Summary

Welcome to Petra Aroma Bar & Wellness! We are a regenerative Aromatherapy Center that is transforming the aroma/fragrance industry to be more sustainable and climate positive.

We own a permaculture/regenerative farm in Puerto Rico (Borikén) which serves as the source of our aromas. After harvesting, we create herbal infusions using carrier oils that allow us to enjoy the natural essence of aromatic plants like Lemongrass, Citronella, Rosemary, Lavender, and more for healing. These aromas not only help make spaces smell better, but they also help people who have medical conditions like anxiety, depression, pains, and sleep disorders.

Our work is helping to radically transform the fragrance industry, which contributes over 10 million tons of CO2 annually between raw material sourcing, manufacturing processes, packaging and distribution, and waste generation.

How it Works

We believe that all we consume as a community should be from natural, healthy and familiar sources. That's why we plant, take care of, harvest and then create all of our herbal infusions by hand, with full intention. This method allows us to provide significant carbon offsets in Puerto Rico and share natural products with the greater community

As we grow our practice in permaculture and regenerative farming, we aim to plant more aromatic and edible plants to contribute to the soil restoration process and a biodiverse land.

Reach

Our space outside the farm invites the community to learn and appreciate the beauty and wellness plants can provide to us on a day to day basis.

It begins with an overview of why we should avoid fragrance oils, and toxic chemicals, and how aromatic, medicinal plants can replace most of the products that are toxic (e.g., perfumes, lotions, bug spray, fragrance oils, room sprays etc.). We then acknowledge the land and the indigenous Taino people that occupied the land before us to honor their practice in conserving and nurturing the island. Finally, our community creates their own products and learns how they can heal us depending on the plants of choice.

Grant 22 Goals

With funding we can expand our farm to include more permaculture practices, ensuring even more diversity in our plant offerings (fruit, vegetables, medicinal and aromatic plants/trees). We’d also like to create a communal space on the land as a place of meeting, to have the community experience the land and how to take care of and provide reciprocity to it first hand.

We also want to be able to create our own carrier oil with the coconuts grown on the land but need better tools to do this, the funding will eliminate the need to depend on external suppliers outside of Puerto Rico which also lessens our carbon footprint.

Roadmap

Priority 1: Create a fully regenerative farm with over 30 plus variety of species Priority 2: Create Coconut oil in-house to promote a circular economy Priority 3: Build a communal space directly on the land to provide a more variety of workshops including direct interaction with the plants themselves before making natural products

Lessons Learned

Over the past few months, we’ve learned the lesson of promoting a deeper connection with the land and our plants used to create natural ingredients. Working directly with the plants not only ensures transparency and quality in our products but also fosters a profound respect for nature’s processes.

Our goal is to make all our natural ingredients ourselves, to guarantee that every product is crafted with integrity and authenticity. This hands-on approach will reinforce the importance of sustainable practices and the joy of creating wellness products truly rooted in nature.

Impact

In just over 4 months we’ve been able to reach about 50 people through hosting workshops, converting them from using synthetic oils that adversely affect the environment, to appreciating and learning how to work with nature in a reciprocal manner and to replace those products.Each product is crafted using natural ingredients and sustainable packaging. We prioritize glass bottles that are recyclable, to reduce our plastic footprint.