Embrace The 7 Virtues™ gourmand fragrances
made from crops from around the world. We launched our first scent on
International Women's Day, 2010.
We
chose the delicate, legal orange blossom crops of Afghanistan. The fresh scent
is mainly organic orange blossom with a soft layer of freesia and a hint of
jasmine making this scent a light, joyous scent perfect for any occasion.
The idea for our line of scents was born
out of the thesis of The 7 Virtues of a Philosopher Queen book. Recognizing that
women own the buying power in North America, yet many countries are still
experiencing war and poverty, we set out to harness that buying power to make
change in our own small way.
Every time
we purchase organic scented oils harvested from legal crops from countries, we
are doing our small part in being the change.
We are currently working with embassies in the Middle
East and The Peace Dividend Trust to source scented oils from other countries
experiencing war or strife so that we may contribute in a positive way to the
economy. Stay tuned for launch dates for new scents from countries from around
the world.
Sustainability for Afghans and the Environment
At The 7 Virtues™ we purchase our oils for our Afghanistan line of fragrances directly from Gulestan, based in Jalalabad city, Nangarhar, (forever spring) Afghanistan. The company Gulestan is owned by our friend, Abdullah Arsala.
Built in the heart of the historic orange groves of Jalabad in 2003, the working basis of Gulestan, has been from the outset, sustainability for humans and the environment. Within Gulestan’s commitment for cultivating, processing and trading in neroli and rose oil (Rose otto or attar), Gulestan takes particular care of ecological and social parameters. This in short be summarized as "trading and changing the times in Afghanistan" through orange blossom oil (neroli) and rose oil.
Gulestan provides fair market wages for farmers and harvesters as an alternative to the poppy crops. They employ 35 women and 2500 men seasonally who harvest the orange blossoms and rose crops. Gulestan distills the crops into oils that are considered to be the best in the world by perfumers who share the same passion for excellence in a product.
In Abdullah Arsala’ss community of Jalalabad, the Orange Groves were planted by the Kings hundreds of years ago and are steeped in tradition. The community celebrates the long history of the crop with poetry festivals that draw people from far and wide during the harvest of the orange blossom crops.
Gulestan's mission is to provide alternative, legal crops for farmers instead of the illegal poppy crops. Abdullah Arsala’ss passion for the oils from delicate crops such as orange blossom and rose is revealed in the joyous scented oils Gulestan creates.
We believe strongly in Abdullah Arsala’s vision for a strong culture and economy in Afghanistan. And we wish to support this kind of initiative by doing trade with Gulestan. Abdullah Arsala's is truly leading the way to create peace and prosperity through economic empowerment.
Gulestan provides oils for The 7 Virtues and The Aga Khan foundation. To learn more about the vision and goals of Gulestan contact arsalabdullah@gmail.com
- Glenn Brown Photographer
Barb Stegemann
author of The 7 Virtues of a Philosopher Queen
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