My first true experience with Essential Oils was when David Crow, founder of Floracopeia visited the yoga studio where I was in teacher training. He was traveling with his beautiful oils, and home, in his truck. My experience of this Essential Oils Medicinal Shaman was otherworldly and such a gift. I had not yet met anyone who opened this kind of world to me. He told stories of Night Blooming Jasmine and Blue Lotus Attar, Rose Attar, that appealed to my wonderlust and poetic sensibility. I could see why bringing oil to the newly born King was such a big deal. The scents were Divine, and very expensive, as they should be, and well worth it. I bought a small potent collection of my favorites. Frankincense and Sandalwood dispersed quickly and I was intoxicated by the very precious Rose Attar so that disappeared, but I still have others, which included the Vetiver. More than a decade later, the deep earthly green-grass smell instantly grounds me. I used the oils in meditation and prayer practice, while journaling, writing, creating and to add intrigue and adorn my body. I continued to use them in baths even as I began to loose my sense of smell to allergies and developing polyps, the memories and subtle energy of those divine compounds and molecules still triggered delight and intoxication.
My teacher started to talk more and more about Oils and her emerging Oils business, and though I loved hearing of her discoveries and knowledge gleaned, I wasn't interested in building a business. The packaging was beautiful and the sourcing standards stringent, but because I couldn't smell, they didn't mean that much to me; and I was unclear and unsure about this so called multi-level marketing company.
Then we found out that Brendan has dmd.
Along with the tears and sympathy and offers to be there for us, came an outpouring of Oils - our family was truly anointed with Oils - Console and Peace and all the oils for muscles repair, cellular regeneration, inflammation and sadness, strength, peace of mind, peace of soul. We had the diffuser going all day and night all summer long. We cried and woke up to a parent's nightmare. Time went on and more friends sent oils and books and cards and donations and family helped us move into a more suitable house in a neighborhood close to an extremely supportive school with accessible an park and trails near by. We received so much, I was stunned by the generosity. Even though I could feel the energy shifting and softening us, I still couldn't smell. So, when I got home from the hospital after having nasal surgery this fall, and could smell for the first time in about 7 years, I started to cry. These oils, not only energetically magnificent, but the smells - oh, the smells. Divine delight.
As I began to understand what life as a dmd family would entail, the special and financial needs we would be facing, I began to reconsider everything that my teacher was saying about building a business with doTERRA. This what I know:
dōTERRA, The Company. Founded in 2008 by experts in the Essential Oils business, there are no outside investors with dōTERRA – the owners personally funded the start-up and own 100% of the company. They changed their lifestyles, took second mortgages, and worked without pay to make their own choices early on. dōTERRA is now the largest oil company in the world, debt-free.
dōTERRA is family-focused and pro-woman. One of the owners is a woman; Mamas and babies and families are welcomed, encouraged and supported through dōTERRA, from classes to conferences.
dōTERRA gives back. Healing Hands is dōTERRA’s non-profit, and it’s funded by members, employees and the executives. Our option is to donate each month on our monthly orders, and the company raises funds via events as well. Healing Hands has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars and has changed many lives in several countries. In 2016, doTERRA Wellness Advocates and Wholesale Customers donated over $500K to Operation Underground Railroad through donations to the Healing Hands Foundation. Operation Underground Railroad, also known as OUR, is a non-profit organization with whom doTERRA has partnered to extricate as many children as possible out of sex trafficking. Our donations have also helped fund the construction of a facility in Thailand, with state-of-the-art technology to intercept trafficking before it happens.
We’re also supporting the victims’ aftercare. Some receive care through Days for Girls, another organization with whom doTERRA is partnered, educating girls and women on women’s health and sustainable feminine hygiene. Having helped over 640K girls and women to date, Days for Girls affords them the dignity and supplies to function in society during their cycle so they aren’t missing chances to learn and grow out of poverty. Without sustainable solutions to manage their monthly cycle, women are abolished from society for the duration of their menstrual time every single month. 1 in 10 girls in Sub-Saharan Africa, 113 million adolescent girls in India, and 30% of girls from rural areas of Brazil will miss school this year without the help of Days for Girls.
dōTERRA’s Oils are high quality. Pure, high quality, optimally-sourced Oils are at the heart of dōTERRA’s success. Sourcing the Oils where they flourish, making sure the soil is primed, harvested at the perfect time, distilled for the ideal amount of time at the perfect temperature – this leads to a high quality Essential Oil. dōTERRA also has many exclusives with their growers, so their Oils are exceptional. Visit Source to You for extensive information on the sourcing and quality testing of doTERRA Oils.
dōTERRA’s testing practices are stringent. For transparent accountability, they’ve created an internal standard called Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade® (CPTG), verified by third party labs. The name is a trademark; the standard is real and concrete. Stringent testing happens throughout the whole process (even monitoring soil quality) on EVERY liter. All of the basics are checked first: sight, smell, taste and touch. Then they test to rule out any presence of fungus, mold, pesticides, extenders and any other contaminants. Learn more about the science of their practices of testing here. Each location has its own specific laws and rules governing agriculture and collecting wild-crafted botanicals. If an oil fails the test, specifically pesticides, there is no secondary process for removing the pesticides or foreign matter. The oils failing the test would simply be rejected. Other than the careful distillation of the oils from the plant material, no other processing takes place. They are aromatic extracts, nothing added, and nothing removed; they either meet that standard or they don’t.
dōTERRA focuses on education. On the site, you’ll find hundreds of hours of free education, guidance, recipes and other support for both oil users and those building businesses. Company-wide resources are supplemented by our team’s resources, from forums to weekly calls, and those who have businesses with dōTERRA are amply supported. Product support of any kind is one email or knowledgable phone call away, detailed PDFs for each oil can be found at doterratools.com.
dōTERRA is helping us detoxify our households. No need for harsh, toxic chemicals to clean your home. No risk of spreading toxins throughout your air – or your cells. Our home smells and feels incredible with of dōTERRA’s On Guard Home Cleaner Concentrate, Detergent, Hand Soap, Toothpaste, and bar soap. With Wild Orange, Clove, Cinnamon, Eucalyptus, and Rosemary CPTG® Essential Oils, the Cleaner concentrate provides natural protection – this powerful blend is combined with plant-based derivatives for a non-toxic and biodegradable way to clean and eliminate odors, safe for loved ones as well as the environment. We use it all over the house.
dōTERRA is committed to Co-Impact Sourcing worldwide. dõTERRA searches the globe to find the best locations to grow the plants for each oil; they team up with local farmers whose families have been growing and harvesting that plant for generations. The company then forms cooperatives, teaching the farmers improved growing techniques, harvesting and distilling methods, and elevates their quality of life. Paying them above fair wages, dōTERRA often brings in the Healing Hands foundation to improve the community as a whole as well. Visit dōTERRA.com and click “Our Caring” to explore projects in Bulgaria, Kenya, Madagascar, Nepal, Guatemala, Haiti and Somaliland.
This video describes why and how dōTERRA uses the Co-Impact sourcing model.
