Oregano Essential Oil: The Joy of the Mountains

Welcome back to Harvesters’ Corner! In this edition we are going to be taking a look at Oregano, an ancient herb which thrives in the countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. There are multitude of species and varieties of this plant, along with other plants which are closely related. Oregano proper--Oreganum vulgar--is what we are focusing on today.

women gathering oregano

Ancient civilizations dating back to Greece have extensive histories involving this herb. The name is believed to be a compound of two Greek terms: oros meaning mountains, and ganos meaning brightness or joy. (1) Hence oregano can be viewed as the joy of the mountains. The Greeks believe the goddess Aphrodite created the plant as a symbol of well-being and joy. (2) This idea is emphasized by how the plant was used socially. Brides and grooms would be crowned with bouquets of oregano as symbols of felicity and reproductivity. (2) Swaths of oregano were also used to decorate the graves of the deceased, conveying a sense of peace. (3) If oregano was found growing wild over a grave, it was believed that the soul of the departed had found peace in the afterlife. (2) Both Greeks and Romans used oregano medicinally anciently, with one rather unique remedy involving consisting of mixing oregano tea with wine as a treatment for snake bite. (4)

Oregano is a member of the mint family. Among its close cousins are Origanum marjorica (marjoram), which is native to Cyprus and Turkey, and Origanum syriacum (the Biblical hyssop), native to the coastal region from Syria down to Saudi Arabia. (2) In many ancient documents, Oregano is commonly referred to as Wild Marjoram, while true Marjoram is called Sweet Marjoram.

Oregano is well-known for its use as a culinary herb. When crushed, Oregano is rather unique, in that its flavor intensifies when dried. The Greeks used it to enhance the flavors of their salads and mixed it with lemon juice and olive oil to make a sauce served with meat, fish, and casseroles. The Romans added the herb to roasted vegetables and also combined it with spicy foods to enhance the flavors. The Romans also used Oregano as an additive for their wine and tea. The Portuguese sprinkle Oregano as a topping on their tomato and cucumber salad, while the Spanish use Oregano extensively in various regional specialties like adobo sauce used with fish and meats. Oregano’s popularity in the United States was scattered until after World War II ended. GIs returning from service in Italy searched for the “pizza herb” which they had enjoyed overseas.

Oregano in Turkey

Another country in the Mediterranean region which uses Oregano extensively is Turkey, the country that bridges two continents. This herb’s focus is mainly on meats, especially mutton and lamb. It is also a staple condiment alongside salt, pepper, and paprika on the tables of barbeque and kabob restaurants. Throughout the centuries Oregano has been used in teas, as a kitchen/garden herb, a condiment, and in folk medicine. 

Ashik talking about the distillation process

Turkey is a large country of 302,535 square miles (783,562 km2), more than twice the size of the state of Montana, and home to more than 85 million people. The portion of Turkey on the Asian continent comprises 97% of the country, with 90% of the population, while the European portion makes up the remainder of the country which houses the other 10% of people. The European portion is where Istanbul is found, the ancient city which was once the capital of the Byzantine Empire.

The Turkish district of Denizli, located in the southwestern part of the country, is the source of Oregano for dōTERRA. This region’s environment is perfect for raising Oregano, with semi-humid breezes blowing in from the Aegean Sea and lots of sunshine. While Oregano does grow in the wild in Turkey, the farmers in Denizli have purposely cultivated the plant with great success. According to a report published in April 2024, the district was responsible for over ninety-one percent of Oregano cultivated in Turkey, and was supplying close to ninety percent of the world’s need for Oregano! (5)

Hand cutting oregano

The harvest typically occurs near the end of summer. Gatherers use hand-held cutters to harvest the long green shoots. These are placed on a large piece of cloth to begin the drying process. As the piles grow larger through the day, workers gather handfuls of plants and toss them in the air to aid with the drying. At the end of the day, the harvest is sewn into a bag for transport to the village. 

The work continues once the sack arrives. The plants are spread out again for drying so the leaves can be separated from the stems. This has the added benefit of creating additional jobs in the villages. Wide wooden rakes help start to separate the leaves from the stems. Eventually the shoots are passed over a fine wire mesh to finish separating the leaves. These go to the still to be processed into oil, while the shoots are sent to the furnaces where they are mixed with the biomass from earlier batches of leaves to help fuel the fires to produce the oil.   

