Vetiver, Madagascar – Organic EO

Our organic Vetiver from Madagascar has a rich, smooth, earthy aroma with subtle smoky undertones, notes of leather and a woody drydown. We cultivate and distill our organic Vetiver at our farm in Madagascar, near Ambanja, where the plant thrives in the tropical climate. In addition, we’ve signed a fair-trade contract with an association of farmers in the Madagascan highlands to supply organic dried Vetiver roots for distillation that we purchase at a guaranteed minimum price, giving the farmers a greater profit margin per hectare. Further, we subsidize a social development fund used to finance community actions that benefit the growers and their families. We are pleased to offer this premium, organic and responsibly-produced Vetiver!

Also known as vetivert, khus, or khus khus, Vetiver has a long history of use and is well known as the Oil of Tranquility.[1] It is obtained from the roots of a grass originally from India and Sri Lanka, but the roots are also now cultivated in many tropical countries for household purposes and as an effective strategy to prevent soil erosion. From time immemorial, one of the oldest aromatic uses of Vetiver roots is to weave them into mats which, when dampened with water and hung in windows like curtains, cool and scent the air with a pleasant aroma.[2]

More than just a simple grass, its chemical complexity is why Vetiver is often thought of as a perfume in of itself. Composed of more than 100 mostly sesquiterpene constituents, three in particular – khusimol, α-vetivone and β-vetivone – are thought of as the ‘fingerprint’ of the oil and are responsible, in large part, for the characteristic odor and properties of Vetiver. Dense and syrupy, Vetiver essential oils, much like Patchouli and Sandalwood oils, undergo chemical transformation and improve with age, making them outstanding base notes with excellent fixative properties in natural perfume and incense formulations.[4],[5] The centering aroma of Vetiver is sublime in calming baths, massage, and meditation blends and in skincare preparations for dry, mature, or congested skin.