Longtime journalist and author Thomas Ropp has an eclectic background in horticulture, medicine, health and ethnobotany.For many years, Thomas wrote a column for the Arizona Republic newspaper on desert plants. He also covered medicine, health and fitness for the paper’s Healthy Living section. Thomas went on to work as the senior editor for HoneyColony, a publication out of Los Angeles that focuses on a more holistic approach to health.In 2007 Thomas moved to Costa Rica to help restore the habitat of the endangered mono titi monkey. He built a home on 36 acres of rainforest in Villa Nueva, Costa Rica, where he studied a “living pharmacy” of plants and discussed their health benefits with local curanderos – benefits that are still widely unknown by most of the world.