Ever walked into a spa or sauna and you are hit by the feel-good, body calming scents in the air and wonder what they are?

The aroma you experience in wellness centres and hotel lobbies comes from natural essential oils extracted from plants, some of which are around us but we do not even know how important they are.

A good example is a common weed found in gardens or compounds, locally known as ‘Nyiramunuka’ or ‘Kanuka’, which many think has an unpleasant repugnant smell yet in reality it produces one of the best therapeutic essential oils.

In 2005, Nicolas Hitimana saw an opportunity presented by Rwanda and Africa’s endless nature offerings of plants that can produce essential oils which can be used for therapeutic purposes and set out to start a project that would not just bring the idea to life but also benefit all those involved in the production process.

Hitimana, 58, established Ikirezi Group, a local company producing essential oil extracted plants, including indigenous ones, known to have healing and therapeutic effects for centuries.

Natural essential oils are extracted from various plant parts by appropriate extraction methods, mainly through distillation, where the exact aroma from a plant is removed and used for medicinal or therapeutic purposes. It is a whole science once you dive into it.

Hitimana, the founder and managing director of the company, who has been dedicated to this social business for nearly two decades now, says that when he set out, his mission was not just to produce these important oils locally but also export and change the lives of farmers involved.

"When we started, we really wanted to bring something to Rwanda, which was new, to add to the list of products that are exported, but also to find a way to support our farmers in rural areas to earn an income,” Hitimana says.

"The vision was really to produce something new that will be transformational in our communities, especially helping the poor to get out of poverty and build communities,” he says, adding that in the aftermath of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, people were divided and not working together.

"I wanted to use this as a channel to bring people together but also to give them an opportunity to earn a decent living,” Hitimana says.

A high value and environmentally friendly industry

Rwanda and Africa generally are blessed with abundant natural plants, some of which cannot be found in other parts of the world. This also means that the natural essential oils that can be extracted from these plants are also rare and highly demanded.

"Our products are very high value. From the onset, we set ourselves high very products which are organic, we are certified organic, we can sell anywhere in the world as organic and this is a premium on our product, but also, we take care of the environment,” Hitimana points out.

Passionate about the environment and nature, Hitimana says that when he set out, he wanted to do something that was environmentally sustainable and socially impactful. Whatever they do, they make sure the environment is well taken care of.

Keeping it local

The essential oils made by Ikirezi Group are 100 percent Made-in-Rwanda. Everything they use is locally produced or grown in Rwanda and processed by the people.

The first product they produced was Geranium, scientifically known as Pelargonium peltatum, a high value oil used in the cosmetic and perfume industries before the added lemon grass, locally known as ‘umucayicayi’, which is mainly used to add an aroma to tea.

Ikirezi Group is also involved in the production of Patchouli, which is of high demand on the international market because it is a base for the perfume industry as well as Eucalyptus Oil, when of their first products, commonly used in saunas and spas and exported as well.

"We have plenty of eucalyptus trees here, but not all of them can produce essential commercial oils. There is one called ‘globulus’ from which we extract essential oils which we put on the market. We also have Rosemary, which is a plant we grow, but not all Rosemary varieties are commercial,” he explains.

In 2013, Ikirezi carried out trials to determine distillation protocols of Tagetes oil, produced from the Tagetes plant, locally known as ‘Nyiramunuka’ or ‘Kanuka’.

"Tagetes is a weed. Locally, people don’t even like the smell but it has a lot of value in the perfume industry,” Hitimana says, describing it as a magical plant.

A gift from nature

Essential oils play a key role in the wellness of people and some of the extracts Ikirezi group manufactures can even cure different ailments and provide some relaxation effects.

"Well, apart from the economic value obviously, all these aromas are what nature has offered mankind to make us feel good. Some of the oils like geranium can really make you feel well when you stressed, when you feel moody,”

"The scent of geranium can make you feel great even when you walk into the field where it is grown. The aroma itself is very pleasant and it’s a mosquito repellent. Lemongrass as well is a refreshing kind of oil. When you smell lemon grass you feel alive,” Hitimana explains.

All these plants are useful in one way or another. For example, the extract from the Rosemary plant is used in the manufacturing of many products especially for the hair. Rosemary oil is known to make the hair grow, among other uses.

Eucalyptus oil on the other hand is also used for medicinal purposes especially in medicines for respiratory conditions.

Ensuring quality

In producing essential oils, quality is key. Hitimana says the process starts right from the field and the varieties used. They have to be specific and certified as commercial varieties. When they started, there were some local varieties such as geranium but they were not commercial.

The varieties they use are those researched and confirmed to have commercial value that meets International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards.

They partner with different universities, including U.S-based Rutgers University which offered them a big lab to run tests on the oils while they work closely with Rwanda Standards Board (RSB) to certify the oils, including for export.

"We’ve been working with RSB because we are the ones who pioneered essential oils here. Even putting standards of our essential oil industry here, we’ve been part of it working with RSB,” Hitimana says.

To ensure quality, they have to maintain the same varieties, right from where they are grown to the time of extraction, which makes it a very careful process to make sure that the components don’t change.

It hasn’t been an easy journey for Hitimana and Ikirezi, mainly because they faced a challenge of supplies needed. Even with geranium which they started with, they had to grow about five hectares themselves in Nyagatare district to ensure that they have enough raw material needed.

To get the right variety, they needed to grow the plants themselves, relying on farmers as well. The other challenge Hitimana cites is regulation, where regulators don’t pay attention to the progress made and still look at it as a new project.

With resources, Hitimana believes this is an industry that can grow into a big and lucrative one because these essential oils have high demand even on the international market.

"We’ve been exporting to South Africa, UK, US and Canada, not in large volumes but we have buyers in those countries,” Hitimana says, adding that the supply remains far below the demand of such essential oils.

Having ventured into the unknown and unexplored world, Hitimana believes there is a lot to tap into in nature, such as the different plants that grow in the country, whose use and importance is not explored and it is an opportunity many Rwandans can take up.