What Beauty Brand Kaibae is Doing for Giving Tuesday

In honor of Giving Tuesday, KAIBAE is supporting communities to combat hunger and provide critical aid. The activist-driven health and beauty brand will be donating 30% of sales to African Women Rising (AWR), a local organization working with community-based groups to empower and improve the lives of women in post-conflict areas of Africa. Due to the pandemic, AWR has pivoted its programs to provide targeted aid to South Sudanese refugees in Uganda. AWR is focusing on regenerative agricultural activities to ensure access to food as well as distributing soap, installing hand washing stations and providing information to combat the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

Kaibae is a health and beauty brand based in Santa Barbara, CA created by  naturopath, Dr. Luc Maes, and botanist-humanitarian, Tom Cole. Together, they source indigenous crops not widely known to the outside world and create highly efficacious products such as beautiful face oils, luxurious oversized soaps, and delicious immune-boosting powder supplements.

Their small team works with communities in Ghana, Colombia, and Zanzibar to harvest ingredients, namely Baobab Seed Oil, Cacay Nut Oil and Seaweed. By doing so, real value is brought to these crops which protects them and preserves the biodiversity on our planet. But perhaps the most important part of this business equation is that sales from Kaibae products brings revenue directly to these communities, improving livelihoods and granting greater access to healthcare and education.

Baobab seed oil producers in Ghana

"Kaibae" means, "Hello, how are you? Are you well?" in Kusaal, the language spoken by their harvesting partners in Ghana.

By working in direct partnership with indigenous communities, Kaibae insure sthe regenerative and ethical harvest of their ingredients. When you purchase Kaibae products, you're doing more than just supporting your own health; you're playing an active role in preserving earth's biodiversity and supporting the livelihoods of harvesting communities. The income generated by harvesting wild plants grants our partners year-round stability, food security and better access to education and healthcare.

Kaibae's mission is to give wild plants a voice as powerful catalysts for improving health & beauty, advancing social good and preserving biodiversity. Once considered Lost Crops™, these wild plants and their rediscovered benefits now promote economic development in regions of the world where natural resources grow abundantly and poverty is widespread.

Kaibae helps to improve access to education and healthcare by creating a new source of revenue for the Northern Ghanaian communities that harvest Lost Crops™ ingredients like baobab. Watch their award winning documentary short Lost Crops here.

ABOUT THE BAOBAB TREE

The Baobab tree grows wild throughout the African Savanna in Northern Ghana. People there call it "the tree of life" or the "pharmacy tree" because of the beneficial uses Baobab provides. In short, Baobab seed oil is cold-pressed and used for everything from cooking to hair and skin care. Rich in omega-3 fatty acids and good-for-you fats, there is clinical research proving that this African elixir helps moisturize skin, improve skin texture and elasticity, help repair the skin barrier, help skin heal faster and reduce inflammation.

ABOUT THE CACAY TREE

Elvia Louisa Almado from Colombia in Lost Crops Documentary

Cacay trees cover the Amazon Rainforest in Colombia and are well known in the region for their protein-rich nuts, which are considered "Amazonian Gold." The oil of the Cacay Nut is higher in vitamin A than Rosehip oil and has more vitamin E and F than Argan oil, making it an incredible antioxidant for the skin. With the overabundance of this natural resource, Kaibae is helping the people of Colombia reap the financial benefits of their natural resource while its formulating it into products for people in the states to enjoy. So do your skin and the world a favor and shop KAIBAE now!