Our Story

When Evelyn and Betsy met in 1994 at a women’s retreat at Bottini Apple Ranch, a profound bond was formed. Betsy was mourning the death of her mother and Evelyn’s kindness opened Betsy’s heart, replacing darkness with life-altering light. Evelyn invited Betsy to stay after the retreat to help plant the herb garden she had recently started at Bottini. They spent two days blissfully playing in the dirt and getting to know the magical medicinal plants of the Sierra Nevada. A short time later they went to a hands-on herbal workshop where they both connected even more deeply with the plants. Their herbal journey had begun.

Over the next few years, their relationship with each other and the plants grew. Betsy and her husband, David, purchased a homestead and chose to move there full-time, committed to stewarding the land that once was a Me-Wuk village. The sweet valley flourished with flora that shared their knowledge with Betsy. During the same period of time Evelyn completed an herbal apprentice program, married Kit Rosefield and started living off-grid on Kit’s family property – the Bottini Apple Ranch. Evelyn and Kit live sustainably and close to Mother Earth, stewarding the land where they live in the same manner as Betsy and David. Although they weren’t spending as much time together as they did in the early days, Evelyn and Betsy stayed in touch and their heartfelt kinship never waned.

During the 2020 Covid lockdown, because they both live in remote off-grid locales, they created an exclusive social bubble that consisted of just themselves and their husbands. It was once again like the early days of the friendship – spending blissful time learning from the plants. As the world started opening back up, their longtime desire to share with others the knowledge the plants had shared with them was revived. Sierra Nevada Sisters was born. As life goes full circle, Betsy and Evelyn invite you to join them at Bottini Apple Ranch to meet the magical medicinal plants that initially forged their passion.

  • Evelyn Rosefield

    For the last 16 years, Evelyn Rosefield has lived on the old heritage Bottini Apple Ranch in the Sierra Nevada. She and her husband Kit have made a conscious effort to live sustainably off grid and close to Mother Earth. She and Kit manage Rosefield Orchards, whose family has owned the ranch for over 50 years. Every year they bring the community together to harvest the apples, pears and plums from the orchards to donate to local food banks, senior centers and other resources in Tuolumne County and beyond.

    Her first introduction to the herbs and plants was in 1987 when she first came to the ranch and learned about the native plants, wild crafting herbs, and making tea blends. In 1994 she met Betsy Harden at a woman’s ranch retreat that began their journey with the herbal medicine. They studied with a Marin County herbalist for several years. In 2000 she completed an herbal apprentice program at the Dry Creek Herb Farm in Auburn, CA. For the past 20 years she has integrated her experience with the plants into daily life by harvesting, cultivating and preparing remedies. As life makes full circle, Betsy and Evelyn have reunited in creating the Sierra Nevada Sisters.

  • Betsy Harden

    Since 1994 Betsy and her husband David have lived off-grid in a cabin in the middle of Stanislaus National Forest. Together, they focus on stewardship of the homestead that was previously stewarded for thousands of years by the Me-Wuk people. The valley is abundant with the diversity unique to the Yellow Pine Belt of the Sierra Nevada. Nothing brings Betsy greater pleasure than harvesting the plants that flourish around her. Her intimate relationship with plants started the same year she and David moved to their dream home. She was taken on a guided herb identification walk and suddenly Betsy was able to “hear” the plants like never before. She went home and identified 26 medicinal plants on the land. After developing recipes, she started making herbal salves.

    A year into her herbal studies, her father died. While going through her father’s belongings she found a binder her father had used to take notes when he was studying pharmacy at UCSF in the 1940s. He had recorded the botanical names of the plants that were being synthesized into pharmaceuticals. These were the same botanical names Betsy had been recording in her own notebook. A sweet wave of love and affirmation flowed over her. The wooden shingle from her father’s first pharmacy now hangs in front of Betsy’s drying shed and apothecary.