Helichrysum Helichrysum (AlbaniaFrance (Corsica))

Why Albania and France (Corsica)?

Helichrysum thrives in the Mediterranean climate found in Albania and Corsica.

The Harvesting Process

The Helichrysum plant is a small, perennial herb and a member of the daisy family. It has narrow, silver leaves and flowers that form a cluster of golden yellow, ball-shaped blossoms. The plant prefers rocky, well-drained soil and the Mediterranean climate.

The essential oil is primarily sourced from the flower. Helichrysum is harvested in the late summer or early fall, when the flowers are mature. A plant reaches its peak production after about 5 years and lasts for 7 years total.

People Empowered: Sustaining Long-Term Partnerships

Our partner in Albania provides farmers with long-term contracts. This absorbs price fluctuations so that farmers can receive a consistently fair and transparent price. Additionally, it helps provide more stability and security for farmers.

Impact Stories

The doTERRA Healing Hands Foundation recently supported our sourcing communities in Albania by renovating schools. Five schools in desperate need were chosen. Healing Hands helped with major repairs, especially to the bathrooms. This was especially important to Albania because the country is currently a candidate for European Union membership. To join the Union, however, they must meet required standards. One of these standards includes proper bathroom ratios for the students and the teachers in every school. Each school that the Healing Hands Foundation supported is now up to the standard. Additionally, Healing Hands supported building one brand new school during the time of the repairs for the other schools.

When the earthquake shook Albania is 2019, Healing Hands and our partner worked with local organizations to provide temporary shelters and basic needs, including food, medicine, and clothes. 24 families (124 people) received temporary homes, 121 families (619 people) received emergency materials to cover their basic needs, and 393 individuals received health support, including medicine, psychosocial, and other mental health services.

In 2020 and 2021, Healing Hands has supported anti-trafficking programs for youth and social workers in the south of Albania, where human trafficking has surged in the last 30 years. The program for 40 adolescents and 20 state social workers in Delvine and Saranda, organized by the Mary Ward Loreto Foundation (MWL), works to eliminate human trafficking in Albania through advocacy, prevention and support for victims and potential victims of trafficking (PV/VoTs). There are two components of this initiative:

• Youth Program: Provide weekly in-person and online trainings and activities for 10 months to 40 youth in Delvina and Saranda. Lessons will be on leadership, healthy relationships, self-realization, community activism, and volunteering service learning. A social worker and psychologist from MWL will lead the program and work with the youth’s parents. They will also support and oversee the formation of two active youth social clubs for long-term support. These adolescents will develop the knowledge and skills to be safe, lead healthier lives, contribute to their community, and how to report any suspicious activity to an MWL social worker.

• Social Worker Training: An assessment conducted by MWL, and the National Referral Mechanism of the Ministry of Interiors (NISMA) found that the state social workers in Delvina and Saranda lack training and the necessary skills to conduct proper Standard Operation procedures and provide case management support. This funding provided a 10-month training for 20 state social workers to increase their capacity for rescue, trauma support, and prevention.

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