Sea buckthorn cosmetics from the top of the world (Nepal)

HimalAsia will establish more seabuckthorn nurseries/ seabuckthorn forests in different communities of Upper and Southern Mustang in Nepal to enable a scale up of production. The diversification of the products (juice, tea, jam, Amchi medicine, oil for cosmetic and medicinal purposes) and the high nutritional value of the plants hedge the profit that will be generated through the sales on international and local markets.

The initial product is the juice derived from the berries. The seabuckthorn-berries will be initially collected from wild seabuckthorn forests, this collection has started with the support of HimalAsia in summer/harvest 2004 already and the results have been very convincing. So far the communities have received training on how to prepare juice out of the berries in order to be able to sell this juice. The potential customers for this line of revenue will be mostly the large numbers of trekkers who are visiting Mustang. Local lodge owners have started selling juice prepared from the seabuckthorn berries collected from wild forests, is yielding them additional income. Additionally wholesalers from India are interested in marketing the juice derived from the fruits on large scale. The local population knows about the nutritional value of the juice, since awareness campaigns in this regard have been conducted by HimalAsia in the last years

The seabuckthorn-pulp and seed oil out of the remaining trester from the juice preparation will be used for medicinal and cosmetic purposes. There is a growing international demand from various German, English and Indian cosmetic companies are interested in the supply of HimalAsia´s products.The seabuckthorn oil has already been tested in laboratories in Germany with very positive results. This certification process is underway in cooperation with the BCS Certification Company and various companies have demonstrated interest in purchasing the whole harvest.

Further, tea will be prepared out of the pulp of the trester (the first samples are already sold in Mustang to Trekkers and in Katmandu in Supermarkets) and from seabuckthorn-leaves special Amchi remedies will be developed in combination with other medicinal herbs.

Our Customers will be:

Cosmetic and medicinal companies in China, India or Europe seeking high quality seabuckthorn oil.

local population,international wholesalers, trekkers who know about the nutritional (full of vitamins) value of the sea buckthorn juice

Local Hospitals: for treatment for e.g. burns and scars the seabuckthorn seed-oil treatment is more efficient and less costly

The juice has already been placed in several local stores and willbe distributed further; initial contacts to large wholesalers in India and China have been established

We will market our cosmetic products primarily on international trade fairs and exhibitions with a thematic focus on sustainably produced cosmetics and oil. Since these kinds of fairs offers the best platform to met new clients, Himalsia will attend diffterent fairs in India, GB and China over the course of the next year to continuously augment its costumer/partner network.

The significance and the potential business profitability of seabuckthorn are becoming increasingly known in Nepal proper and will also create competition. However, the experience, the wide network of experts and the long standing contacts to the producing cooperatives Himalasia has based on its experience of the last three years gives it a competitive advantage with regards to the quality of the product itself. The other competitors will not have certified products, an essential prerequisite for large scale export. This will pose a great advantage for Himalasia since it already started to introduce the certifying process to the women collecting group from the beginning in the three different collector groups in Mustang.

Business partners:
 Weleda, a German pharmaceutical laboratory company and leading producer of body care products, cosmetics and treatment for Anthroposophical therapy
 Oehlmuehle Solling, a German retailer of ecological oils, edibles and body care
 Primavera, retailer of natural cosmetics, oils, wellness products, joss sticks
 EsselleSkincare; body care products, wholesaler of organic cosmetique products in England.

Since the beginning the startup phase has been funded by the Himalsia Foundation itself. Additional contributions came in form of the prize money from the Seed Award 2005, a start-up funding by the GLS Zukunfstiftung Entwicklungshilfe and private Donors.

Direct Employment:

Each nursery comprises one/ two gardeners. Within the next three years upscaling from currently 4 to 10-12 nurseries =20 gardeners.

There will be up to 10 women’s co-operatives over the next 3 years, each comprising about 30 women engaged in the collection, cultivation and sale of the wild seabuckthorn and cultivated seabuckthorn products=300 women.

Income generation:

Income from the seabuckthorn nurseries based in monastiries is used directly to provide a sustainable source of income for monasteries ( female/male)

Additionally, income is generated for local women cooperatives, mainly from low cast goups (women biodiversity user/consumer groups). They can sell the sirup that forms the base for the juice to the local wholsesallers and the remaining trester (oil) to Himalsia via advanced purchased guarantees.

For both these points: the long term spinoff potential is vast, basically covering the whole of Nepal

• Knowledge and skills
Education and training of cultivating and harvesting seabuckthorn, both on a national and international level.

• Quality of living standard
Diversification and optimization of the local diet by integrating seabuckthorn whose products are rich in vitamins A and C, E and omega-3 fatty acids, minerals and other active substances.

• Environment:
The Mustang region and other similar areas in the Himalayas especially in recent years suffer from a high level of land degradation, desertification and soil erosion. Seabuckthorn plants will play a significant role in mitigating these environmental concerns.