Company Profile: Ananasa - Showing Love to Artistans, Artists and Designers in the Middle East

I was recently contacted by Nadia Bhuptani, one of the lovely people from Ananasa, to write a post about their company and feature one of their many artists. I was very happy to comply, as I have had a life long love of art in all it's forms, being an artist myself, and know how healing creating art can be physically, mentally and emotionally.

I'd like to start, first, by thanking Nadia, as well as founders Zaina and Rania Kanaan for giving me this opportunity to share their amazing website and all of the beautiful products they sell.

"Founded in 2011, Ananasa.com is an online marketplace that enables artisans, artists and designers in the Middle East to sell their creations worldwide with no barriers.

Ananasa.com started when two sisters wanted to expose the hidden beauty of the Middle East to the world.  Ananasa takes away the headaches of logistics, customer service & marketing so artisans can focus on creating their handmade items and individuals worldwide can buy unique items from the Middle East easily.

And that is why it's called Ananasa (اناناسة):

Ana: means "I" in Arabic

Nas: means "the people" in Arabic

A: adding an a at the end allows the word to become feminine, just like the co-founders."

" for the people, by the people"

The site sells everything from jewelry to clothing to paintings to sculptures to household items. There is literally something for everyone!

After browsing through their site, I found an artisan company I wanted to focus on (it was hard to narrow it down!), but this company seemed to encompass my eco-friendly and nature loving beliefs the best. :-)

Orjan Olive Oil-Geranium Soap Bar from Wild Jordan

"Wild Jordan is a branded division of the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN) and is responsible for socio-economic development, including all eco-tourism operations. Our name and logo are different for marketing purposes, but all of our work and the revenue we generate contribute to RSCN’s mission to conserve biodiversity throughout Jordan.

Our main purpose in life is to develop viable nature-based businesses within and around RSCN’s protected areas in order to bring tangible economic and social benefits to local communities and generate financial, political, and popular support for nature conservation throughout the Kingdom." 

The company makes many incredible hand crafted items, but the one thing that stood out to a beauty junkie like myself, was their 100% natural olive oil soaps.

Created in the Soap House in the Orjan Village in Jordan, the local women use a variety of local and natural ingredients to create high quality, hand crafted olive oil soaps called Orjan Soap.

The soaps are produced using such natural ingredients such as pure olive and other plant oils, plant extracts and pure essential oils, like lavender, geranium, mint and pomegranate. 

No artificial colors, fragrances or chemicals are added to the soaps, only nourishing, natural ingredients. Everything used in the soaps are healing, hydrating and appealing to the senses. Plus, with no icky chemicals, there's no worry about unpleasant health risks. 

Price - $23.00 5 pcs

I have a  love for anything that is made locally and by hand. I feel that when a product is handmade, it provides a more "personal" experience with the product. You know that this wasn't mass produced by a machine in a factory, it was lovingly and painstakingly mixed, poured, molded, etc.. by an individual that cares about what the end result will be and how it will affect the person using it. 

You can check out all of the other amazing products by Wild Jordan, as well as other artisans and artists on Ananasa.com. Make sure to like them on Facebook as well! :-)

I am so grateful to have been given the opportunity to write about such a wonderful company. I hope to be able to do more posts focusing on them in the future.

Thank you again Nadia!

Peace and Love,

~Sabrina