Living Magazine English Living Magazine 2016 | Page 4

PRESERVING

Italian Citrus Orchards:
A CŌ-IMPACT STORY

“We can say that in our grower's veins doesn’t flow blood—
but Bergamot and Lemon oil.” –Cecilia

Imagine embarking on a flight to Italy—you
would expect to find grand monuments
from old civilizations and crowded tourist
destinations. You would also expect to
find the tasty flavors of a variety of foods
in addition to pizza and gelato. And just
maybe, when you leave the crowded cities
behind, you might find the brilliant green
leaves and aroma of Italian citrus trees.
Unfortunately, after facing years of economic downturn,
many growers have been forced to abandon their orchards.
dōTERRA’s Cō-Impact Sourcing™ now plays a major role in
facilitating many family-run operations to reopen, continue
production on their orchards, and preserve a special part of
Italian culture. Through sourcing Lemon and Bergamot from
the orchards of Sicily and Reggio di Calabria, dōTERRA®
has been able to positively affect the Italian economy in
many ways. This region is home to some of the hardiest and
most enthusiastic people in Italy, and though they struggle
economically at times, they have precious resources to offer
the world.

4 / 2016 EUROPE LIVING MAGAZINE

Sicilian Commitment

The people of Sicily proudly identify themselves as Siciliani—
and the pride they exhibit in their heritage is contagious.
This pride also spreads to their work. Salvatore (Reno) and
Roberto Amedeo work together in their family’s fourth
generation lemon business. In the face of the poor economy
in Italy, Roberto’s wife, Cecilia, researched American essential
oil companies online to find ways to keep their business
going. When she came across dōTERRA, she says she “felt
something special about it.” Following this feeling, she
emailed Emily Wright, hoping for a response. For Emily, the
email stuck out to her and she decided to reply. As they
corresponded, a fast-growing friendship was born.
When she first visited Italy, Emily found a family committed
to constant improvement of their essential oil quality and
relationships of trust were formed. When she returned to
Italy seven months later with Dr. Hill, the magnitude of how
many growers and pickers would benefit through dōTERRA’s
Cō-impact Sourcing initiatives became evident. For the
Amedeo family, this meant providing jobs that would not only