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<<7>> Hi.
<<8>> So here we are in the
Chaco Forest in Paraguay.
<<10>> When you think
about how large it is,
<<13>> it's 37 million
acres,
<<15>> but here is where the
Guaiacwood trees grow.
<<24>> And this particular species
has 90% sesquiterpene alcohols.
<<29>> We have unique
chemistry in this oil
<<32>> that has never been seen in
any other essential oil before.
<<35>> This is a day that
we've been waiting for
<<37>> for a long time.
<<38>> The beautiful part about
it is the intensive work
<<41>> that has been done to
ensure that all of the wood
<<44>> that gets harvested
to produce
<<45>> the Guaiacwood is
sustainably sourced.
<<51>> Every morning the harvesters
prepare breakfast at 5am.
<<69>> I love to see
that this is exactly
<<70>> where you begin, right?
<<72>> Yes.
<<72>> You looked at the
people that are
<<73>> on the ground, harvesting
the trees, right?
<<75>> The stewards of the
trees of the forest.
<<77>> Absolutely.
<<78>> You've made sure
<<79>> they have great
living quarters,
<<80>> a great quality
of life, right?
<<82>> They have a kitchen,
<<83>> Yeah.
<<83>> running water, they have
electricity, they have
<<85>> air conditioning.
<<85>> Yes.
<<86>> Basically, so we created a
true market price saying,
<<91>> "Okay, so-"
<<92>> For a sustainable product.
<<92>> For a sustainable
product, exactly.
<<94>> For us, if it was
all about price,
<<96>> we would go and
get the cheapest price.
<<97>> Of course.
<<98>> Right?
<<99>> Absolutely.
<<100>> But for us that's
not what it's about.
<<104>> These landowners
have to make
<<106>> an income off of
their property,
<<108>> so most of them are removing
the trees to make room
<<112>> for grass to
have cattle ranches,
<<114>> but what we have
done is working
<<117>> with our amazing
sourcing partners,
<<119>> we now pay a lease on the
land so that they have reason
<<123>> to keep the land
in its natural state,
<<126>> and we also pay
them for each tree
<<128>> that is harvested
off of their land.
<<133>> They're able to provide
meaningful, long-term income
<<136>> to these landowners to help
them preserve the native forest
<<138>> and ensure that
it stays in the ground,
<<140>> which is exactly what
we all hope can happen.
<<143>> A management plan means
to work with the forest,
<<148>> and to be with
the forest,
<<149>> to do conservation
for the forest,
<<151>> and how you
can be productive
<<154>> while maintaining all
the biodiversity around.
<<158>> Only 2 trees per acre are
harvested every 20 years.
<<163>> The root system
allows quick regrowth.
<<170>> The young trees eliminate more
carbon than the old trees.
<<181>> That's our stock of
Guaiacwood that comes
<<183>> from our forest
management plans.
<<186>> You can see here that
beautiful blue colour.
<<189>> Actually, it's full of oil
and you can see the blue is
<<193>> like it's the
oxidation of the oil
<<196>> and you can almost see small
crystals of essential oil
<<199>> on top of that.
<<205>> This is one of the most hard
and dense woods in the world
<<208>> and because of that, it takes
a lot of time and process
<<211>> to chip it properly.
<<216>> It then goes through
a conveyor system,
<<218>> gets loaded into the
distillation units
<<222>> that are about
1,000 kilos in size.
<<226>> The distillation
runs for about 17 hours
<<229>> and the most amazing
thing about this oil is
<<231>> that it is actually semi-solid
at room temperature.
<<241>> So this has been three
years in the making
<<244>> and we finally get to
smell the fresh Guaiacwood
<<247>> and as we smell this, this
wood that's just been chipped,
<<250>> it smells really smoky, but
it has a really sweet note
<<254>> to it, kind of smells like a
little bit of a touch of rose
<<257>> and I am so excited
for you to understand
<<259>> the benefits of
this amazing oil.