The Mugwort Solution

Reviving traditional remedies for the modern world

Karma Sonam Zangmo

After more than a decade in the tourism industry, Leki Wangmo made a dramatic career pivot, from showcasing her country’s beauty to preserving its ancient healing wisdom.

In 2021, she founded The Mugwort Solution, a herbal wellness startup based in the Startup Centre in Changzamtog, Thimphu.

Her venture is rooted in the traditional medicinal practices of Bhutan and China, and centers around Artemisia vulgaris, a fragrant and versatile herb better known as mugwort.

Leki Wangmo, 40, was drawn to the plant’s long-standing reputation as a natural remedy. “Even in Bhutan, our forefathers used mugwort, even just to cure a common cold,” she said.

Inspired by this ancestral knowledge and the abundance of Artemisia thriving in the country’s uncultivated rural landscapes, she saw an opportunity to build a business that was both sustainable and socially impactful.

“I thought it would be a win-win by using a resource we already have to make wellness products, while also creating jobs and income for villagers,” she explained.

With no formal business training beyond a high school commerce education, Leki Wangmo spent two years researching and developing her product line, investing nearly Nu 200,000 of her personal savings.

The result is a range of handcrafted spa items that blend traditional healing with modern self-care: soothing herbal soaps, therapeutic massage balls, aromatic foot soaking bags, body oils, and traditional moxa sticks.

While her product line is modest, its reception has been promising. Local consumers praise the mugwort soap for soothing rashes and the foot bags for reducing insomnia and anxiety.

Her moxa sticks, modeled on traditional Chinese healing tools, are designed to promote circulation and restore balance to the nervous system.

“My goal was always to do something meaningful,” Wangmo said. “Mugwort has so many benefits, I couldn’t list them all even if I tried.”

The Mugwort Solution is still small in scale, with products available at the Startup Centre and the local CSI Market. Even the luxury hotel Le Meridien in Paro now stocks her products.

Nationwide distribution is work in progress, but Leki Wangmo remains undeterred.

Her story is one of persistence. In the absence of external funding or institutional support, she has relied on grit and vision to move her business forward.

“Every entrepreneur faces challenges,” she said. “Sometimes your product turns out perfect. Other times, it doesn’t. But you learn, and you grow.”

Financially, her startup is just approaching break-even. “We are not hugely successful yet,” she admitted. “Even when we make a profit, most of it goes towards rent and salaries for my five-member team, including myself.”

But her ambitions are long-term. In the next five years, she aims to expand her product line, scale up distribution across all 20 dzongkhags, and enter international wellness markets. Central to that vision is her commitment to building an ethical, sustainable supply chain, buying raw mugwort directly from farmers to create steady income in rural areas.

Leki Wangmo is also motivated by a broader sense of responsibility. She sees entrepreneurship not just as a personal pursuit but as a means to address pressing social issues, including youth unemployment. By employing young people and supporting local producers, she hopes her business can serve as a model for others.

“I want to show that even a small business, rooted in tradition and built with care, can make a difference,” she said.