Welcome to Gozler

school being renovated

The small village of Gozler is the center of Oregano essential oil activity for dōTERRA. This village is located thirty-one miles (50 km) north of the district capital of Denizli and sits at an elevation of 2,530 feet (770 meters). It boasts a population of almost 1,700 people. (6) The sourcing partner working with the growers in Turkey is a young man named Ashik. This soft-spoken, bespectacled man is a second-generation essential oil producer. I had the pleasure of speaking with Ashik at the recent dōTERRA convention. His love for the people of Turkey was evident through the manner in which his face lit up as he described the improvements Co-Impact Sourcing and the Healing Hands Foundation had spearheaded in Gozler. One of the largest projects involved the schoolhouse in Gozler. This school serves as the primary educational location for several villages in the region around the village. However, when the winters came, the heating plant in the old building would fail to heat the school. This was in part due to the insulation used in its construction. The drafty windows and doors didn’t help out, either. Children focused more on trying to stay warm rather than their studies. The regional government was asked about fixing the building and informed the villagers that they had neither plans nor funds to be able to do anything concerning the school.

In 2022 Healing Hands led a partnership to renovate the building. New insulation was installed and the entire building improved. In November of 2022, the newly refurbished school opened to students. Rüveyda, the niece of one of the farmers Ashik works with, was a student attending the school at the time. She happily reported that when the winter winds came that year, the students were able to stay warm inside, and able to focus on their education. (7)

Thank you letter from Ruveyda

As of 2023, 530 people in and around Gozler are being empowered through sourcing jobs, with nearly 2,200 people being directly impacted by those jobs. Over 700 people had been impacted by projects overseen by the healing Hands Foundation, with many of these being children attending the Gozler School. (8)

During the recent convention, Emily Wright, Founding Executive and Chairman of the Board, voiced two statements that really hit home with me. The first was, “Co-Impact Sourcing is not marketing. It is who we are.” (9) We are actively seeking ways to make a positive impact with people on both sides of the bottle. What drives this desire? Well, that is the second statement. She also said, “You can't do what we do without love, without caring for the people on both sides of the bottle. And I have always felt that there is an energy that comes when things are created with love.” (9) As we use Oregano, we support the growers in and around Gozler Village in Turkey. This is not an isolated example, either. It is occurring in many other countries, with billions of people becoming more self-reliant every day.

I encourage you to try Oregano essential oi today. Currently, dōTERRA has the pure Oregano oil and Oregano Touch that has fractionated coconut oil added to enable us to more comfortably use this wonderful oil topically. If you are interested in learning more about Co-Impact Sourcing and/or the Healing Hands Foundation, take a look at the previous articles I posted. You can make a difference, both in your life as well as the life of someone else, as you try and use these oils. They are unlike anything else on the market.

I want to send a tremendous “Thank You!” to Ashik. I was so excited to see his reaction as he learned we wanted to share the stories of the people he works with daily. Many of the images in this article are from videos he sent me, as well as posts on social media he shared with me. Thank you, and may you have much continued success in Turkey, Ashik.

Also, a huge “Thank You!” to all of you who are reading this article. I love sharing these stories of the positive impacts happening daily around the world as we use these “Gifts of the Earth.” I invite you to join us next time here at Harvesters’ Corner as we return to the Hawaiian Islands for an update on the Kealakekua Mountain Reserve, and a new product from a tree growing there. Until next time, stay safe!

Sources

1.    Miller, Lisa Karen. “The Folklore of Plants: Oregano.” 18 July 2021. Online. <www.bgdailynews.com/community/the-folklore-of-plants-oregano/ article_4b24e33e-1861-5640-a97d-d0a1a520c65b.html> Accessed 30 September 2024.; See also “Herbs in History: Oregano” (see below)

2.    Touwaide, Alain & Emanuela Appetiti. “Herbs in History: Oregano.” February 2024. Online. <www.ahpa.org/herbs_in_history_oregano> Accessed 26 September 2024.

3.    McCormick Science Institute. “Oregano.” Online. <www.mccormickscienceinstitute.com/resources/culinary-spices/herbs-spices/oregano> Accessed 26 September 2024.

4.    Iowa University. “Oregano (Origanum vulgare).” Online. <dsps.lib.uiowa.edu/ roots/oregano> Accessed 26 September 2024.

5.    Turkish AgriNews. “Denizli Region Meets the World’s Need in Oregano!” 27 April 2024. Online. <https://www.turkishagrinews.com/denizli-region-meets-the-worlds-need-in-oregano/> Accessed 15 October 2024.

6.    Wikipedia. “Gozler.” Online. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6zler> Accessed 15 October 2024.

7.    Personal Communication with Ashik

8.    dōTERRA. “Source to You: Oregano.” 31 July 2021; updated 2024. <https://sourcetoyou.com/en/stories/story/oregano> Accessed 15 October 2024.

9.    dōTERRA. 2024 Convention, Thursday Morning Session: Emily Wright. September 2024.