Our Philippine Native Trees 101 and 303 books are now back in stock. Its a great primer in learning more about our country's native trees. An excellent coffee table book and a classy addition to your library for some downtime reading. While its cool to plant foreign trees in your gardens and properties, native trees are still the best choice because it helps preserve the local ecosystem. Cultivating native trees ensures as well that the next generations will still be able to enjoy the rare and endangered species unique to our country, and there's a lot that we don't see often anymore! See it in the Books section of our website. 
We're working on something exciting to everyone into urban gardening, happening this February! Would you mind sharing with us the plants you're taking care of in your homes right now? 😊 
If you're curious why one of our soaps was named Manila, do keep reading. Manila has always been the iconic name associated with our country. The most unique commercial plant products of the Philippines has "manila" attached to it: Manila Elemi, Manila Copal, even Manila Hemp. The Manila Castile Soap variants are made with ingredients deeply entwined with the definition of local, from the oils that make the soap from up to the essential oils we add to it. Worth mentioning that the ingredients in our Manila variant is thru the toil of Filipino farmers. Even how we've designed the cleansing properties of this soap is tied up with our skin profile, constant exposure to tropical climate, sweat and pollution. The Manila Castile Soap is a true local delight. Yes, we truly believe in local. We believe in the distinction of what we have here in the Philippines and keeping it as natural as it can be is a passion of ours. If you haven't tried any of our Manila Castile Soap variants, prepare to be charmed. While you're at it, check out our local essential oils as well when you visit our website! 
Are essential oils safe for pregnant women? The short answer is yes! There are many benefits of essential oils during pregnancy, however, extreme care should be taken and one must be mindful of concentrations, they way its being applied and the type of essential oils being used. We recommend following an aromatherapist's guidelines if you're carrying that bundle of joy and want to use essential oils. Consulting as well with your doctor is among the best ways to ensure your safety and your child's because what works for another person may not for someone else. Here's something to read in case you're exploring: https://naha.org/assets/uploads/PregnancyGuidelines-Oct11.pdf 
Welcome 2021 with the joy of making your own natural creations with Essential oils using our Unscented products. We've come up with an unbelievable bundle with unbelievable savings to kick off the year. Find "Hello 2021 Natural DIY Bundle" under the Bundles section in our website. Link in our bio! 
Here's how it looks from the farm our Black Pepper comes from. After harvesting and drying, the Pepper fruits turn black, then we distill it to make the pungent, spicy Black Pepper Essential Oil we have. We only get the native variety as it has a stronger peppery aroma. Notice the Black Pepper plants are growing on Kakawate trees. Its a technique in organic farming to continuously enrich the soil without adding fertilizers. Use Black Pepper Essential Oil to add a spicy note to your diffusions, a spike to your stress or muscle pain blends, or maybe to a digestive aid oil to rub in the tummy when you've had too much to eat. 
The Pili Trees of Sorsogon in the Bicol region has blessed our country with bountiful produce to make so many products from. Aside from the nuts we've all enjoyed, there's oil from its fruit pulp and kernel, aromatic gums of the trunk, essential oil and hydrosols from its resin, and crystalline rosin for incense after gum resin distillation. We are honored to offer every Filipino, unique products from the Pili Tree and hopefully pave way for more creations we can all be proud of. Unscented Pili Castile Soap Elemi ovatum Resin Elemi ovatum Essential Oil Elemi ovatum Hydrosol Elemi ovatum Rosin Pili Carrier Oil Pili Kernel Carrier Oil 
We're welcoming 2021 with a tease. These are castile soap paste made from Pili Oil, Virgin Coconut Oil, Palm Oil and Olive Oil. Its the form of our soaps prior to dilution and we're hoping to make these available for those who'd like to have better control with the thickness of their self-made castile creations. We're stuck at deciding which containers to hold these so we've thought of asking you what you think. Would you get a small one in glass (around 250grams content) or would you rather have 1 kilo and up in reusable plastic containers? Can you guess which oil becomes which soap paste? 😊 
We're reviving a handy, carry-anywhere bundle. Its the Clean Hands Set with a FREE Jute pouch! Perfect as a 2021 starter gift to show that you care, especially to the ones who move around a lot. Whether there's water or not, you have an option to keeping hands clean, naturally. Only 130 sets available. Of course, handwashing is still the best way to keep your hands clean. Check it out in our website under Bundles or send us a DM. 
