Wild Wood Groves is committed to ethical trading

In all, two days work is needed to produce a single litre of Argan Oil.

WILD WOOD GROVES has built and equipped its own argan oil production workshop in the heart of the Argan region in Morocco. Our aims are that the local Berber women, who traditionally make this oil, benefit from good wages and working conditions, whilst the strictest quality control and traceability is maintained.

 

“Providing a fair income for the local community who are producing the oil encourages the protection of the tree and gives hope that future generations will be able to support themselves from their unique heritage”

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Argan oil is time consuming and laborious to produce. The fruit is gathered by hand from the ground in the late summer. Most argan trees grow wild on common land, however local families have traditional gathering rights, their areas being delineated by small piles of stones. The fruit is stripped from the hard nuts which are individually cracked between heavy stones, each one yielding a small seed similar to an apricot kernel. For the food oil these seeds are lightly toasted and then pressed to release their precious oil. In all two days work is needed to produce a single litre. Argan skin care oil is made from raw cold-pressed seeds. This gives a far lower yield as a large amount of seed pulp has to be filtered out.

The Argan tree grows only in S.W. Morocco. It is believed to date back 25,000,000 years and to have once covered N. Africa. Now endangered, it is protected by UNESCO as a Biosphere heritage.  The Argan grows wild in semi-desert soil, its deep root system helping to protect against soil erosion and the northern advance of the Sahara. It plays an essential ecological function in that it protects the soil against heavy rain and wind induced erosion. It maintains its own eco-system, the leafy canopy providing shade and moisture.

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  • "I truly did not expect to be so bowled over by such a simple product. The improvement in my skin tone & texture has been exceptional. After about 3wks of use I began to receive many comments about my skin and I could quite clearly see the difference myself. I have never experienced this with any other product I have used and have tried many face products over the years, expensive & inexpensive but nothing has come close."
    Hayley
  • "I travel a lot and work in extreme environments and have even used my precious oil on grateful colleagues who have burnt themselves in the sun! I can honestly say that this is the best beauty product I own."
    Caroline Finnigan
  • "Thank you again for the lavender Argan oil, it is lovely. I am treating myself to your Rescue eye serum and cream. Your Argan rescue serum is the most wonderful (and soothing) skin product that I have ever used and at 62 I have used quite a few! It is pure bliss!"
    Christine P
  • I spent my 30s spending hundreds of pounds on the latest 'proven to work' super creams, potions, etc and also admit to trying Botox ..... Then I discovered Ruth and now in my forties, my skin and overall health and well being are better than ever. I'm also saving so much money and time as I've binned all the bottles! My skin only requires a 'Ruth blend' which is 100% natural and comes in one tiny bottle ... Morning, night, winter, summer ... Nothing else is needed to keep my skin supple, lifted, moisturised and glowing. As for any signs of ageing I've replaced Botox with a 'Ruth session'. The tiny, painless facial needles have smoothed away lines and her mini facial lifts and plumps whilst optional needles are given to body points to release anything you may be struggling with that day ... Fatigue, stress, anxiety.
    It’s great when friends ask what I'm doing to make my skin look so fresh and radiant when they know I'm a caffeine and prosecco addict!  Saskia W.
  • "The Wild Wood Groves Rose oil is still the best product to ever grace my skin"   S. Moloney
  • This cleansing bar is amazing, got it as a gift with the Rose and Frankincense facial oil a while ago but only just got round to trying it. Wow! Takes off all my makeup, better than my usual cleanser and my skin feels brilliant after, soft and clean. The extra benefit is its softening my hands at the same time. Will be getting more of this, its brilliant!!!

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Argania spinosa – The Argan Tree

Argan trees can have a single trunk, or a number of twisted, thickened stems and can grow up to a height of 10 metres. Deep roots reach down to the water table, whilst another superficial root system mops up any rainfall. Surviving on a minimal amount of rainfall, they become dormant during periods of drought. It takes many years to yield fruit, the most being  after 50–60 years of growth. The fact that they can survive for 200–250 years, makes the Argan Groves a valuable inheritance for future generations.

Ethical Trading from the ground up

Wild Wood Groves is committed to ethical trading in its oil production and contributing to the conservation of this rare species. Historically argan wood, known as Moroccan iron wood, was used in buildings as joists and to make ploughs. Its bark was used medicinally by herbalists to treat digestive problems. This is now forbidden, though as much dead wood as can be carried by an individual or a donkey may be used as charcoal. We believe that providing a fair income for making argan oil in the region where the trees grow ensures a unique heritage for future generations.

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Read more in my book entitled “Argan the Sacred Grove” available as an ebook on Amazon for £3

‘This book is about the discovery of Argan oil, its properties, unique history and the work being done to preserve the habitat of the Argan tree which provides this extraordinary elixir and staple of the Berbers.”

Review – Argan oil has almost magical properties for health and beauty and this little book describes it fully showing that science also backs up its claims. Also described is how the oil is now produced by women in cooperatives thus improving their lives making them economically sufficient. I live in Morocco so found the book both an accurate and a warm description of this wonderful thorny tree and the only land where the tree grows.

Argan-The Sacred Grove - Ruth Hajioff