The Himalayas are full of so many rare and valuable herbs that it is easy to overlook some important common herbs. Wild Himalayan oregano is one such herb that seems to have been neglected, both by local villagers and by scientists. In Kullu it is often referred to as 'useless grass'; "even the cows and goats don't eat it!".

We started working with oregano in 2006 having stumbled across large quantities growing in a meadow high above our office. Considering the rapid decline of rare herb species in the area it seemed that this oregano, if collected sustainably and purchased for a good price, had real potential to provide an alternative income source to the herb collectors.

So we started thinking about how we could add value to the oregano and develop a product that would make it financially viable to collect on a commercial scale. Initially we were thinking of producing dried oregano, packaged and sold as a culinary herb. After more research we discovered that the essential oil of wild oregano is highly valued for its antibacterial and antifungal properties, which to us seemed to present many more possibilities for value addtion.

All the literature we could find was on Mediterranean oregano oil and there was of course no guarantee that the Himalayan variety would share the same antibacterial properties. So we purchased a small distillation unit, produced some samples and sent them off for testing. Our initial tests showed that the oil contained a high carvacrol content, which according to most literature is the key compound in determining its antibacterial efficacy. So we decided to put our oil to the ultimate test and see how effetive is is at killing the hospital superbug MRSA.

The results were impressive - the Himalayan oregano oil destroyed MRSA in dilutions of 1 in 1000 and was more effective than all of the 18 other antimicrobial agents it was compared against. With this scientific backing we found ourselves with a product with great market potential - a powerful antibacterial solution that provides income to local herb collectors and contributes towards the conservation of endangered Himalayan herbs.

In 2008 we teamed up with a local NGO, a government research institute, a laboratory in Delhi and a university in the UK and applied for a SEED Award, a UN backed programme that supports entrepreneurial partnerships that contribute towards sustainable development. Our project 'Himalayan Oregano against MRSA' was selected as one of the five 2008 winners, providing us with a year's support plan to help develop the enterprise.

We spent 2009 scaling up the project, doing market research, documenting the oregano populations, studying sustainable collection methods, organising collector groups, purchasing and distilling oregano on a larger scale. We have continued to research the properties of the oregano oil, and work on different strategies for marketing the oil and/or developing our own antibacterial products.

With SEED's backing we achieved a huge amount in one year. We also came up against some major challenges. Our initial plan was to explore the feasibility of developing an antibacterial spray to use against MRSA and other drug-resistant bacteria in hospitals and nursing homes in the UK; this plan was dropped when our research revealed the huge costs and logistics of registering new antibacterial products in the international market. To make an antibacterial product in the EU we were informed that we would need to to register the oregano oil under the 'Biocidal Products Directive' at a cost of up to £500,000! (3,37,51,799 rupees!)

We have explored various options since and have spoken with several companies interested in buying the oregano oil. In most cases though it hasn't made economic sense to sell in bulk as our cost of production is higher than most producers and even with companies offering a premium prices the margins are negligible. We are now focusing on developing our own products, which we plan to sell in India and over the Internet (to be added to the products page as and when they are ready). We will use this section of the website to share our experiences and learnings as the project develops...

Please bear with us while we complete the remaining pages...