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We have rediscovered this country with its ancestral tradition of the collection of wild aromatic plants, which have for some time been labeled as Organic Wild Sage officinale. With their constant quality and regular quantity as well as the large number of collectors we are able to offer you quality products and reduce the risk of shortages.
The Organic Oil of Pinus Pumilionis (pin de montanes), obtained from the steam distillation of the needles of this pine are the main constituents of this oil. It smells agreeably sweet, with balsamic, almost fruity fragrance. This essential oil belongs to the Swiss Pharmaceutical Tradition and is used with great success.
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Pine Austria Organic Oil
The harvesting of the Clove flower buds on the East Coast of Madagascar is performed during October and November. Each mature tree gives between 6 and 10 Kg's of heads per year. The flowers are dried for several days in the sun with the colour of the flowers changing from a yellowy red colour through light brown to a rich dark mahogany.
Most cloves are sold to herbalists or in grocer's shops and most Clove essential oil is produced from the cloves rejected for sale by these consumers. So that our essential oil is of optimum quality, from both the point of view of its aroma and also from its analytical quality, we distil the flowers as soon as possible after they are dried and we do not allow them to be subject to the normal triage (except in years of poor harvests which happens every three years).
When we distil the freshly dried whole Cloves, usually in December or January, we produce an essential oil richer in Acetate of Eugenyle, with a lower level of Beta Caryophyllene and a level of Eugenol of around 80%. The less fresh the cloves that are distilled, the higher the level of Caryophyllene rises, to between 12% and 15%. The longer they are distilled for, the more oil is produced, but as a downside, the olfactory quality is diminished due to the increased level of Eugenol present. Clove Essential Oil has a long shelf life.
The organic clove harvest starts in October but we fear a rise in the market price due to a strong demand from Indonesia. The quality, however, is extremely good with a Eugenyle Acetate content of 10 - 12% in the top grade 'Extra Organic Oil'. The safeguards we have put in place will assure enough supply to meet your needs right up until next year's harvest.
In early 2003, our suppliers set out to establish an organic mint project in India on the basis of the growing demand for certified organic mint oils. To meet their immediate needs, they worked alongside their Indian agent to find a mint oil operation which was already practicing organic farming methods - but was not yet certified organic. Within a couple of months, they found a suitable existing operation which, much to their luck, could be certified organic immediately.
This operation is in Utter Pradesh - a popular mint production area - where a group of small-scale rural growers share two common distillation units. Here the oil of 42 small-scale local farmers (some with blocks as small as 2 hectares) is produced. Combined, the farmers have a total area of almost 185 hectares. Most of the 42 growers are related so it has developed very much into a large family co-op where the mint production directly supports around 220 people.
This year, they extended this project by certifying another small-scale growers group some 50 kilometres away from their first co-op. They too have two communal distillation units which they share amongst them. This co-op comprises 48 growers - bringing the total number of growers in the entire extended mint project to 90, and people supported from the entire project to around 450. Both groups produce their mint crops without the use of chemicals and have been using the same production methods for the last twenty years.
Plant nutrition comes from a regime of mulching spent leaf matter after distillation - coupled with animal waste and the planting of a legume crop in the off season. In the wet season, the farmers also receive beneficial alluvial flooding, which deposits silt to their fields. Economics and remoteness of their land made the farmers develop clever organic production methods.
Our suppliers commissioned the certification of these lands - educating the farmers on the criteria required for certification. They lined up SKAL (a Dutch certifier) to handle the farm certification each year. This involves random samples taken from the soil, leaf and oil to test for traces of chemicals. These tests are performed by an independent laboratory in the Netherlands - two such tests performed since the land has been certified - have both delivered a clear result.
These tests are a requirement of the USDA (NOP) certification which this mint project has also been awarded.
The total mint production is broken down (roughly) into the following mint varieties:
Last year, our supplier purchased about 65% of the initial co-op's total production - with the balance being sold to existing Indian traders. Their goal this year is to purchase close to 100% of the farmers production. In total the farmers will produce around 24 tonnes of certified organic mint oil per annum - depending on the length of the season.
We are happy to introduce you to a project started by our friend Sheila Gray. Sheila is an English aromatherapist who became our co-operation partner in France. Aromantic will trade with this Eco-Fair Trade project to help support the small independent farmers. The quantities they supply are presently too small for them to afford to qualify for organic status. (Their first year’s crop amounted to only 2 litres of Jasmine.)
However we know that their growing methods are bio-dynamic which is of an even higher standard. The result is very high quality essential oils and we are very happy with the first batch of Jasmine absolute and Jasmine sambac which we have in stock. This is what Sheila has to say about the project...
The Nilgiris are part of the Western Ghats – a range of mountains which stretch for hundreds of miles roughly from the Bombay region right down to the southern tip of India. The whole region and the Niligris in particular, culminating at an altitude of 2600 metres is considered as one of the main bio-diversity and ecological hot spots of the planet with many rare endemic species of plants and animals.
