Gnon Kany
For each order placed, we donate 1 euro to the NGO Gnon Kany. This association was created in partnership with the village in Guinea where we harvest the Carapa procera oil present in our treatments.
The origins of the NGO Gnon Kany
Created in 2011 by Sylvie Méliet, founder of LM Natura, the NGO mainly brings together women from the village. It aims to improve the living conditions of villagers through the development of Carapa procera. Before that, the village only subsisted on food crops.
The name Gnon Kany has a very special meaning in the Malenke language. Gnon Kany means “let us love each other”, an opening mission, inspired by the imam of the village where Sylvie Méliet, the founder of the Laboratories, anchored her research on Carapa procera oil.
Economic interest
The production of Carapa procera oil has always been managed by women who harvest the Carapa procera nuts and are also responsible for extracting the oil. Until LM Natura discovered its virtues, production was limited to a few dozen liters per year. This activity was therefore a small additional source of income for women.
Opposite, an example of improvement in daily living conditions, in this village without running water and electricity….
In addition to the economic interest in developing the production of Carapa procera oil, the work of the NGO helps to highlight this rare species, this endangered tree.
The very confidential use of Carapa procera oil had until now led to the endangerment of this tree. It was often felled for its particularly strong wood and was used for local furniture. The Guinean Ministry for the Protection of Water and Forests has also placed it on the list of endangered species for almost 20 years.
The valorization of oil Carapa procera thus made it possible to initially slow down deforestation. The Carapa procera tree was until now a rare tree, growing in the wild, at a rate of a few trees per hectare. Women had to travel tens of kilometers through the bush to harvest a few nuts, which were laborious to transport on women's backs.
Sylvie Méliet very quickly wanted to plant a plantation of this species in the immediate vicinity of the village. Its primary objective was to allow women to harvest more quickly, in larger quantities, without having to walk dozens of kilometers.
She got in touch with the local university, specializing in botany and forestry, to go even further. In 2017, a thousand Carapa Procera trees were planted in the immediate vicinity of the village.
One of the world's few specialists on the Carapa is a French researcher from the National Museum of Natural History, Professor Pierre-Michel Forget. It is thanks to him that the particular technique of human planting could be put in place. Convinced of the virtues of the oil, he describes it as “dArgan oil of tomorrow".
An ambition on an international scale
LM Natura has so far fully financed the necessary investments and salaries. The objective is now more ambitious, since with the help of the university, the NGO is now preparing to plant 100 ha of ecoforest. Applications for land allocation to the competent Ministry are in progress.
The impact on the lives of the villagers would not only be economic, because this eco-forest is planned to also protect the village from savannah fires which are very frequent in the region. Fire protection zones will be set up.
A scientific ambition
The project also includes an essential scientific component to make this oil known to the general public, carry out clinical studies to highlight the virtues of the oil and be able to offer it to other laboratories, while offering exemplary traceability.
The filing of an Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) seems to us to be an important step, because Carapa procera grows in several surrounding regions, however the virtues of the oil are linked to the biotope (the environment, the climate and the soil quality), the NGO's region is very particular: on the edge of savannah and forest region; the region has several iron mines, which gives the soil a very particular character.
Your solidarity contribution with the NGO Gnon Kany
LM Natura is the fruit of Sylvie Méliet’s desire for sharing and solidarity:
– sharing with everyone the care that allowed it to effectively and naturally treat psoriasis, with the creation of LM Natura,
– sharing with the local community in Guinea, within the framework of fair trade,
– sharing of knowledge and techniques to promote Carapa procera and its oil.
Your purchase will also contribute to developing the NGO Gnon Kany. In addition, when you receive your package, you will find a note from our founder encouraging you to share the existence of our care with those around you.
You will thus be the direct extension of this above all human adventure.
Because any company must be able to go beyond its economic interest to also contribute, even modestly, to making the world a better place.
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