Vanessa is a licensed Lomilomi Massage Practitioner and certified Classic Massage Therapist. Currently she is advancing her skills through the Integrative Naturopathy School in Italy. She combines her Mediterranean herbalist roots with a grounded knowledge on Hawaiian holistic approach and a solid training on body anatomy. Her work includes: chants, joints manipulation, reflexology, deep tissue techniques, stretching, manipulation and plant medicine.
She is a member of the Ahahui Lomilomi Hawai’i Association (ALH).
It all began with her first shiatsu massage course in Switzerland followed by the Classical Massage certification back in 2014. Then in 2016, she came across Lomilomi in Maui Hawaii in a life changing immersion, then continued at Aloha Spirit Lomilomi school embracing the Hawaiian culture and life teachings and collecting more than 500h education and training.
Meanwhile, over the years, she returned to Hawai’i diving deeper in the art of bodywork and the tradition of la’au lapa’au (plant medicine).
Her study on plant medicine is constant and covers the different places where she has lived and travelled most frequently: southern Italy, Switzerland, Madeira, Hawaii, southern Spain and now the Canary Islands.
In a quest to find products that actually worked for her topical and reactive skin, she began experimenting with calendula and oat extractions with Caleddacare, the early name of Makanani botanicals. Caledda that is a dialect word to name the Marigold flower, that is a potent remedy for the skin and moon issues.
Subsequently, the path on Naturopathy became a tool to explore the full spectrum of natural therapies and especially connected to plants like phytotherapy, spagyrism and nutrition. She specialised in Aromatherapy, herbal transformations (from seeds to bottle) and natural remedies for women’s support.
Vanessa has a PhD in Design and has been working in communication and interaction research for over 15 years which gave her the opportunity to bridge environmental sciences and citizens by promoting and enhancing the interaction among scientific and design worlds. This journey taught her that nature can be called for creativity, healing, direction, support, collaboration and guidance to healthy living. Here her publications’ list.
Vanessa is passionate about ethnobotany especially related to the combination of culture, medicinal and crafting plants. She promotes a personal agency in biodiversity and a mindful use of our precious natural resources including ethical foraging. As permaculturist she supports communities and NGO to connect earth care practices and new generations providing funding research and consultant.
