Maria Zach invented the skill of collecting herbs as far as Johannes Gutmann is concerned. Without Grandma Zach, as she is lovingly called, there would be no such thing as SONNENTOR, because 23 years ago she and two other organic farmers trusted Johannes’s ideas and by doing so, opened the doors of SONNENTOR.
Today, it is not just Grandma Zach, but also son Karl and daughter-in-law, Elisabeth, as well as grandson Andreas who are at work. The skillful family, who grows valuable herbs in the northern Waldviertel region, has two greenhouses to protect and nurture young plants, and two large halls for drying and processing cut herbs.
The fact that grandson Andreas is the third generation to take care of the secret of marigold flowers and sees a future in agriculture, working together with SONNENTOR, gives Grandma Zach great pleasure. Especially because growing herbs was not easy at the beginning. But Grandma Zach persevered, because she was full of enthusiasm after attending a lecture by the herbalist Maria Treben. She began with collecting, packing and sending off common yarrow and small-flower willow herb. It was only when she started contributing to the household income that her husband came on board, too.
Maria Zach has a wealth of herbal knowledge. Hannes got a particularly good tip from his highly-esteemed Grandma Zach. Although a practical woman, she has always had a sense of beauty. Just like the flower beds in farm gardens are created mainly for their beauty, but do not make any monetary profit, she has always added dried flowers to teas to please the eyes and heart. She has also stuck with this with her tea mixtures for SONNENTOR. To date, she sticks an uplifting bright orange coloured marigold behind the clear window of every tea package she fills for SONNENTOR. Grandma Zach is right when she says that by doing so, the summer can be seen through the window of every SONNENTOR tea pack all year round. Thank you, Grandma Zach, for this fabulous idea! Today, Grandma Zach, with her witty and cheeky eyes, no longer works in the fields, but she still packs tea blends for SONNENTOR and still reveals one or the other herbal secrets to her industrious family.
