Following a childhood filled with long walks, the outdoors and gardening, it is no surprise that Galway native Ruth Ruane's interest in nature has been realised into a promising business. The mother of seven and grandmother to one has also always used herbs and hands-on healing to treat her children's illnesses. Now, with over 20 years experience in natural healthcare, healing and herbs, Ruth is forging a real name for herself both locally and internationally.

Ruth has had a strong business head since leaving school. Her first business, 'Blasta foods', was highly successful with her product being sold nationwide. This business, which she later went onto to sell, has allowed Ruth to concentrate on her family and her new business, 'Whitewitch Products'. This herbal line is designed to make herbs accessible to people again, with everything from cleaning products, to herbal remedies to fun inks and potions that are all designed with nature in mind.

"I had an interest in the outdoors from an early age. This was definitely influenced by my mother. My entrepreneurial side comes from my father. This is ideal, as I have now combined both these elements in order to form my business 'Whitewitch'. The name originates from my school days when I had really long hair and my peers used to slag me about being a witch, but my mother told me that a white witch was essentially a good witch," she says.

Ruth got into this business to share her love of healing plants and to reawaken the everyday use of herbs that can help people's health and well being. She is a self-taught herbalist and perfumer. "I want to show people that herbs can be used in everyday life. The way my products are naturally made and conveniently packaged in totally bio degradable packaging, it is like taking something old but making it new and accessible to everyone."

With a full and busy house, Ruth has based her business production in the heart of the home. Both she and her entrepreneurial husband Sean work from home, so there is always someone there with children.

"Everybody in the house plays in an active role in the business, whether it be directly or indirectly. It was great and hard at times but thankfully I never had to send any of the children to crèche or to be minded as our jobs allow us both to work from home. The children are great and take on challenging roles that I was not doing at their ages. My two sons, who are 14 and 16, cook one night a week. They can prepare a gourmet style dinner for seven people in less than no time. I certainly was not able to do this at their age," she remarks.

Ruth's creative streak extends to art, while her love of the outdoors doesn't just stop at herbs. She is an avid hill walker, camper, gardener, while she also enjoys taking long hot baths with a good book.

Ruth will be running a fun creative workshop on Saturday 12 April. This workshop will show people how to create natural products that are better for the environment. All materials will be supplied and all participants will be given a formulae book.

For more information, phone 091-587310/087-9789621 or log onto www.whitewitch.ie.