My Ingredients
When I develop a formula, I will always aim for the purest, most powerful ingredient. An example of this is the Juniper I use in Sherpa Rub. I want to find plants growing in untouched soil – not only organic but without any other residues in the soil that even organic ingredients can be affected by. Juniper grows wild in Nepal at heights of over 4900m and is the purest, most powerful form of the plant available.
Indigenous Community Projects
As I source my ingredients from Nepal, the South Pacific, Mongolia, and the Amazon Rainforest, among other places, I always want the supply to be completely sustainable. For me, that means building a community indigenous project whereby my work with the local community sustains them. When the families are properly clothed and fed, and the mothers no longer worry about these basics, we can then go on to work out the best way for us to work with them.
In Nepal, for example, we not only provide winter clothing, food, and shelter but also repair the local school and provide uniforms. Each winter, we send 1900 kg of food to the village’s elderly and disabled in Pangbouche. It is interesting to note that Sir Edmund Hilary built the school in the village (at 4000m!) in 1963 and opened it a year later.
Expeditions
Going on expeditions is a big part of my work, and I’d love you to join me. They are a chance to experience a part of the world you may never have visited and to really be part of the local indigenous community in a way that is simply impossible as a tourist.