Remember the days when your grandmother rubbed your skin with homemade coconut oil? Or during the holidays you were given aloes and egg for a good purging? And what about shining bush tea? A good salve was often made from it to treat certain skin conditions. Well, how about if you can get these same benefits, only this time you won't have to gag or make monkey faces? All you have to do is step into your shower, infuse your skin with a natural body bar of your choice and moisturise as you desire.
Rodco Home Essentials has made this possible with its various lines of natural body products designed to treat, heal and reveal the most beautiful skin you did not know even existed, says founder, director at Rodco and creator of the lines, Colleen Malwah-Aqui. She recently visited the T&T Guardian showing off an array of her products, ranging from body butters, candles, oils and scrubs to soaps and lip balms.
She boasts of all her products being handmade and suitable for use by anyone. That's probably because they are made with the most natural ingredients and extracts from local fruits, plants and vegetables. In her lines you will find products made from the noni fruit, papaya, mango, caralie, goat milk, grape, orange, lavender, dark chocolate, and even beer. Yep! We did say beer. Her shandy sorrel soap and shandy beer and ginger soaps are actually huge hits among clients.
She talks about her products being formulated to directly take care of and heal your skin, and so her products do not focus on fragrance or harsh chemicals. "It's just all natural," she assures.
"We tend to focus a lot on fragrance and maybe nothing is wrong with that. But at the same time, do commercial soaps really cater to the various skin types? Are they made to protect the skin and not be harsh to it? Their labels sometimes say so, but after a use, you find your skin is either very dry, rough or sometimes for those with sensitive skin, quite a disaster. So every soap and other products made by Rodco is created to take care of you and give you back that beautiful skin you were born with."
How did Malwah-Aqui get involved in this type of business? According to the former fashion designer who originally hails from Tobago, she has always been into handicraft.
"My life was pretty busy back then. I worked for a garment company and on the side did some of my own designing, making bridal wear, etc. Being very busy, you can forget about doing little important things, like just taking care of your skin. And I realised I needed to do that."
At the time the mother of one had two friends who were actively involved in the business of developing natural handmade beauty bars. She used a couple and was extremely satisfied with the results.
"After using some of their products, my skin actually looked and felt better, so being the curious person that I am, I wanted to find out more. So I continued talking with them and began to do my own research on how to make handmade soap," Malwah-Aqui related.
She took a one-day training course with a local chemist at the Caribbean Industrial Research Institute (Cariri) to educate herself on the chemistry of soap making. The rest she learned through constant research on the internet, books and by trial and error.
She laughs when she remembers her very first bar–a soap made from the lavender plant.
"I am no botanist, but I love plants and my favourite is the lavender plant, so of course I went with lavender," she says through laughter.
The result was what made her more curious and she began to think about what else she could use to make these soaps. The idea of fruits and vegetables was born.
An economic investment
Not only are her soaps a hit among her growing clientele, but their demand for the products has prompted her to develop new shampoos, body washes and a complete men's line, as well as a mother and baby line to be coming on stream soon.
But the best part her clients enjoy, she says, is the affordability of her products. "We will not kill you with a high price. In most instances when you hear the word 'natural,' you immediately think it must be a pound and a crown, but it is not. We want the use of Rodco's products to be a lifestyle, not a one-off buy."
Malwah-Aqui also now teaches privately and at public organisations when requested. She brags that some of her students follow her footsteps and are opening their own small businesses.
"That is such a joy to me. Because I have always lived by a personal credo where I believe instead of waiting for someone to hire you, why not hire yourself? It just gives me great pleasure to see them getting up and being creative and doing something they love," said Malwah-Aqui.
Asked of her challenges as an entrepreneur and how she overcame them, she says quite simply: "They were always there, but I do not focus on the problem. I focus on the solution and I never doubt myself."
Malwah-Aqui is getting ready for the annual Mango Festival on July 5 at the National Agricultural Marketing and Development Corporation (Namdevco) compound in Debe. The event is put on by the Network of Rural Women Producers. And she warns: it will be all things mango. "We are talking from food, to hair products, drinks and all things mango."
The purpose of the event is to showcase the variety of things that can be done with local fruits and vegetables.
One can patronise Malwah-Aqui's products by visiting her workshop at Raphael's Plaza in Arouca, Bang Bang Home Store, Tobago, Things Natural, Tobago, The Shop at Normandie Hotel and online at www.shellsun.com. Also see her Facebook page/Rodco Home Essentials, for more information, or call 775-0365.