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Seychelles patchouli revival project

Join the Perfumery Art School campaign to grow and revive patchouli in the Seychelles before it disappears completely! Also supported by Aromahead Institute.

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Seychelles patchouli revival project

Seychelles patchouli revival project

Seychelles patchouli revival project

Seychelles patchouli revival project

Seychelles patchouli revival project

Join the Perfumery Art School campaign to grow and revive patchouli in the Seychelles before it disappears completely! Also supported by Aromahead Institute.

Join the Perfumery Art School campaign to grow and revive patchouli in the Seychelles before it disappears completely! Also supported by Aromahead Institute.

Join the Perfumery Art School campaign to grow and revive patchouli in the Seychelles before it disappears completely! Also supported by Aromahead Institute.

Join the Perfumery Art School campaign to grow and revive patchouli in the Seychelles before it disappears completely! Also supported by Aromahead Institute.

The Perfumery Art School
The Perfumery Art School
The Perfumery Art School
The Perfumery Art School
1 Campaign |
Grand Anse, Mahe, Seychelles
$2,735 USD 22 backers
13% of $20,000 Flexible Goal Flexible Goal

When Seychelles patchouli was the best in the world...

Back in 2003, patchouli could be found alongside roads and paths everywhere in the Seychelles. Few people know that until the early 1980's, the Seychelles was a major exporter of patchouli dried leaves (approx. 6 tons) and essential oil (460 tons) together with vanilla, The Seychelles patchouli used to be considered one of the best in the world because of its high content of patchouli alcohol (patchoulol) and the terpene Seychellene which has therapeutic and insect-repellent properties. 

The Globarom patchouli nursery humble beginnings

So imagine our shock when during a recent perfume workshop and olfactory field trip organised by our school  - The Perfumery Art School -  the hunt for patchouli on 3 of the main Seychelles islands left us empty handed! The tourism boom took place to the detriment of the patchouli plant, considered by the locals like a weed and therefore destroyed on every plot of land allocated for development! 

But a dedicated and passionate man, Mustafa Bristol, owner of Globarom (site under construction), the only distiller in the Seychelles. is so aware of the importance and the quality of the Seychelles patchouli that he has undertaken to revive it and place it back on the world map of precious botanical plants. Started in January 2014 with 10 plants 'rescued' from the forest, the  nursery now boasts 100 plants and counting.

The Perfumery Art School wants to help Mustafa 'save the Seychelles patchouli' and is working in close liaison with Andrea Butje, founder of Aromahead Institute in the USA and renowned supporter of distillers in the world. We are aiming to  raise $20000 to provide the first plants to the targeted families/farmers, expand the patchouli nursery and run the first patchouli distillation tests.

The Perfume Foundation International as the most active advocate for the rehabilitation of perfume plants worldwide is also supporting our common efforts in this exciting plant revival project.

Mustafa Bristol, owner and distiller, Globarom Seychelles

Some of the essential oils already distilled by Globarom 

June 2014 update

Look at how the patchouli nursery looks like now, one month after the launch of this campaign! Thanks to our generous contributors and supporters, the number of plants has now reached over 200!

The Globarom patchouli nursery 1 month after the launch of the campaign

Some facts about patchouli

Wherever you are in this world, you will probably have heard of patchouli! Apart from its ever association as THE perfume of the hippy movement, here are some interesting facts about its many virtues.  


Why we need your contribution?

The patchouli revival project not only involves regrowing the disappearing patchouli in the Seychelles. It is also aiming at creating new jobs in a more diversified economy, placing an emphasis on agriculture rather than on tourism only. Private individuals will be encouraged to grow patchouli in their gardens too.

We are initially targeting 100 Seychelles families/farmers. Each farmer will receive 10 plants at a cost of $74 spent on preparing and providing the patchouli plants to each family/farmer. Our time frame to secure a regular production for the essential oil distillation is 1 to 2 years depending on how soon the nursery is ready. 

The following is a detailed breakdown on where your contributions will go. With the exception of the fees identified in the chart, all funds will go directly towards the project. The Test & Certificates fees concern the testing of the patchouli oil and its certification (Ecocert, Organic) to be able to sell it internationally but will also contribute to the development of Globarom website.

How can you help?

In an ever more populated world, we need to focus on agricultural development but also to protect the plants of our Earth if they are to be sustained and benefit future generations. 

While our personal interest is to ensure the survival of a plant that is a major ingredient in most of the perfumes we wear, Research on the virtues of patchouli also shows that patchouli is important for its phytochemical and pharmalogical properties. Any attempt to create a synthetic version of patchouli has so far failed due to the complexity of its molecules.

