It’s the season of light and peace.  Christians around the world celebrate the birth of their Savior and remember the story of the how the three wise men followed the star of Bethlehem bringing three precious gifts of gold, Frankincense and Myrrh to the Baby Jesus.  This precious resin of Frankincense has been around for centuries and yet many of us don’t understand it’s value on supporting our overall health and wellness.   

 

Let’s get to know this amazing essential oil……

 

Since ancient times, Frankincense resins have been a highly valued trade commodity by many civilizations such as the Egyptians, Assyrians, Persians, Macedonians, and Kushites. These precious resins were traded in what is believed to be one of the world’s oldest global supply chains.

 

dōTERRA’s Frankincense essential oil is a proprietary blend of four species of Frankincense resins sourced from northeast Africa and the Arabian Peninsula: Boswellia carterii, Boswellia frereana, Boswellia papyrifera, and Boswellia sacra.

 

Different Frankincense species thrive in different environments and soil types. For example, Boswellia carterii trees grow best in sandy soil, while Boswellia frereana trees grow best in dry, rocky terrain.

 

Boswellia frereana tends to produce the largest-size resins of the Boswellia species. dōTERRA sources from multiple locations to provide our unique tested-grade proprietary chemical profile blend of Boswellia genus oils and continues to explore opportunities to sustainably source Frankincense in other nearby regions. This sourcing strategy ensures that the resins are harvested from regions where each Boswellia species grows best, helping to reduce environmental pressure on any single Frankincense species.

 

Sustainability

Frankincense resins have been widely sought after for thousands of years. Frankincense trees grow in some of the poorest and most underdeveloped countries in the world. Unfortunately, this lack of development and regulation can lead to exploitative conditions in the supply chain, incentives to over-harvest, and unhealthy conditions for both the harvesters and the Frankincense trees. Over-harvesting is evident in trees that have too many cuts, are cut too deep, or are not allowed to sufficiently rest between cuts. In some areas, such as Ethiopia, the largest threat to these trees’ health is land conversion, where wild-growing areas are cleared and converted to facilitate cultivated agriculture or grazing areas (particularly in Ethiopia). Such pressure on these ecological systems is threatening the longevity of the trees and their surrounding biomes.

 

In our pursuit of purity, dōTERRA has developed a Responsible Frankincense Strategy, or RFS, in conjunction with our sourcing partners, local governments, and university research teams. The RFS aims to establish ethical and sustainable supply chains of Frankincense resin by focusing on two objectives: 1) sustainable harvesting and land management, and 2) large-scale propagation of Frankincense trees in Ethiopia, Somaliland, and Oman. This RFS initiative is part of dōTERRA’s Cō-Impact Sourcing model which creates shared value for all stakeholders in the Frankincense supply chain by being at the source. Through the RFS, dōTERRA and its partners locate and protect trees showing signs of over-harvesting while also propagating Frankincense seedlings and cuttings to re-establish forest populations in the regions where we source.

 

Progress Updates:

dōTERRA is proud to be a leading supporter in research and sustainability initiatives to protect these sacred and historic trees, including presenting on these successes and lessons learned at the 6th World Congress on Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (WOCMAP VI) in 2019.

 

dōTERRA and our key partners are working closely with the network of harvesting communities and resin-sorting warehouses to continuously improve the traceability and transparency of these harvesting supply chains.

 

dōTERRA is currently working with partners to conduct tree care training with harvesters . These ongoing efforts are designed to enhance the harvesters’ knowledge of tree health and longevity.

 

dōTERRA has also developed some of the first Frankincense nurseries in Somaliland, Oman, and Ethiopia, which will help to ensure the long-term viability and sustainability of the Boswellia species.

 

dōTERRA has partnered with IGAD Sheikh Technical School in Somaliland to conduct ongoing Frankincense tree health monitoring in representative pilot Districts of Daryale and Donyaha. This monitoring includes measuring the height and circumference of each tree as well as the number of cuts on the bark.

 

dōTERRA has been actively engaged since 2019 in funding and developing an advanced satellite monitoring algorithm and reporting process to assess for the first time ever the status of Frankincense tree forest health in the Cal Madow Mountain range. Given the remoteness of these harvesting areas, satellite imaging will provide higher quality historical and current data that has been previously unavailable to make more informed decisions as a research community focused on the long-term sustainability of Frankincense resources.

