Our Story

My name is Mufadzi Nkomo and I am the founder of Chiiso botanics

I am inspired by my grandmother, vaManyati,  who throughout her 96 years of life, promoted and encouraged me to have a curiosity about the bountiful healing plants and trees growing all around us.

The Marula tree is one of the great trees indigenous to Southern Africa. Climate change and continuing droughts are making life extremely challenging but the Marula trees thrive here and are a great asset for the local communities. As children, we climbed these same trees which are now the heart of the business.

I am forging an alliance and long-lasting partnership with this special part of my childhood to create a livelihood and an improved standard of living to a large community.

You too can be part of  their  story by choosing our luxury cold-pressed, organic and wild beauty oils. Our wild oils have nothing added, they give hydration, nourishment and silky soft skin. It’s the perfect antidote for those of you who would like to switch up from face creams to a nourishing plant-based oil.

Marula oil is luxurious for your tresses too. All textures respond to the ultra-light vitamin-rich  precious oil.

Chiiso botanics is a family-run company based in London and Zimbabwe.

The Marula season is joyous time and lasts three months. The air is sweet with the ripening fruit which are quick to ferment in the dry heat. All over the region, women and children are handpicking and gathering the plum-sized fruits from the woods and the edges of their fields . The pulp of the fruit is used to make jams, and more typically, beer.

It is a delicious Kombucha to start with but very quickly becomes a potent brew. Some women are more adept than others at brewing and the real afficianados are known and have regular visitors, naturally.

Chiiso botanics is responding to the global climate crisis by harnessing the bio-diversity of Africa’s little known and under-utilised flora. The villagers earn an income from selling to us the nuts left after the fruit pulp is removed. The hard nutshell contains 2 or 3 delicious and nutritious kernels. It is these that are cold-pressed to produce Marula oil.

OUR VALUES:

  • To empower rural communities
  • To give our customers the most luxurious organic plant  oils
  • To plant indigenous, drought resistant trees
  • To forge lasting change through profit share
  • To introduce and teach permaculture
  • To make a difference