Earthtrust is an Indian NGO which has been working in the region for several years establishing health and education programmes, eco-restoration and income generation in the local community through traditional medicine and Biodynamic agriculture. We have been working in the region with Earthtrust for several years now. Initially we worked with local women’s groups to create a range of Biodynamic herbal cosmetics on a fair trade basis. The project has now taken on a life and agenda of its own (as so often happens in India!) and we now find ourselves designing innovative energy efficient distillation units for our first production of Nilgiri Fair-trade Biodynamic essential oils.
This has enabled us to envisage not only producing what may be considered as the traditional Indian essential oils : Patchouli, Lemongrass, Tulsi (Basil), Vetivert, Lemon verbena, Geranium etc but also to produce very high quality Rosemary, Sweet marjoram, Cypress, Eucalyptus and Lavender which have been growing in the Nilgiris for many years. This project has enabled us to form partnerships with other local producers and family companies working on similar ethical organic and Biodynamic schemes, one of which produces an exceptional bio-dynamic Vanilla absolute and another two exquisite organically grown Jasmine absolutes: Jasmine grandiflorum and Jasmine sambac absolutes.
The essential oil of Jasmine is known as "absolute" as it is always obtained by low temperature solvent extraction because the aromatic molecules in the jasmine flowers are so fragile that they would be destroyed by the heat generated during the distillation process used for the majority of essential oils.
Our absolutes are produced by a small family company in the Nilgiri mountains in Southern India who have built small but extremely efficient aromatic extraction units using state of the art equipment and technology to produce exceptionally high quality aromatic extracts. Because the Jasmine production and harvest is such a delicate and expensive process, much of the Jasmine cultivated in the world relies on pesticides to avoid any insect damage to the crop.
However, here in the Nilgiris, this family realised over 25 years ago that the best extracts could only be produced through organic growing methods. They convinced the local farmers to not only continue the traditional farming methods of fertilising their crops with goat and cow manure and green manure crops, but also taught them the basics of organic farming using foliar neem sprays to control a variety of pests and diseases. This was a dramatic departure from the accepted methods of chemical plant disease control and fertilisation imported from the west and encouraged by the agro-chemical companies, and it was only through the strong bond of trust between the farmers and the company that the farmers were willing to try this new approach, resulting in the exquisite absolutes that they produce today.
Because of the extremely delicate nature of the flowers, they are harvested by hand each day starting at daybreak during the short season, paying particular attention to handling so as to avoid any bruising which would spoil the perfume in the finished product. It takes about 1 ton of flowers to produce just over 1 kilo of absolute or put another way; more than 8 thousand blossoms to produce just 1gramme of Jasmine absolute. Now as 1 gram of absolute contains about 25 drops, each drop contains the equivalent of over 300 individually hand picked organic jasmine flowers, so a little goes a very long way!!
It is a wonderful skincare ingredient, jasmine oil can be used particularly for hot, dry, sensitive or mature skins. Its delicious aroma blends well with many essential oils, giving a rounded, warm, sweet, tenacious note, in particular with Rose, Sandalwood, all Citrus, Ylang ylang, Rosewood, Juniper, Cypress, Vetivert, Geranium, Frankincense, to name but a few.
Despite its' powerful and rich perfume, Jasmine tends to refresh rather than oppress and is used in aromatherapy for its very effective anti stress and antidepressant properties as well as an excellent aphrodisiac. It has also been found useful for hormonal imbalance particularly for menopausal symptoms and as a valuable uterine tonic. It is very helpful for alleviating menstrual pain & cramps and as a massage oil to relieve pain during childbirth. Indian women, especially in the south, weave fresh jasmine garlands into their hair every morning and the plant is used extensively in Ayurvedic & traditional medicine. The flowers are considered to be cooling, calming & haemostatic with strong antibacterial and antiviral action. The crushed flowers are used as a lactifuge for nursing mothers; the leaves applied as a poultice for skin complaints and ulcers. The flowers help in reducing fevers and the oil helps to relieve sunstroke. Contact Sheila on Puretsimple@aol.com
Our Bergamot producers are a group of 15 small independent farmers, each with Organic Certification. They are based in the Calabrian region of Calabria Reggio, located at the extreme South of Italy along the Ionian coast. The Association of Farmers was formed in 1996, by the 15 farmers who wanted to offer their produce directly to the industry without intermediaries.
The entire process is done by the Association from planting, farming, harvesting, processing, extraction and packing. The production of the fruit is approx. 7 – 8 tons per year, producing approx. 3 ½ tons of oil. The farmers offer both Bergapten and Bergapten-free. Both have Organic Certification. The Bergapten-free Oil is processed by a very old traditional method of steam pressure to remove the Bergapten.
Cultivation, harvesting and distillation is an ancient tradition in many regions of Morocco. The organic label comes from harvesting the wild plants and this guarantees that the botanical sites of these various plants are respected and helps ensure their good regeneration. We can say that this Organic Certification, in the Third World, helps sustain long-term development and, even though demand is high, helps prevent desertification.
We stock organic Orange Blossom Floral Water, organic and non-organic Rose Floral Water, Geranium Water from Morocco.
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Aromantic Ltd is a company registered in Scotland, U.K. Company
No. SC299277. To visit our link partners click here
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