Organic Sesame Oil

Originating in India, sesame is a small botanical plant about a metre high that produces capsules containing around 200 tiny, oval, elongated, flattened oil seeds that are black, red or white in colour. There are two ways of obtaining this oil by pressing: the first involves toasting the seeds beforehand. The resulting plant oil is dark and has a nutty aroma.

The second is to press the seeds cold, without roasting. The result is a light-coloured carrier oil with a slight odour and a very pronounced sesame flavour. For cosmetic use, the seeds should not be roasted, so that the oil retains all its characteristics.

Widely used in oriental cooking, the benefits of this oil on the skin are particularly appreciated. Highly penetrating, sesame oil is best known for its regenerating and softening properties for the epidermis. Its content of antioxidant vitamin E, sesamolin, sesamin and lecithin gives it emollient properties that are ideal for mature skin.

A sustainable and fair trade sector in Burkina Faso

Organic sesame seeds are purchased from cooperatives of small producers, i.e. farms with an average area of less than 1 hectare, grouped into 4 Farmers' Organisations in Burkina Faso and Mali. The sesame sector provides a livelihood for around 670 farming families based in the south-western regions of Burkina Faso, the Cascades and Hauts-Bassins regions and in the Ségou region of Mali.

Sesame is grown according to the principles of organic farming, and producers are trained and supported by technicians from the cooperatives or specialist external service providers to optimise their cultivation practices and ensure that good post-harvest practices are followed. This ensures the quality of the finished product and optimises yields, thereby improving their income. A guaranteed minimum price is paid to producers in accordance with fair trade principles.

The soil is fertilised organically, sown from July and harvested from November. The collected seeds are then cleaned and cold-pressed to obtain virgin oil in a "green" production unit based in Bobo-Dioulasso in Burkina Faso. Most of the added value is thus created locally, generating sustainable income for local people. The production unit has been designed to be as energy self-sufficient as possible. The building was constructed using bioclimatic architecture with exceptional thermal properties, and the walls are double-layered with laterite bricks from a local quarry, so there is no need for air conditioning. Water is managed sensibly, with a very low-water consumption process and waste washing water treatment. The unit is self-sufficient in energy thanks to photovoltaic panels on the roof, which generate its own electricity. Waste is also managed autonomously, and by-products such as carrier oilcake are converted into energy in a biomass boiler.

Quality cold-pressed oil

The extraction method, which involves cold-pressing the seeds without roasting them, preserves all of the sesame's active compounds, in particular its richness in unsaponifiable compounds (sesamin, sesamolin). The result is a light-coloured oil with a slight odour and a pronounced sesame flavour.

Organic sesame, an essential base oil

Sesame oil is renowned for regenerating and softening the skin, as well as for its antioxidant properties thanks to its high content of natural antioxidants (vitamin E, selenium, sesamolin, lecithin), making it an ideal ingredient for anti-ageing skin care. It is also particularly popular for its smooth feel and penetrating capacity, making it a great ingredient for massage oils. It is also a key oil in the Ayurvedic tradition, used for hair and skincare as well as for preparing plant-based medicinal oils. It is also highly prized in oral hygiene, for 'Gandush' or 'Kavala graha' oil mouthwashes.