 

Oman

In the Sultanate of Oman, known as the jewel of the Arabian Peninsula, dōTERRA works with Boswellia sacra harvesters in the Dhofar region. Dating back as early as 400 BC, Dhofar was the hub for the Frankincense trade route, delivering Frankincense resins around the world. Oman considers their Boswellia forests as a national heritage and created policies in the 1990s to protect them. As part of a sustainability initiative, our Boswellia sacra partner is regularly monitoring trees to ensure sustainable harvesting practices. They also run the largest private Frankincense nursery and plantation in Oman with hundreds of trees ranging from four to eight years old—with thousands of smaller trees now growing as well. These propagation efforts will eventually take pressure off existing Boswellia trees and will help replenish their population. To date, 3,200 trees have been planted. Of those trees, 2,000 are more than a year old and thriving.

 

Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, where dōTERRA sources Boswellia papyrifera,  land conversion (or cutting down trees to clear space) for farming, residential, or commercial purposes poses the greatest threat to the Boswellia tree population. dōTERRA is actively investigating how to best support the reforestation of Boswellia papyrifera trees and is developing both a propagation program and a sustainable harvesting training program to revitalize the Frankincense tree population in Ethiopia. In early 2021, dōTERRA’s first nursery in Ethiopia was started by planting a few hundred cuttings in the Sherkole area. These cuttings are being carefully monitored by our local partners to better understand how to scale up further nursery operations..

 

Somaliland

dōTERRA’s Boswellia carterii and Boswellia frereana resins come from the Cal Madow Mountain range in the Sanaag region of the self-declared state of Somaliland. Approximately one-third of the national population lives in this region, and Frankincenseharvesting is the main source of employment. The trees are passed down for generations through lineage and tribal rights. doTERRA has trained and prepared a local team to identify over-harvested Frankincense trees by collecting quantitative forest density and tree health data. In 2021, dōTERRA established the Frankincense Sustainability Research Center to evaluate optimal conditions for frankincense tree cuttings.  The Center has two greenhouses with over 700 cuttings and seedlings from the Daryale and Donyaha districts.

 

Through dōTERRA’s Co-Impact Sourcing® initiative, dōTERRA strives to meet the needs of individuals working in the Frankincense supply chain. For example, over the years dōTERRA has contributed to the construction of warehouses built throughout the mountains where resins are collected. These warehouses function as a cooperative, organizing harvesters, sorters, and shopkeepers into a network, adding supply chain value in the rural harvesting areas. Through this network, dōTERRA’s partner is better able to provide harvesters with fair wages and on-time payments, including food and cash prepayments spread throughout the year. dōTERRA can provide a more stable and reliable income, fairness, employment, and security for those who are participating in these supply chains by working closer to the source with those who harvest, collect, and sort our Frankincense resins.

 

Primary Benefits:

• Frankincense essential oil may support healthy cellular function when used internally.*
• Frankincense oil provides a comforting, uplifting aroma.
• Frankincense essential oil helps maintain healthy skin when applied topically.

 

How to Incorporate Frankincense into your wellness routine:

• Before bed, apply to the bottoms of the feet to promote relaxation.
• Apply to the face to reduce the appearance of blemishes and skin imperfections. 
• Rub over the heart to support feelings of calmness and balance. 
• For a soothing effect, apply topically to the skin.
• After washing your face, use Frankincense Touch as a moisturizer..

 

The Gift of the Season

During December, dōTERRA is gifting a 15 mL bottle of Frankincense, a retail value of $104 with any purchase of 200 PV in products. 

 

 

Please use my special link to award you a free account and 25% off ALL products for one year!  Once your account is set up, you can share with friends and family using your referral link.  dōTERRA’s Refer a Friend program is the simplest way to stack dōTERRA Dollars that you use to pay for anything on dōTERRA.com.

 

 

For those of you who are interested in earning additional compensation and bonuses, reach out to me and I’ll you how easy it is. You’ll receive all the benefits I mentioned above, plus a personal dōTERRA website!

  

I invite you to hop on over to my Insta and/or Facebook pages this month as I share my favorite custom diffuser blends to create a cozy, cheerful, warm, and inviting aroma while getting incredible health benefits from doTERRA essential oils aromatically. 

  

Until the next time,

Be Well, Deanna

Peace. Love. Oils.  

 

 

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.