Rosemary

Ademuz, Spain

An ancient plant which awakens inner forces and fights fatigue

In ancient times rosemary - from the Greek ‘dew of the sea’ - was a plant both venerated and in everyday use. It was important as a medicinal plant and was also used to adorn both gods and humans in ceremonial or sacred rituals. The healing properties of the essential oil began to be more widely understood in the Middle Ages. Rosemary asserts itself with heat and cold and its aroma awakens inner forces and helps with fatigue, refreshing and stimulating. Oil of rosemary is used in many Weleda body and hair care products and is also used in medicines.

The area around Ademuz in Spain has the perfect climate conditions for the cultivation of rosemary, lavender and other aromatic plants. In winter it is cold, in summer hot and dry. Here, Blas Aparicio operates the company Ecoaramuz, which specialises in the ecological cultivation of aromatic plants as well as certified wild collection of rosemary. The company produces essential oils for Weleda in its own drying and distillation plant, about eight kilometers away in a secluded mountain valley.

Perfect climate conditions

In the productive growing months of summer, Blas Aparicio takes 800 kg of wild-collected leaves and twigs, by road, to the processing plant, where he empties the entire truckload into the steam boiler. About an hour later everything is imbued with the aroma of rosemary, as the essential oil separates from the vapour by distillation. 800 kilos of brances will yield four kilograms of oil, and Weleda needs about 5 to 6 tons of rosemary oil annually.

Ecoaromuz delivers most of this share so, to promote good development and to build on reliable quantities, Weleda has entered into a long-term partnership with the company. Weleda has financed the first delivery quantity and the building of a second distillation.

Half an hour's drive from the village of Ademuz on a plateau, three employees are busy with the certified wild collection on 9,500 hectares of land. It’s a huge area, and up here it's hot, the sky is steel-blue and the air is clear. The three workers gather the rosemary rapidly, using an electric saw to cut old branches which are then collected by hand. Younger plants that have not yet become woody are harvested with hand shears. One hectare of land will yield about 50 kg of essential oil.

100% trustworthy

Anyone who buys oil from traders on the open market can never be one hundred percent sure if the product is pure. For our high quality requirements, we place trust in the hands of long-term, trustworthy and reliable partners who can assure us of ecological cultivation and conscientious oil extraction in a single place. With partnerships like this Weleda can support and encourage greater sustainability to be valued more widely.