Where AURUM Africa Marula Oil comes from
Harvesting the Marula fruits
The Marula trees that grow wild in northern Namibia are the property of the people living nearby. Around eight thousand local women, gathered in working groups, collect the fruits when they are free from other family commitments and / or work.
Fully ripe fruits are picked and peeled to extract the pulp used for culinary use (fruit juices, jams, beer, spirits …), while the kernels are washed and dried for later decortication.
The Nuts Decortication
The women in their homes and / or in their working groups decorticate the nuts, extracting the kernels only when the production requires it. This guarantees the freshness of the kernels themselves and consequently of the oil that is produced. Women are prepared to harvest and process only top quality nuts.
Traceability
Every woman has a number within its Working Group. This number identifies each bag of kernels allowing our officers to trace all the steps in the production chain.
Fair payments no intermediates
All women are paid individually and the price is negotiated annually within the working groups. Each working group has a representative who deals with both the contracts and communication.
The Lab
The oil production system continues into the laboratory that meets all the quality standards required by the Cosmetics market and the rigid EU regulations.
The pressing process
The kernels are cold-pressed mechanically and obtain an oil that is filtered through a natural process. This allows to obtain a free residues oil with a golden color and which maintains its slightly woody natural smell.
The Storage
The oil thus obtained is stored with its own batch number that allows us to trace each stage of processing, it is kept in a dark environment at a controlled temperature until shipment.
Transport
The oil, in alimentary containers, travels by air with international carrier in order to minimize transport times.
Packaging
The oil is bottled in Italy by a specific qualified and certified company in alimentary bottles equipped with a practical dispenser and placed in an elegant box.
Quality Control
All stages of production are subject to strict quality controls carried out in Namibia and in Europe at certified laboratories of analysis that guarantee the purity of the products and the compliance with current European legislation.
