The generous quantities of high quality, naturally active ingredients are a key reason why our range is so phenomenally effective. We literally go to the ends of the earth to source the very best, most effective botanicals and then use them in amounts that really work. Researching and sourcing these wonderful ingredients is one of the most interesting and challenging parts of my job and I’ve just returned from a fascinating field trip to East Africa, on the trail of a truly amazing new plant ingredient. I can’t say too much about it at the moment (it’s still being tested and reviewed for a really exciting, brand new, product range for next year…watch this space…), but I can tell you a little about my extraordinary trip and give you a flavour of the excitement soon to come.
As you probably know from recent pictures in the news, there has been a major drought across sub-Saharan Africa for the last six months or so and this has had a major impact on all kinds of crops and harvesting. For us, scheduling our production and the availability of key ingredients, such as shea butter and essential oils, takes great skill from our supply team as they forecast crop requirements often far more than a year ahead. Most botanicals only harvest once a year, so once they’ve been used up there are no more supplies until the following harvest-time. Unlike standard synthetics, we can’t simply step back into the lab to concoct more chemicals. We’re also subject to the vagaries of nature and the recent climatic catastrophe has played particular havoc with the flowering shrubs and trees. So when I arrived in the Great Rift Valley (a vast expanse of land that runs down the entire Eastern side of Africa, running from North to South) ready to film some special flowering trees, I discovered acres of forest – but not a single blossom in sight; not even a bud, let alone a petal! This was not great news for our filming and photographic mission as we had hoped to capture some flowering footage prior to harvesting for a new website clip.
Our trip had been planned for some time and we’d arranged to meet representatives from the Kenyan Forestry Commission whose job it is to protect the Rift Valley’s trees from illegal logging and deforestation. We were set to meet by a petrol station in a small shanty town at the foot of the main escarpment and, sure enough, two hours after the appointed time (not bad for a country where transport and time-keeping is erratic at best), a pick-up truck arrived with an official and several camouflage-clad armed guards. It’s somewhat nerve-wracking walking through the bush accompanied by complete strangers armed with AK47s, but we were told they are armed to deter poachers, bandits – and buffalo! Fortunately, we didn’t encounter any of these…just plenty of smiley, waving children from the local Kikuyu tribe, intrigued and excited to know why we were there. We also saw several of the local harvesters who will hand-gather the precious botanicals we’ll need and whose communities will greatly benefit from the income this will generate for them.
Suddenly, shortly after we set off on foot, the heavens opened…yes, the six-month long drought decided to break on the very day we embarked without so much as a folding umbrella between us. The weather changed unbelievably quickly – from sunshine to stair-rod rainfall seemingly in seconds as rain-filled storm clouds darkened the immense Rift Valley skies. I sent a quick text to Kim back home to let her know the situation and she summed it up with her SMS reply “fabulous and miserable all at the same time!!” The rain ended up pouring down across much of Kenya for several days without a break, especially on the coast where bridges collapsed and many roads were washed away, making our transport tricky. It certainly made sense of the phrase “it never rains but it pours”. The good news is that these welcome rains are at last turning the dry, dusty arid African plains green again and we’ll be returning once the blossoms are in full bloom to bring you more news of the very best botanicals this remarkable region so abundantly provides.