetown, D.C., Miami Beach and the south of France. The author of the novels WOLFCHILD and MY HAWAIIAN PENTHOUSE, he has a PhD in American Studies and is the recipient of fellowships at MacDowell, Yaddo, and Blue Mountain Center. His work has appeared in numerous publications.

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