This incense is handmade by artisans from the SIPA (South India Producers Association) artisan cooperative in India. Each incense stick is hand-rolled using only natural essential oils and when lit will add an exotic fragrance to your surroundings. Choose from two fragrances: patchouli in a palm leaf case or musk in a bamboo case.

Patchouli is best known for its anti-depressant qualities, helping relieve stress and controlling anxiety. Patchouli's calming effect makes it great for those who meditate and it's a popular choice in temples for creating an aura of peace.

Musk is known for its deep, sweet, and powerful aroma and is considered to be sensual, masculine, and earthy. It is said the scent of musk helps increase will power and determination and therefore aids in focusing the mind and achieving deeper states of meditation. The musk essence used in the incense is from a plant source, and supports the cause of saving the endangered musk deer.

• Each box measures 9-3/4” high x 1-1/2” wide x 1-1/2” deep
• Each box comes with 25 incense sticks
• Patchouli (in palm leaf case) and musk (in bamboo case)
• Other fragrances are also available

Handmade in India and fair trade imported.

Since ancient times incense has been used not only for creating aromatic, fragrant spaces but also has been deeply intertwined with religious ceremonies as well as the practice of medicine. The first reported healing practices said to be recorded in ancient Egypt, had patients experience the smoke of a variety of incense and fragrances for healing.

The incense making techniques at SIPA are simple and involve primarily manual labour. The artisans use high quality and 100% natural ingredients which guarantees a great product. The recipes for the various incense are well studied and tested, and follow strict measurements of each ingredient in order to achieve a consistent fragrance and texture. The scent contains a combination of essential oils, wood, spices, resins and floral extracts.

All the ingredients (wood and herbs) are ground to a fine powder and mixed well, this is a vital process as it is a key to making sure that incense cones or sticks burn properly. Resins are combined separately and then added to the dry mixture and again mixed together thoroughly. The powdered mixture is put into a mortar and pastel and blended well together to make a homogenous mixture.This "loose incense mixture" is left overnight to allow the ingredients to "blend" together. The next step is to add the binder to give the loose incense mixture whatever shapes that is desired.

When making cones and sticks, it is important to use some form of a natural gum, mostly either gum Arabica or makko (both natural tree extracts) that act as a binder for sticks or cones. When added to loose incense mixtures with a small amount of distilled water, the binder allows for the forming of the shapes for the incense cones or sticks. The binder proportion in the incense mix is also responsible for making sure that the incense sticks burn over a certain period of time.

Water is added and once the mixture becomes gummy and pliable it is kneaded into a soft dough. Hands are used to create the shapes of cones or sticks. Cones are relatively easy to form. To make sticks a piece of wax paper is placed on a flat surface and the dough rolled into sticks. Fine bamboo sticks are rolled into the dough, these help in placing the incense sticks onto a holder/stand. The cones or sticks are allowed to dry at least for a couple of weeks. During this period they are kept away from sunlight and heat. To determine if cones are dry, They are turned upside down to see if there are any color differences in the center of the bottom compared to the outer edges. Once dry, the incense sticks/cones are ready for packaging and delivered to you to  create a soothing and fragrant atmosphere.