A Symbiotic Partnership of Sustainability, Community, and Natural Beauty
Living in subtropical Belize with year-round access to beautiful shorelines and fresh fruits and vegetables, iKOOMA Founder Jolie Pollard knew she could turn to local resources in search of a humidity-friendly product for her naturally curly hair. She decided to craft her own recipe using sustainably farmed seaweed from Placencia Village and extra-virgin, cold-pressed coconut oil produced at Silk Grass Farms. After developing a product she loved in her home kitchenette, Jolie founded iKOOMA. Today, she offers her locally sourced hair care product in more than 15 local shops and resorts.
Since launching her business, Jolie has proudly incorporated high-quality ingredients from Belize in iKOOMA products and helped build the regional economy. “It’s very satisfying to know that these are locally sourced ingredients with direct impact on the people who make them available,” she says. “Traditionally, the expert cooks in my family would use homemade coconut oil — which I love — but to guarantee the protection of my skin and hair, I needed something dependable,” she says. “Silk Grass Farms gave me access to a product I could trust. It was the first oil I turned to seven years ago and I have never stopped using it.”
As demand for iKOOMA products grows, Jolie appreciates the opportunity to source coconut oil from another Belizean business built with social and environmental impact in mind. “As the years went on, I developed even more appreciation for this product when I discovered the brand’s commitment to sustainability, which aligned with iKOOMA’s ethos as well,” she says.
Using Natural Resources to Create High-Value Products and Jobs
“Silk Grass Farms and iKOOMA are aligned in our commitment to creating local jobs, which not only helps reduce unemployment, but also supports the circulation of money within the local economy,” says Tyeshia Casimiro, Silk Grass Farms Chief of Staff. “By sourcing materials locally to produce our products, we contribute directly to the economic growth within the community. Additionally, iKOOMA’s use of all natural raw materials aligns perfectly with what we do to make high quality products.”
Sourcing Locally for Positive Impact on People and Planet
Jolie sees her company’s use of local seaweed and coconut oil as an outgrowth of the local culture. “There is a beautiful symbiosis between iKOOMA and Silk Grass Farms that is representative of the Belize experience,” she says. “What’s inspiring about this relationship is that we have one very small business and a much larger company both contributing to the local economy from southern Belize in their own way, but with a very similar vision.”
Localizing ingredient sourcing is a critical part of the work across the world to create community hubs of food and agribusiness. “As a Belizean cosmetic formulator who touts sustainability and direct-sourced ingredients, it’s a passionate mission. It might seem like a grand utopian view to have everything locally sourced in my beach-inspired, hair-styling products, but this takes me a little closer there.”
Providing products to planet-friendly businesses like iKOOMA aligns with the vision that Silk Grass Farms Founders Mandy Cabot, Peter Kjellerup and Henry Canton had when they established the company in 2019. With a belief that business and conservation are interdependent, Silk Grass Farms prioritizes land stewardship to protect, regenerate, and heal Belizean soils while also increasing productivity. As a Certified B Corporation, Silk Grass Farms meets the highest standards of social and corporate responsibility.
As they nurture a growing business with practices that follow nature’s lead, the Silk Grass Farms team uses innovative and sustainable food production to help build climate resilience and ecological health on its 8,500 acres of farmland. It’s all part of the founders’ goal of incorporating Belize’s natural resources to create high-value products and jobs. That systemic vision aligns with other Belizean companies like iKOOMA, which are working together to build a community- and planet-minded supply chain of local businesses.
iKOOMA’s Founder, Jolie Pollard, sources ingredients from Silk Grass Farms and the Belize Barrier Reef, which are within 60 miles of one another.