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FRAGRANT GARDEN NATURAL INCENSE
Fragrant Garden Natural Incense is a premium quality incense in 24 different options produced by Cottage Industries in Pondicherry, South India. It is made to a traditional incense recipe. The basic masala paste is a mixture of thirty different ingredients. They include sandalwood, devadaru, vetivert, rose petals, champa, cinnamon, aniseed, and other herbs known by local names, bound together by gum from the South Indian jiggat tree. Some common perfumery compounds are used to accent the natural aromatic character of the incense. The masala paste is hand rolled on to bamboo sticks. Bamboo is an appropriate material for this purpose as it is renewable and local. Cutting and splitting of bamboo is carried out in a nearby village where it has been the traditional trade for centuries. Rolled sticks are dried in the sun before packing in hand-made paper packets.
The hand-made paper used for packing Fragrant Garden Natural Incense is wood free, made from recycled rag and banana plant stalks. All the finishing processes including printing and sealing into cases for wholesale merchandising are carried out in Pondicherry. Maximum value is thus added in the country of origin before sea shipping to the UK. Cottage Industries staff enjoy good working conditions, yearly wage rises above the rate of inflation, insurance and pension benefits. The methods employed in creating Fragrant Garden Natural Incense contrast sharply with many popular brands of incense that are manufactured and packaged in the UK using sawdust blanks dipped into purely artificial solutions. Such products often smell very strong. However we believe that the natural ingredients used in Fragrant Garden offer a more subtle, pleasing experience, as you will discover when you compare them for yourself. Cottage Industries is a project of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry. Sri Aurobindo was a civil servant in Bengal who became a radical political organiser, newspaper editor and writer. He played a key role in stirring up nationalist sentiment at the turn of the century. Sri Aurobindo was prosecuted for sedition and imprisoned. In 1910 he escaped from Bengal to Pondicherry, at that time was a small enclave under French rule. Sri Aurobindo's political aims always embodied broader concepts of India's needs than mere national self determination. He was deeply schooled in Indian religion. In prison he studied yoga and on reaching Pondicherry spent four years in intensive yoga practice. Sri Aurobindo's spirituality was not esoteric. He wanted the benefits of higher mental states, cultivated through yoga and other spiritual practices, to be felt by ordinary people. A positive approach to everyday life became manifest in the ashram that grew around him. All work taking place in the Sri Aurobindo Ashram is still carried out in accord with yogic principles of self giving and self consecration. Sri Aurobindo never set out to found an institution, but so many people came to live at Pondicherry it was necessary to make provision for their support. The commercial activities of the Ashram now include several small scale industries, like Cottage Industries, such as wood working, stainless steel, hand made paper, embroidery, perfume, pottery, batik, printing and incense. Cottage Industries is now a member of the International Fair Trade Association (IFAT).
We have visited Cottage Industries regularly. We believe they are ethical employers, paying wages and benefits above the industry average and providing a good working environment to all staff. The unit we visited housed rolling teams in tall, thatched sheds built under mature trees, very cool, well ventilated structures and much preferable to working in standard concrete buildings. A reed bed water purification is under development (next to the shed in the picture). Potted plants and bedded plants are grown in abundance. Environmental & Ethical Concerns about Sandalwood. Recently we have become aware of problems around the supply of sandalwood for the aromatic industry. These concerns are covered in an article on this web-page. To summarise briefly the argument ........ Sandalwood is very near to becoming a CITES recognised endangered plant species, globally only the Indian government is addressing the shortage with a replanting scheme. Grave doubts about the efficacy of the scheme exist because of the continuing high value black market in sandalwood with all the attendant issues, the only really effect of the scheme is to give a veneer of respectability to traders. Ecologically minded people should therefore boycott the use of sandalwood in aromatics, aromatherapy, herbalism and handicraft. Some incense suppliers have dropped sandalwood from their range. We talked with Cottage Industries about this - see GOOD BUSINESS December 2004 for our current position. We have tested the insect repelling Lemon Grass & Neem sticks in the Scottish highlands. For the results see GOOD BUSINESS December 2006. Point of Sale: Fragrant Garden Aroma Guide; Fragrant Garden Product & Producer Information; Producer IFAT Membership Products: Amber, Autumn Harmony, Cinnamon, Eucalyptus, Geranium, Himalayan Cedar, Indian Summer (Tuberose), Jasmine, Lemon Grass, Lemon Grass & Neem Insect Repelling, Lotus, Musk, Myrrh, Nectar, Patchouli, Pine, Rose, Sandalwood, Spring Boquet (Vetivert), Vanilla, Wild Orchid. 3 Variety Packs. 20 Sticks per packet. Average burn time 35 minutes.
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