We’re on a mission to
challenge accepted standards
& take fair trade further.
You need natural, sustainable products;
emerging communities need more opportunities.
Soap is just the beginning.
“40-60% of the 3.5 million coconut farmers
in the Philippines are living in poverty,
on less than a dollar a day.”
– Fair Trade USA
No one is an island.
We’re all better off together.
That’s a fact.
Poapoa partners with small producers from rural, emerging communities to cultivate botanical blends and introduce them to a market they couldn’t otherwise access.
Everyone contributes so we all reap the rewards – you included.
Traditional Issues.
Coconut oil is everywhere!
Our supermarkets are flooded with coco care. So why are coconut farmers still impoverished?
Because, in the traditional business model, wealth doesn’t flow to the bottom – it trickles.
This trickle perpetuates poverty as communities at the start of the supply chain can’t grow.
Our groundbreaking model
creates wealth along the
entire chain – not just the top.
We go straight to the source
to create opportunities that
help tackle rural poverty.
How did we do it?
First, we made friends.
We rely on our partners to provide local information as they live the issues. They provide the skills, knowledge, raw ingredients and work ethic, and we help them to scale. By partnering, we grow together.
Then, we moved the production line.
Meet Editha.
From the Philippines, Editha blends our shampoos and scrubs using coconut oil sourced from local farmer cooperatives.
Meet Comfort.
From Ghana, Comfort is a shea butter impresario who provides the key ingredient in the soaps we develop together.
Meet Joan.
From Kenya, Joan works with farmers to make virgin coconut oil used in our botanical blends.
Straight from the source.
In the past, these communities only sold raw ingredients – not coconut oil or shea butter, but coconuts and shea nuts. They only had one client and were bound to their offer – no matter how low. Either accept a little or get nothing.
How have we fixed this?
Farm-level processing: Process the raw ingredients where they’re farmed, create the product nearby and ship for more.
By processing at source, instead of selling a coconut for 10p, they can sell a soap bar with coconut oil for £3.
It’s that simple.
The achievements of this model are marvellous and many.
For you.
You are guaranteed natural, hand-blended bodycare from a source you can trust. Plus, you make a direct difference with your purchase – creating opportunities that lift communities out of poverty.
For the rural communities.
Processing local resources at source creates opportunities for local people. Whether it be pressing coconuts for oil in coastal Kenya, or grinding shea nuts for butter in Ghana, local people acquire skilled jobs. This means an area retains its community as higher paying, fulfilling work is available.
These communities’ women, in particular, are given the opportunity to thrive. As many have children, they rely on local, part-time work to sustain their families. Without it, they either cannot work or are forced to move away from their homes, closer to an employer.
As opportunities increase around a homegrown supply chain, businesses, teams and individuals grow, meaning communities grow.
For the planet.
By removing many stages from the typical chain, the carbon footprint of each product is significantly lowered. Also, because all ingredients are natural, chemical alternatives are not required, thus further decreasing the carbon footprint.
That’s Poapoa.
Outstanding, honest, natural products straight from the source.