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In a remarkable story of serendipity, this unusual product
made its way into the home of an ad executive Denis Simioni, who had over
a decade of experience in the beauty business. A relative
from Honduras had come to visit Denis and his wife,
leaving behind a baby food jar filled with an unusual brown
paste. It sat on the shelf for two years.
One day after coming out of the swimming pool, Denis’
wife noticed that her hair was very dry, brittle and unruly.
She searched the bathroom cupboards for something to calm
the frizz, and found her grandmother’s jar. She decided
to give it a try.
Simioni recalls that the results were amazing. “I couldn’t stop playing with her hair,“ he says. “It was softer and shinier than I’d ever seen it.“ He immediately set out to learn all he could about Ojon® oil.
Grandma had apparently purchased the oil from an Indian who comes down from the mountains once a month to sell it on the street corner. It was the only source. The Ojon® tree is unique to the rainforest of the Mosquitia region of Central America, and, although the Tawira Indians had been using Ojon® oil for centuries to clean, condition and protect their hair, it had never been exported beyond the region.
Before long, Denis and his colleagues were on a plane to Honduras to find out more about Ojon® oil from the people who knew it best. Remarkably, they set out to find the Tawira tribe not really knowing where to look. A five-hour ride in a run-down single-propeller plane landed them on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere. They hiked for two hours before finding someone who could guide them further, chancing upon members of the Mopawi, a local non-profit organization dedicated to helping the Indians of the Mosquitia.
Now with more specific directions, Denis and his crew embarked
on a five-hour small boat ride into the rainforest. Denis
still recalls the experience with awe. “The boat ride
was incredible — something out of National Geographic or an
Indiana Jones movie. The Indian tribes live just as they had for
centuries. The land was so pure and unspoiled.”
As the boat began to slow, Denis knew they had arrived at
the Mosquitia. “They all had remarkably healthy, shiny
hair,” he remarked, “...and no one was wearing
a hat.” Other tribes they had encountered along the
way wore hats to protect themselves from the blazing sun. In their
native language, the Mosquito Indians are referred to as the
Tawira
which, believe it or not, translates to “the
people of beautiful hair™.”
Speaking with the Tawira, Denis learned that they wear Ojon® in their hair all day long, and also use it as a body moisturizer — from the day they are born. The Tawira were pleased to share all they knew about this rare natural treasure. They demonstrated each step in the lengthy and time-consuming process of harvesting the nuts and extracting the oil, which is all done by hand.
Denis spent the next three years developing
and testing Ojon® formulations while a relationship with the people of the Miskito tribe grew. In cooperation with the MOPAWI, he developed a corporate partnership involving thousands of Tawira families. Ojon®
Corporation obtained exclusive worldwide distribution rights
to the Ojon®
oil, and a portion of the profits from the sale of Ojon® goes directly to the Tawira Indian tribes to help preserve their traditional lifestyle and the region's rainforests.
Ojon® limits the annual harvests in order to protect
the natural resource, and to ensure that authentic Ojon® continues to be harvested and extracted by hand in the traditional way as a guarantee of purity and effectiveness. The Tawira tribes are consulted on all aspects of the business — from product development to marketing. |
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