BALMS FROM THE MOUNTAINS

Sikkim's flora yield the ingredients for a skincare brand, which employs underprivileged women and generously gives many others a vocation through training

- ARKAMOY DATTA MAJUMDAR

Sikkim—a land where mountain lakes reflect cobalt blue skies and the torn edges of snow-clad mountains.

Amidst swirling mist and sudden rain, the scent of wild herbs and mountain flowers waft in—the source of half-remembered recipes for homely skincare products. In this enchanted land, Rinzing Choden Bhutia, 45, began a journey that would transform her own life, and that of hundreds of women. Raised in the mountains and deeply influenced by traditional healing practices, Rinzing left her corporate job in Delhi and returned to Sikkim, with the desire to build something meaningful using the ways of her land. What began in 2019 as a sustainable homestay project in her husband's village, Kabi, soon evolved into something entirely different.

During a visit to a yoga retreat in West Bengal, Rinzing took a course on making organic soaps and other products. The experience lit a spark, but the main objective was to bring positive change to underprivileged women of the state.