Your contribution - even small -will help save and protect the Heritage of a symbolic plant and give a new impulse to this small archipelago in the middle of the Indian Ocean, the Seychelles. 

Our perks and their good vibes are sent to you with love, directly from the Seychelles to thank you for your generous support.

What if we don't raise the total amount?

In the patchouli revival project, any contribution is welcomed and will be used towards the expansion of the nursery. We would reduce the number of farmers we are planning to support to kick start the project and keep the momentum!

Patchouli grows quickly but its distillation requires drying the leaves for at least 24 hours in order to produce a quality essential oil.

Your contributions will also help us run the first distillation tests and have the oil quality tested.

The Team activists

Isabelle Gellé is the Founder of the Perfumery Art School, the first online vocational school in the Art of Perfumery offering certified course programs in traditional perfumery. She is also owner and perfumer of her own perfumery, Les Parfums d'Isabelle and since February 2014, the Chairperson of the Perfume Foundation for the Indian Ocean islands and Southern Africa, an international consumer organisation with a mission to protect the Heritage of perfumery and the sustainability of perfume plants.

Andrea Butje is the owner of Aromahead Institute, an an internationally recognized online Aromatherapy school. Andrea is changing the online educational paradigm through her inspired approach to teaching and creating community. She travels the world developing relationships with organic artisan distillers and developed the Distiller Database to connect distillers with essential oil companies.

Other Ways You Can Help

Patchouli not your thing! We understand you might not be able to contribute or might not be interested in patchouli, but you may be able to help by letting your friends know.

We ask the all supporters of our campaign to spread the ‘Help us revive the Seychelles patchouli’ message! 

Please help us ensure that the once best patchouli in the world makes its way back to the world map of essential oil production.

Thank you from Sesel (Seychelles in Creole)!



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Choose your Perk

Mersi - Thank you in Creole !

$5 USD
This is the cost price for the culture of one plant of patchouli. For your contribution and kind support, we will thank you with one of our personal ePhotos from beautiful and sunny Seychelles directly in your email box!
Estimated Shipping
August 2014
1 claimed

Thank you video

$10 USD
Mustafa with his contagious smile will thank you in a video (sent in your Inbox) from his distilling unit for helping with the Seychelles patchouli revival campaign.
Estimated Shipping
August 2014
6 out of 200 of claimed

Postcard from the Seychelles

$50 USD
Grand mersi (big Thank you in Creole)! You really care for patchouli. We will send you a personalised written thank you postcard from the Seychelles (with colourful Seychelles stamps) signed by Mustafa.
Estimated Shipping
September 2014
6 out of 50 of claimed

Rare dried patchouli leaf

$75 USD
With this contribution, you will enable us to grow 10 patchouli plants. Thank you for your generosity! We will send you a personalised thank you postcard from the Seychelles signed by Mustafa and a pressed dried patchouli leaf directly from the nursery. A rare treat due to the scarcity of the Seychelles patchouli!
Estimated Shipping
September 2014
2 out of 25 of claimed

2 ml lemon eucalyptus oil

$150 USD
Experience the smell of the Seychelles by yourself! Your generosity is rewarded with a 2 ml sample of lemon eucalyptus oil (eucalyptus citriodora) from the Seychelles mountains, distilled with love at Globarom! Add $10 for international shipping.
Estimated Shipping
September 2014
0 out of 70 of claimed

Cinnamon & vanilla in a box

$250 USD
Your opportunity to experience the real cinnamon bark from the Seychelles! Believe us: it's different to the smell of those you get from your supermarket! You can crush it into a powder and use it in your baking, spice meal or in a pot-pourri... We will send it to you in a lovely rosewood carved box so that you can simply use it as a snuff and uplift your mood! You will also receive a fresh vanilla pod from the vanilla plantation of the Paradise island of La Digue.
Estimated Shipping
September 2014
0 out of 5 of claimed

15 ml perfume with patchouli

$500 USD
We appreciate your generosity. Your big contribution will be used to cover the costs for the testing of the patchouli oil and the certification. You will be rewarded with a 15 ml bottle of Coeur d'Ile Eau de parfum, exclusively produced in the Seychelles by perfumer Isabelle Gellé. This exotic Amber perfume contains patchouli and other exotic ingredients and makes you travel to the Seychelles through scents! Add $10 for international shipping.
Estimated Shipping
September 2014
0 out of 2 of claimed
sold out

Your name in the Seychelles!

$1,000 USD
Estimated Shipping
September 2014
1 out of 1 of claimed

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