About
Wild, Wild & Botanical is a project, place and philosophy by Hannelore Mattheus (°1977), who left her Belgian roots behind to start a nomadic life in 2014. She traveled extensively and for a few years she sailed from place to place for 6 months a year.
As much as the idea of rooting scared her, even nomads want to come home sometimes. In the Drôme region in France, where Hannelore has lived for a while, she found the perfect spot to grow her roots and share her fascination of the wilderness, the human body and the magical world of plants with others. As a herbalist and yoga teacher, she offers retreats, workshops and botanical products to reconnect to your true nature.
Trained as a herbalist in the beginning of her twenties, she deviated from the plant path and first pursued a career in the art world as a paper conservator. Although her main focus shifted during that period, she kept her connection to the plants alive by continuing to learn about them and experiment with their medicinal properties. Plants are her lifelong companions and allies, inviting her to practice presence as well as offering physical support.
For a long time Hannelore lived in her head rather than in her body. This changed when the world of yoga and somatic meditation came on her path, and truly shifted when she started doing menstrual cycle awareness.
It is Wild, Wild & Botanical's mission to actively instill in a million of people a deep reverence for the planet and everything on it by restoring and deepening their connection to the natural world.
Inspired by her botany teacher Jolie Elan, she further developed her sensory awareness by listening to the teachings of nature, observing the plants on a daily basis from an embodied perspective. Each plant has its own way of revealing itself and consistently taking time and paying attention to how they grow and develop is a journey that deepened and enhanced her plant knowledge.
Cultivating connection is what Hannelore strives for, both with the natural world, as with and within humans