We've got new Hydrosols available: Native Black Pepper, Philippine Cinnamon, Almaciga and Ylang-ylang. If you're not familiar with hydrosols, these are the water distillates that separate from the essential oils during distillation. It contains aromatic, water soluble compounds not found in essential oils but at the same time contains minute quantites of oils suspended in it. Our hydrosols are produced in-house, during distillation of our local essential oils. The freshest ones you can find, without any preservatives. Made from plants of the Philippines. 
Here's our schedule for the next few days. December 23 is our last day of work before Christmas, back on December 28 and 29, then some holidays again before we resume operations January 4. So please expect us to respond to messages or phone calls on days we're in. 🎄 
Quiet down, be still. Ignore the noise and be calm. Find that peace within, and the deeper meaning of things. Lavender, Ylang-ylang and Elemi, these oils can help. 
Chances are not too many have heard of Kalingag, the country's very own Cinnamon. But yes, a cinnamon tree of the Philippines does exist, though uncommon. Mid of this year we've started studying how to extract oils from the bark of Kalingag and we're very happy to make its essential oils available in limited quantities. Its aroma profile exhibits a mild, cinnamon aroma with a little more coolness to the nose than the common cinnamon essential oil. This is due to the differences in species/variety and growing conditions. Diffuse in a room for a different dimension of cinnamon, one with a real local charm, because it comes from a true native tree. We only prepared 10 bottles, and its probably the only 10 bottles of Kalingag Essential Oil in the world. Unique and distinctive? Absolutely. Find Kalingag Essential Oil in the Essential Oils of our website. 
We're usually asked about GC-MS results of our Essential Oils. Do we have these? Some analysis results are posted in our website but they're results of GC-FID, which is another way of seeing chemical constituents of an essential oil. Why we don't have for everything? First, its expensive to have these analysis done. Locally its hard to find a good provider, so we send some local oils to a lab in Canada for the purpose of discovery and study. Being a Philippine micro enterprise, our capitalization is many, many times smaller than global entities who can definitely afford these. Add the strains of the current pandemic and you get a better picture of challenges. For the oils we don't distill ourselves, they come from small producers who like us are financially and operationally limited. For now, the spirit of artisan craftsmanship is very much at the core of how we work. Second, we try to work with unique plants and trees of the Philippines, some of which have never been realized to have value for essential oils. Since these are pioneering work, establishing these like the ones already out in the market takes a lot of effort. Usually, the small volumes and the amount of work done to make these happen cannot be afforded by revenues from sales of these oils. We view this though as a worthy cause for the livelihood of wildcrafters and farmers we work with, in the hopes of providing sustainable income in the future. Also, we're not just an entity that buys essential oils from traders or providers, we make essential oils ourselves. For the oils we buy, make an effort to know the plants and the faces of people working on these oils. Hence the reason as well for our limited selection of essential oils. Third, we're working it out. Its slow, yes, but we've got those analysis in our sights. We know it is important for the better appreciation of local and unknown essential oils, but please excuse the rate of how its unfolding. To put some science to art takes a lot of sophistication. We will get there, we've laid the groundwork but there's still so much that needs to be done. Definitely, we appreciate the understanding, support and love for local. 
Looking for oils to diffuse over the coming holidays? Since we do not have Frankincense, check out its truly local alternatives: Elemi and Almaciga. For a minty ambiance, go for Peppermint and Cornmint. All these are still on sale if you're getting them in bundles. Too bad the Philippine Cinnamon is still not yet ready, we're still distilling it. Check out our Essential Oil Paired Bundles for great savings under Bundles in our website!