Tribe Earth
“We want to provide the voice for the plants so that each may become a plant spirit ally to the people who connect with them. ”
Tribe Earth
by Kim & Gary Newton
Gary Newton
Kim Newton
Tribe Earth
Gary and Kim Newton are the husband-wife team behind Tribe Earth, a Fremantle based wellness brand that creates ceremonial focused healing products such as pure plant incense and essential oils. Resourceful, sustainable and spiritual; each product from the range is handcrafted with the intention of healing through harnessing plant energy. Tribe Earth is a culmination of the couple's ‘lifelong love of wild spaces and the connection between consciousness and nature.’ Proudly made in Australia, they work respectively with the Australian wilderness making sure to give back more than they source to ensure sustainable production.
Beginnings
In Fremantle, a small port city in Western Australia, the couple live with their kids in a nature paradise. The town is off the edge of the more so metropolis Perth and is picturesque of quintessential Australian suburbia. Kim describes their home saying ‘We live 5 minutes from the beach and a short drive to the rugged Western Australian bush, [it] is very flat and dry with red dirt and lots of Kangaroo’s’. Living in close proximity to such beautifully contrasting natural environments, it isn't surprising that Gary and Kim have always had a deep appreciation and connection to nature.
The couple began Tribe Earth in 2003 with the intent to embark on an enlightening journey with no fixed destination. As they travelled the world, they spent their days exploring and researching historical practices while developing their own recipes to experiment with in their workshop back home. With the knowledge they had mastered over the years and spurred by their undying passion for healing ceremonial circles, they chose to create incense that was designed for use in such ritualistic events. Since their first range in 2010, they have continued to hone their craft and develop their incense blends as well as branching out into essential oil products.
‘ We feel passionately that we work for the plants and steward their energies in the best way we can for the support of nature and the environment.’
Design Philosophy
Tribe Earth illustrates a way of life for the couple and mirroring their free-spirited nature, their design philosophy is one of working with nature not against it. When speaking on the driving force behind the brand, Kim replied ‘ We feel passionately that we work for the plants and steward their energies in the best way we can for the support of nature and the environment.’ Nature influences the inception of each incense blend which you can clearly see in the unique organic formations that are moulded into the product from each leaf and stem. The couple treat the environment with respect and so the environment provides to them all that is needed for their pure plant creations. These parallels of Tribe Earth's design philosophy and their own lifestyle values allow for the couple's authenticity to shine through each creation.
Design Process
The design process for each Tribe Earth incense plank is very fluid but generally all scents begin from the discovery of a new herb, flower or bark. The pair are constantly on the lookout for interesting local flora to experiment with. Once they have their eyes set on one they begin by powdering the organic matter and testing it with other scents. After a process of mixing powders they consult their friends and members from their ceremonies for feedback and if all goes well the manufacturing process begins.
Each incense plank is hand-made by Gary in their workshop. After the plants are ground into powder, he adds alkalised water and hand kneads until the mixture is at the desired consistency of dough. The dough is then shaped into a plank, cut, then dehydrated. This entire process is done in true Tribe Earth fashion with lots of dancing, music and mantras all the way through.
Sustainability and Locality
As one might expect, sustainability is a core value of not only Tribe Earth but also the couple's way of life. Kim speaks on their relationship with the environment stating, “We look to principals of recycling, sustainability and regeneration not only as a way to honour the future but also to honour the energies of the plants and provide clean healthy going elements of connection with the spirits of the plants.”
This philosophy translates in the manufacturing process with the couple choosing to use every part of the plant as a way to lessen wastage. They source Cedarwood from the offcuts from the creation of saunas and often overlooked plant matter such as gums, seeds and barks are incorporated into their products. In true zero-waste fashion, broken pieces of incense are reconstituted and reformed into new incense planks, with the couple even going so far as to create an incense blend of a variety of leftover ingredients titled “River - Ever changing”.
Attributed to their hand sourcing process of materials, most ingredients are locally grown with the exception of Palo Santo from Peru and small amounts of various other exotics which are purchased direct trade from sustainable sources. The base ingredient of most Tribe Earth incense is local wild harvested Western Australian Sandalwood branches; native species of plants are prominent in the blends with the couple going to the length of weeding out non native species from all plant matter that they hand source.
Break off a small piece, roughly the size of your thumb. Don't worry what shape it is, as long as it's big enough to safely hold and light up.
Light it up
Allow it to burn for about 20 seconds before blowing out the flame. Relaxing natural smoke will start to fill your space.
Relax. This small piece will burn for about 10 minutes, but provides over an hour of relaxing aroma to your space.
Place on a ceramic dish.
Tribe Earth incense will burn smokey and strong. A small piece will last about 5-10 minutes but it will fill your space with the relaxing scents of the Australian nature long after it has finished burning.
If you have used palo santo, then you will love Tribe Earth.