(2 of 12)
DANA HRADECKA
Czech co-founder of Botanicus
There would be no life without plants. From the very beginning, mankind has used plants for food, construction material, medicine, decoration and to make clothes, dyes, paper. We respect the potential of the plant kingdom and we recognize the contribution it can bring to those of us living in modern industrial societies. While keeping quality control methods on a par with modern science, we have nevertheless taken as our measuring stick some of the values and philosophies of the Middle Ages, a time of deep love and respect for the wonders of nature and for the virtues of hand craftsmanship. Wherever possible, we grow our plants ourselves. We emphasize simplicity. We go back to the basics. Our attitude to things changes when we see how something is made and how much time and effort go into it.
Many of the recipes and technologies we use are centuries old. To make washballs [a piece of soap shaped into a ball] we have adapted Italian and French recipes from the 15th and 16th centuries. Before they used bones and tallow to make soap. We use coconut, palm or olive oil, but otherwise we use cornstarch as a bonding agent, resin of the Styrax tree as a preservative and lavender, orange or rose and various essential oils for aroma. The soap is pressed by hand in molds made from beechwood.
Globalization and joining the European Union carry a number of advantages, but these developments are often unkind to small producers, bringing costly new norms and regulations. This is one of the reasons traditional producers are disappearing. Small makers of traditional foodstuffs like French cheese are disappearing because they have to use stainless steel equipment. It pains me to see Coca-Cola or Algida ice-cream stands in mountain villages of Crete or Greece. You ask for their traditional tea and they don't have it because they only carry Lipton. A large company is no longer flexible to accommodate market needs and tailor its production according to what ingredients the season has to offer.