Our Process: Harvesting The Pili Oil

people getting pili fruit from a wicker basket

Pili Oil is a rare nutrient-rich oil for the skin that comes from the Pili Tree, also known as the Chosen Tree. The tree found in the fertile Bicol Region in the Philippines where they grow and thrive naturally. It is also there that the oil is carefully harvested in a process that is done entirely by hand by the Pili Ani farmers. 

Sustainability and circularity have always been at the core of Pili Ani’s mission and because of this, extra care is taken in the way each of these oils is harvested. All of Pili Ani’s farmers are trained in the proper techniques to extract the oils in a way that ensures the trees remain healthy and unharmed. It was Pili Ani’s own Rosalina Tan, the mother of organic farming in the Philippines, who started teaching the farmers how do this carefully to protect the health of the “Chosen Tree.” Before that, the farmers were unwittingly killing the Pili Trees. Now it’s another source of income that helps sustain these local communities while providing amazing skincare benefits to the world. 

each Pili fruit is meticulously hand-picked

Pili Oil comes from the fruit of the Pili Tree. The Pili Tree takes 6 years to mature. Only then can the fruit be harvested by the trained hands of those who cultivated them. Each Pili fruit is meticulously hand-picked at its prime which is determined by the farmers who are actively climbing the trees and evaluating the color and the firmness of each of the fruits.  

Once picked, the fruit is washed and cleansed in room temperature water and then blanched. The next step: depulping. The Pili pulp is carefully separated from the shell by hand and then carefully pressed in a cloth. The liquid obtained from the pulp is then sent to the lab where they carefully extract the purest Pili Oil. 

the pili fruit being washed   pili pulp being removed by hand

The harvesting of the Pili Oil is a very involved and painstaking process but it’s this dedication and care that leads to the purest extract for Pili Ani. And from this carefully processed extract comes the amazing Pili Oil that forms the foundation of all Pili Ani products.

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