Long before Tribal Sangha, there were tribes living deep within the mountain forests of the Western Ghats — distilling lemongrass oil the way their ancestors always had. And as years passed, a few ventured beyond their sacred lands, and adopted new names and customs in the town. But among them, some also chose to carry forward their old traditions, by keeping it alive in the mud-thatched sheds up in the hills.

Before a single drop of essential oil is drawn, the land itself must be cared for and nurtured. Fields are enriched with organic compost, soil is turned by the native-bred cattle, seeds are sown and watched over day and night — a slow, time-consuming vigil for three to six months. The oil begins to take its root in the soil, long before the still is lit. And it begins in the soil of our Sangha farms, in harmony with the nature.

For us, preservation does not mean keeping a tradition alive only in our memory, or admiring it after it has vanished from the lives of those who once practiced it. Any tradition is better preserved by making something the old way — through the touch of hands, the harvest on the fields, and the recognition of the people who keep it alive to this day. This is what has grown our sense of preservation, from steam distilling essential oils in the age-old stills to extracting carrier oils through a 2000 year old tradition of stone-pressed, bull-driven mills in our farms.