Most of what we write about is a plant. This post is about what people make from them, and from the animals and bees that live alongside. These are the products that feel most like a village, and the ones where a good story and a good paper trail have to go together.
Ghee and mustard oil
A2 Badri cow ghee is made from the milk of Badri cattle, a small hill breed of Uttarakhand. "A2" is a term buyers use for milk from cows carrying a particular protein variant, and it is a selling point you will see across India. If you plan to use it on a label in your own market, check what your food authority allows you to say. We can tell you what we have, not what the rules in your country require.
Cold-pressed mustard oil (kachi ghani) is the pungent oil most North Indian kitchens grew up with. Two reminders for importers: rules on mustard oil for food use differ from country to country, and some markets restrict it to external use. Please check before ordering.
Honey, apricot and nettle
Raw forest honey is the product where a buyer should push hardest. Ask where the hives were, which season it was collected in, and what test reports exist. Honey is one of the most commonly adulterated foods in the world and a decent supplier expects to be tested.
Apricot kernel oil comes in two versions on our list: a culinary oil and a cosmetic-grade carrier oil. They are different products, so be clear which one you mean. Himalayan nettle oil is a third, made from the seed, with its own product page.
Soap, candles and incense
Chyura butter-tree soap is made from the fat of Diploknema butyracea, the Indian butter tree, which grows in the lower Himalaya. Pure beeswax candles are hand-poured. Natural incense (dhoop and sticks) rounds out the group. These are the easiest items on the list to put into a gift box or a boutique hotel, and the ones where packaging and labelling matter most.
The people behind it
We buy through women-led self-help groups across more than fifty villages, and most of what you read above begins at a kitchen table or in a courtyard. We are careful about the way we use village photographs. The people and children you see on this site agreed to be photographed, nobody pictured endorses any product, and we do not name them. If anyone asks for a photo to come down, it comes down.
Before you order
- Tell us if the product is for food, cosmetic or candle use. The rules differ.
- Ask for the documents we hold for each item, and what is still pending.
- Request a labelled sample before a full order.
- For private label, share your pack sizes and market early, because labelling takes the longest.
You can browse everything on our catalogue, read about our registrations, or ask for a quotation.