Tea Tree Tea Tree (KenyaAustralia)

Why Australia?

Tea Tree is native to Australia. It thrives in sunny conditions and moist soil. In Australia, Tea Tree grows all through spring, summer, and autumn.

Why Kenya?

Parts of Kenya provide similar growing conditions to those in Australia that allow Tea Tree to Flourish. By also sourcing some of our Tea Tree from Kenya, we support smallholder farmers in rural areas of the country while still getting the best quality of essential oil.

The Harvesting Process

The Tea Tree is evergreen and shrub-like. It has traditionally been used for health purposes by First Nation Australians, and at the beginning of WWII, most members of the Australian Army carried a small bottle of Tea Tree essential oil with them. The essential oil comes from steam distilling the leaves.

Kangaroos run wild in the Australian Tea Tree plantation. The trees grow from spring through the autumn, with harvesting only done during the winter months to prevent loss of growing time. The same trees can be harvested every year because they coppice, or begin to grow again, 3 to 6 weeks after harvest. Due to the sustainable harvesting process, after 18 years of operation, the Australia plantation continues to increase the health and productivity of the same fields of Tea Trees

Learn how doTERRA empowers small-scale farmers in Kenya through Co-Impact Sourcing.

Ensuring Environmental Stewardship

No part of the tree is wasted in the process of producing Tea Tree essential oil. In both Australia and Kenya, the steamed tea tree biomass is applied back to the fields to prevent weed growth and deliver important nutrients to the soil.

Healing Hands

The doTERRA Healing Hands Foundation has funded numerous projects in Kenya.

In 2021, these communities were supported by the following programs and initiatives:

• Days for Girls kits to 1,000 girls in Lunga Lunga
• 6000 people supported by water connection to Kiwegu
• 2000 students supported by water connection to Schools
• 12 students supported with scholarships. These scholarships support students in secondary school to pay for tuition and school expenses.
• 80 girls supported with Girls on Fire leadership training.

Projects in Kenya include:

• The construction of additional classroom and restroom facilities at Kiwegu Primary School.
• The construction of a school library, water storage, staff room, restrooms, and teacher living quarters at Mwamose Primary school, as well as providing scholarship support.
• The construction of Mwena River Bridge, which allows the community and school children to cross the local river.
• The construction of Majengo Mapya Kindergarten school.
• The construction of a community center.
• Indigenous culture and health trainings for 2,000 school children.
• Colobus Conservation, which provides education about and helps with the reforestation of indigenous trees.
• Mwamose Water Point—a community borehole and water tower.
• The Water Maintenance Trust Fund, which does ongoing research and maintenance on community water sources.

In addition to donations from the doTERRA Healing Hands Foundation, we have established a Community Development Fund in Kenya. For every kilogram of essential oil produced by its farmer cooperatives, a portion of revenue is set aside in a fund overseen by the cooperatives themselves to finance livelihood development projects at their discretion.

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