its frankincense supply chain as an example of how it creates “more stable and reliable income, fairness, employment and security” for harvesters and sorters., is one of the world’s oldest traded commodities, most recognized as one of the gifts brought to the newborn Jesus by the three wise men in the Bible. It’s also one of the most highly marked-up – a half-ounce bottle of doTERRA’s frankincense oil retails for $100.
Presented with the Fuller Project’s findings, doTERRA said it would “temporarily suspend” its operations in Somaliland and was working to engage a third-party team to help it investigate the matter. It said it was “concerned” by the allegations of poor work conditions, which were “‘inconsistent with our current understanding of the operations”, and found the allegations of sexual misconduct “troubling”.
The women say they made 10,000 Somaliland shillings, slightly over $1 a day, for sorting 6lbs of resin. While this pay rate is typical for sorters in the region, a fair wage would be aboutbased on what these women would need to support their families, says Amina Souleiman, director of the charity Horn of Africa, which is advocating for Somaliland’s harvesters and sorters.
headaches and vision impairment that they say came from sitting on the floor, hunched over dusty, raw resin and carrying heavy loads of sorted resin around the warehouse. The young woman says she ran to the bathroom to change and asked Hassan to delete the photos. “I never went back,” she says. “I feel shame that I did this and worry so much about the pictures.” Another woman shared a similar experience of abuse.
Hassan did not respond to specific claims, but called the allegations “ridiculous” and said in an email: “I’m not a rapist.