Nunaïa - The Story Behind The Brand

Our Journey

The Nunaïa journey began over a decade ago. I was working in a high-pressure, corporate environment and it started taking its toll on me. It was affecting my health and relationships, I felt stressed and more and more unhappy.

I was very fortunate be able to step away and found myself living and working with traditional communities in South America on the Galapagos islands and in the Amazon Rainforest and Andes Mountains of Peru helping them to build sustainable business models to preserve their cultural heritage.

While I was there, I discovered several things that had a huge impact on my life.

I started to observe the incredible plant wisdom they had in their natural environment. There was an amazing variety of interesting and exotic plants that they were using to stay healthy and look after their skin and bodies despite the harsh conditions. High up in the Andes Mountains, the sun is strong, the air is dry and there are big temperature swings from day to night and the climate in the Rainforest is extremely aggressive.  So, I started researching what are they using and why does it work?

I observed how they had a totally different way of life. The pace was slower, they had a strong connection to the simple things and to nature, community was very important, and they seemed more content.

I also noticed that ritual was very important to them.  They would do certain things in a certain way at certain times to keep balance in their own lives.  Ritual festivals to ask for an abundant harvest before sowing their food or using intention when mixing up an herbal remedy. This was a part of their daily life.

I started exploring and researching everything I was observing and applying some of their ancestral wisdom to my own life.  The first thing I noticed was that my skin was no longer dried out and inflamed from the dry altitude and I was feeling less stressed and calmer.  

I was looking better, feeling better, my definition of beauty changed, and I felt more self-worth. Interestingly, I was also starting to remember some of the hopes and dreams I had before ‘life’ got in the way.

I had this incredibly good fortune to have this experience that helped me so much, so I started asking was there a way to share what I had learnt and possibly help others to find more balance, peace and connection in today’s busy world.

This is how the Nunaïa journey began.

To learn more about our story click here.