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Customers who e-mailed us looking for Fragrant Garden said ... "I have tried others but I must say the Fragrant Garden ones are the best so far as I am concerned. The scent is not too heavy like some you can get" Ruth - Wirral. "Patchouli .... these are the best quality I have found anywhere" Von "the incense sticks which speak to my soul through their most delicate scents" Jill - Cambridge "It is a bloody good product" Bren - Luton "It's one of the best and most relaxing incenses I've ever experienced!" (Spring Bouquet) Helen - Huddersfield "Indian Summer incense sticks. I received some as a present and think they are wonderful" Kathy - West Yorkshire "I purchased some of the Fragrant Garden incense a while ago, i am so impressed with it that i dont want to buy any other make now" Aleta - Ringwood. "Himalayan Cedar .... I have a very sensitive condition and this seems to be the only fragrance of incense that does not irritate me" Christine - Brighton. "I am a big fan of your incense" John - Lanarkshire "I am trying to find a stockist for your wonderful Incense sticks" Lynda - East Lothian "In the process of bidding for a new house and in need of a beautiful smell for my new potential buyers/visitors" Lesley - Glasgow, a regular Fragrant Garden customer "I purchased some Fragrant garden incense sticks. They are Sandalwood flavour, and are the nicest incense I have ever had" Rebecca - California "Real quality" Kevin - France "I was given various sticks from your Fragrant Garden range and just love them - especially Indian Summer!" Jeannie - Reading "I have had one of the variety packs and really love them. Also have read all the info on the website and am very impressed" Tina - Guildford "the only incense that doesn't give me a headache!" Karen - Shrewsbury "Your incense is beautiful" Kerry - Worksop "I absolutely love the Jasmine natural incense sticks from Fragrant Garden" Kimberley - Birmingham "I am writing to voice my interest in a supply of the wonderful fragrant sticks which you access from the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry which my wife and I visited back in 2000. I have only used them ever since." Nicholas - Stourbridge "Recently purchased a pack of the above (Himalayan Cedar) and really love them" Neil - Brighton "I am very fond of your producats and have been buying your incense sticks for many years." Nig - Location Unknown "I dont own a business or anything I just think they are some of the nicest incense I've ever smelt so I'd like to buy in bulk." Peter - Location Unknown "My most local shop don't stock them, it would be great if they did!" Sarah - Newcastle Upon Tyne "I'm so pleased to get hold of you as I love Fragrant Garden's incense" Claire - London "wonderful incense" Dave - Cambridge
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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 World Fair Trade Organisation (WFTO).
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; 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. Though we prefer to direct customers to the nearest retail outlet wherever possible we can offer a mail order service. Posting to the UK it costs £ 1.20 per packet for orders up to ten packets, £ 1.10 per packet for orders up between eleven and fifty packets and £ 1.00 per packet for orders over fifty. These prices are inclusive of VAT & P&P. If we are posting outside the UK then additional postage is charged - we would inform customers of the total cost. Customers who e-mailed us looking for
Fragrant Garden also said ... "I've tried quite a few hand rolled incense sticks some good, some bad. I have found Fragrant Garden incense sticks to be amongst the better ones that stand out. A lot of the lesser quality incense all seem to be a bit sooty and smell pretty much the same but with different names. When I burn a Fragrant Garden incense stick in my lounge not only does it smell gorgeous and remarkably unique, it leaves a subtle aroma that is definitely noticeable the next day, whereas others would only last a few hours. Jasmine and Sandalwood are my favourites" Daniel - Sheffield "I have used Fragrant Garden incense for years and the twice I have moved house I have always had a plentiful supply of my favourite Rose incense sticks - it's always a great pleasure when friends come to visits and say - 'your new place smells the same as where you lived before - it's like a memory of happy times' " Bill - Durham "I love Fragrant Garden Incense, the perfumes are beautiful. I wouldn't use other incense as they are disappointing after Fragrent Garden" Sue - Location Unknown "The Fragrant Garden Natural Incense range has become my favourite - I particularly love the patchouli, which has a strong, intense scent without being overpowering. Many incense sticks are rough on the throat, but this brand is smooth and appears quite pure." Sarah - Amazella Suffolk "I have been buying my sandalwood Fragrant Garden Natural Incense from David at Wonderworld for years and years. It is of good quality and I can always rely on a prompt and speedy supply. Comes highly recommended!" Bianca - Londonshire |
