doTERRA is sourcing many essential oils in India.
doTERRA is sourcing many and different essential oils from India and this is integral part to the purity. India is home to over 1.3 billion people across 28 states and 8 union territories. India is very rich in cultural, religious, and natural diversity. Industries in rural India are primarily based in the agriculture sectors, with over 70% of rural households primarily dependent on farming income.
What essential oils is doTERRA distilling in India?
Spearmint essential oil
Farmers will often grow spearmint for 5 months, harvest, and then plant rice, wheat, or mustard during alternating seasons. By rotating crops like this, farmers typically increase their income. Following the harvest, nearby community distillation units distill the spearmint for eight hours. The post-distilled biomass is then dried out and reused to fuel the distillation boiler. Farmers then take their oil directly to doTERRA sourcing partners for purity testing and can be paid on time.
Turmeric essential oil
Turmeric is a rhizome or underground stem from which roots grow. It is typically dried, ground up, and used as a spice. Both men and women harvest turmeric, but women are typically responsible for cleaning and then sorting the turmeric into various grades based on size and application. doTERRA turmeric essential oil is a proprietary blend produced through steam distillation of both fresh and dried turmeric. This blend gives doTERRA Turmeric oil both a unique aroma and chemical profile.
Peppermint essential oil
In the states of Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, thousands of farmers grow and harvest Mentha piperita, mostly known as peppermint. Together with sourcing partners and farmers, doTERRA have been working for years to scale up peppermint nurseries, plantations, and advisory services to a select group of farmers in Bihar, one of the poorest states of the country. doTERRA goal has been to help these farmers increase their revenues and profits through peppermint production so they can further invest in their farms, families, and communities.
Lemongrass essential oil
Most of the farmers in the Mayurbhanj district of Odisha, an eastern state on the Bay of Bengal, are from a tribal population. In 2015, a small number of enterprising farmers began working on a pilot lemongrass project. Through coordinated efforts between these farmers and doTERRA some unused tribal land was cultivated with lemongrass. Due to limited crop management knowledge and only a single inefficient distillation unit in the area, farmers and distillers were only producing around 40% of optimal oil yields. To overcome these obstacles, doTERRA funded the project to offer a targeted training program for local farmers to improve and increase their production. doTERRA also donated the funds to build a new, efficient lemongrass distillery.
Holy Basil – Tulsi essential oil
Holy Basil, or Tulsi in Hindi, is wild-harvested in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is one of the most frequently used medicinal herbs in India. The optimal harvesting season is between January and February. The harvested crops typically need to be distilled within 72 hours to obtain the highest oil yield. Harvesters only cut the upper part of the plant and preserve the roots for the next season. doTERRA sourcing partner has been working with smallholder farmers to establish small-scale cultivation and implement sustainable harvesting practices to ensure the sustainability of this sacred plant.