Myrrh Myrrh (Somaliland)

Why Somaliland?

Commiphora myrrha is native to Somaliland, where it has been harvested for generations.

How does it work?

Myrrh is native to regions in Africa and the Middle East and has been valued and prized since antiquity. Throughout history, Myrrh has been used for perfume, incense, and medicinal purposes.

Myrrh essential oil comes from steam distilling the resin of the small, thorny Myrrh tree. The tree has rugged, angled, thorny branches with few leaves. The resin comes from the tree’s sap, which hardens and dries into the glossy, amber colored resin that darkens over time. To release the sap from the tree, harvesters cut the tree, which causes it to release the waxy sap or gum. The cuts are controlled to ensure that the trees remain healthy and can thrive for many years.

Fair and On-Time Payments and Environmental Stewardship

Our Co-Impact Sourcing Initiative provides harvesters in Somaliland with fair wages and on-time payments (including food and cash prepayments spread out during the year) by working around the layers of middlemen and instead working directly with those who harvest and sort the resin. This arrangement provides a much more stable and reliable income to the harvesters.

Healing Hands

Clan leaders in Uurwayne, Somaliland united with the goal to provide education for their children. The doTERRA Healing Hands Foundation was able to assist their efforts by donating toward a school constructed for boys and girls, ages 7 through 12, with evening classes for older children. Approximately 120 children from 16 villages attend the school and it has been a great success. An additional four-classroom school was built to help 100 more students from other areas, increasing access to education.