Visit Marianna's Workshop at the tiny, picturesque, classified Venetian Village of Maroulas.

During these recent 20 years, Marianna collects the traditional knowledge about how to help problems of health using the traditional way, what in the families were using in old times. 

Since 1996, Marianna Founti-Vassi runs her tiny herb shop in the village of Maroulas near Rethymnon on the north coast of the island of Crete.

She is a specialist in tea-mixtures and oil essences from native plants which help to allay many complaints in a natural way.

Marianna does come from Crete, and her knowledge of the Cretan plant life was in no way passed down to her from her grandmother.

In fact, she comes from the mainland, from Athens, and studied in Paris. Not botany, but educational psychology.

During these recent 20 years, Marianna collects the traditional knowledge about how to help problems of health using the traditional way, what in the families were using in old times.

She collects all the aromatic medical herbs from the mountains still clean and unpolluted. By them, she prepares teas and oils. The oils are natural extracts, made in the traditional way under the sun. This is a way to keep longer the action of the plant.

You can use them for massage, in the bathwater, after bathing on the body or the face. They have very good results for the balance of the organism. All the products are made with old receipts, with no conservatives, and with the greatest respect to Mother Nature and the Human being.

Here you will find a list of tea-mixtures from flowers, fruits, and leaves from the Cretan Botany (such as 40-Herbs mixed tea, Revitalizing-Tonic Tea, Mixed tea against stress, The "Well Being" Tea, Mixed tea for children, and many more).

Marianna’s interest in alternative therapies became a full-time focus when she moved to Maroulas in the mid-1990s and consulted locals about identifying Crete’s many herbs. Marianna says that animals were another guide to herbs and flowers, as they don’t touch toxic plants. Indeed, kri-kri (Cretan goats) have been observed using Crete’s endemic diktamo to heal their wounds.

Please find more details and information on Marianna's Facebook homepage and here some more activities in Rethimno region.

PS. A great option for your stay in Maroulas Village could be our Villa Maroulas. Villa Maroulas is a beautifully restored Venetian villa of 540m2 and 5 bedrooms (accommodate up to 12 guests) with a small private heated pool located in the beautiful hillside village of Maroulas classified as a heritage site.