Our crafters

Sigita Gyva

I was around seven years old when I first truly met the natural world. Sitting under an ancient willow tree in my great-grandmother’s yard, I felt—deeply and wordlessly—that the tree was alive. That moment stayed with me. Even in dreams, I’ve found myself returning to sit beneath its branches, as if called back to something sacred.

Working with my hands came later, as a way to quiet the mind. When your hands are busy, the thoughts settle. It brings balance. And with plants—nothing is ever quite the same. There’s always something new, something unexpected. That mystery is what pulls me in, again and again.

Living naturally means choosing calm. It’s the warmth of sunlight, the hush of the forest, the scent of leaves crumbling in your palms. It's how I return to myself.

What matters most in my life now? Relationships. The sun. The forest. These are my compass points.

Through my work with Manua, I share not only herbs but a way of seeing. A slower rhythm. A deeper listening. My hope is that every offering carries the quiet invitation to be brave enough to follow your own path, to meet the wild within and around you.

Vilija Raktažolė

Vilija’s journey with plants began in childhood—standing beside a tree, tasked with collecting bark for a herbarium. As her hands reached for the trunk, a deep feeling surged: this being is alive. In that moment, something awakened. She knew then—her hands were meant only to create with love.

Drawn by a longing for balance in thought, heart, and feeling, Vilija found healing in working with plants. With every touch, silence blooms inside her—a silence that holds space for presence, for care, for something sacred.

Creating is not a choice for Vilija, but a quiet calling pulsing from within. Whether crafting, using, or sharing her creations, she returns to joy, to herself, to life.

To live naturally, for her, is to come home—to the roots, to the Source, and to a never-ending journey of becoming. It’s growing awareness in each breath, each thought, each step.

She is inspired by the joy of discovery—life’s hidden colors revealing themselves unexpectedly, in a garden bed, in another’s eyes, or deep within.

Through Manua, she has found warmth, courage, and a circle of kin spirits. She reminds our community:
Dare to be yourself. Dare to know the world. And dare to return to what’s true.