Our Farmers
The team behind Pili Ani embodies The Chosen Tree’s generosity by helping over 200 families in the Bicol Region. The brand believes in
circularity and doesn’t just provide income by purchasing harvested nuts.
Our Story, Our Promise
Before there was Pili Ani, there was a Pili farmer named Noli. Rosalina bought her very first bottle of Pili Oil from Noli to help him feed his family. She wanted to support the farmer and the agricultural community, but didn’t actually know what to do with the Pili Oil.
Rosalina learned that a very popular French beauty brand was purchasing Elemi resin from the same farmers she was buying Pili Oil from. That’s when she realized the power of Pili Oil to rejuvenate, reinvigorate, and revitalize the skin.
Rosalina began buying bottles of Pili Oil to give away to all her family and friends. She loved supporting farmers like Noli and everyone she gifted Pili Oil to was thrilled with how it made their skin glow.
Mother-Daughter Duo
Mary Jane realized the demand for this powerful anti aging elixir when Rosalina began filling her warehouse space with more and more bottles of this magical Pili Oil.
In 2012, Mary Jane suggested they invest in clinical tests to see if it would be worthwhile to bring Philippine made Pili Oil products to a global market. Rosalina saw this as a huge opportunity to create a business that would provide a livelihood for the local farmers that would help to uplift their families.
That’s when they discovered that the famous French beauty brand buying Elemi resin was actually doing more harm than good. There were several dead Pili Trees due to overtapping the Elemi resin, and the tree had become threatened by habitat destruction and was officially classified as being vulnerable. The trees weren’t the only ones suffering. The low wages the farmers were earning for all their hard work wasn’t sustainable.
Rosalina started an agricultural education program to teach the farmers the best practices to make a living while keeping the trees healthy. What she quickly learned was that the Pili Tree produces not just one, but two precious oils that create the holy grail of anti-aging when combined. In 2016, Pili Ani officially launched in the Philippines. One year after that, we launched in the United States. And today, farmer Noli still works for the brand harvesting the Pili and Elemi oils that are found in every Pili Ani product.
