Nature, Wellbeing and Happiness in Salento, Italy

Nature, Wellbeing and Happiness in Salento

Naturalis Bio Resort is an old masseria, or farm house, in which has been transformed into boutique holiday accommodation but which is still a working farm.

Situated in the small area of Salento, in Italy’s southern Puglia region, of course there are olive groves producing olives and extra virgin olive oil, but not all of the olive oil is used for eating.

The owner, Domenico Scordari also grows organic aloe vera here (the whole farm is organic) and uses the health giving aloe extracts, and sometimes olive oil too, to create a range of skincare, beauty and wellbeing products for his award-winning company Natura and Benessere.

Nature, Wellbeing and Happiness in Salento resort

Naturalis Bio Resort in the Salento area of Puglia

The company name means nature and wellbeing which, as we’ll soon find out, are Scordari’s twin passions. But Scoadari isn’t your average nature-loving, Italian, organic farmer and entrepreneur. He isn’t average at all and nor is his outlook on life or his wellbeing line.

With his thick grey hair styled in a foppish Oscar Wilde do, Scordari exudes Italian style. His trousers, turtle neck and sports jacket fit snugly and a man visiting from the USA tells me he wants Scordari’s shoes.

Scordari’s fashion sense gets our attention but his sense of fun holds it while his passion and love for his plants, workers and products is infectious.

Nature, Wellbeing and Happiness in Salento aloe

A farm worker with the flowering aloe vera

We tour the Naturalis Bio Resort, inspecting the sumptuous rooms and watching the workers harvest aloe leaves while Scordari explains in a gentle Italian accent:

“The most important ingredient in innovation is passion. You have to respect the plants and ask if it’s okay to harvest them.”

Nature, Wellbeing and Happiness in Salento farmers

Farm workers harvesting the aloe vera by hand

For a second this seems like a throw away line but, although he talks with a constant smile, Scordari is serious about caring for nature and working with it. Everything he does is guided by his love of the land and the plants which grow on it.

Cradling a freshly picked aloe vera leaf in his hands he explains that the aloe vera juice must be processed in two hours or less to preserve the maximum nutrients.

Nature, Wellbeing and Happiness in Salento tree

An ancient olive tree at the Naturalis Bio Resort

Standing in the Pugliese fields, surrounded as we are by nature, it’s easy to feel the force of nature and see how important natural beauty is for our physical wellbeing and emotional happiness. But we don’t have time to dwell on that for long because the aloe vera needs tending to.

We dash to the Natura and Benessere laboratory and factory in the nearby town of Martano to see how they extract the aloe vera juice, create bespoke beauty products and ship them around the world to sell to a discerning and predominantly female clientele. Russia, with its new found wealth and demand for the very best high end goods is a major market.

Nature, Wellbeing and Happiness in Salento aloe juice

Domenico Scordari, founder of Natura and Benessere, holding a denuded aloe vera leaf which is ready to have the juice extracted

Nature, Wellbeing and Happiness in Salento factory

Factory workers labeling the products

There are two main product lines: Naturalis and Dome. Scordari tells us that Dome has been specially to created so the fragrance and natural ingredients cause the skin to release dopamine into the bloodstream and create the feelings of happiness all humans crave.

He shows us a Dome Pure Emotions Euphoric Body Candle made from shea butter, wheat germ oil and aloe vera which, when melted by the heat of the flame, creates a special body massage oil designed to awaken your senses, moisturise your skin and make you feel blissed out.

By engaging the senses with the power of nature the Dome line promises to fight against stress and anxiety, uplift your mood and give you an energy boost. Suffice to say we all want one of those candles.

At the end of the tour we’re ecstatic when Scordari gives us a gift bag stuffed with a Dream Care Aloe Vera & Olive Oil pillow insert infused with 15 essential oils, Naturalis Organic Anti-ageing Elixir, Aloe Vera Rescue Gel, a Naturalis Easy Lifting Mask, Naturalis Easy Lifting Cream, Naturalis hand cream and lip balm along with a can of olive oil. But alas there are no Dome candles to be had.

Nature, Wellbeing and Happiness in Salento products

Naturalis products on display

We thank him anyway and leave, rummaging round in our goodie bag as the bus pulls off, and talking about how the masseria, resort and factory tour was a highlight of our visit to Salento so far.

We don’t expect to see Scordari again as our tour winds up but the next day he turns up at the Art Hotel in Lecce where we’re staying, not to visit the spa, but to deliver a Dome gift for us including a candle and a bottle of body cream.

Natural is better he reminds us with a smile before zooming off again and it is. We knew it already but Scordari is living it and dedicating his life to creating organic, natural beauty products which make people feel better.

Back home in Australia I tuck the dream care insert into my pillow and let the smell of eucalyptus, mint, orange, lemon, pine, lavender, gardenia, aloe vera and olive oil wash over me. It’s the smell of Salento, of nature and of wellbeing.

I go to bed feeling old and tired after the 37 hour journey home from Pulgia to Australia but wake up feeling fresh and new.

The Naturalis Bio Resort masseria and its plantations might be old but they are filled with love, passion and innovation. Filled with people and plants who take the best nature has to offer and create new ways to make life sweeter, happier and naturally better.

Nature, Wellbeing and Happiness in Salento Scordari

Scordari with the Dome gift box

I was a guest of the Agrifeudi tour group during my visit to Naturalis Bio Resort. Agrifeudi organise specialised tours and travel experiences in the Salento area of Puglia in southern Italy including many unique, cultural and hands on experiences that can only be organised through them like the tour of the Naturalis Bio Resort, aloe vera plantations and the Natura and Benessere laboratory.

You can buy Natura and Benessere online here for shipping to Canada and the USA but I can’t find a way to buy them from their own website although in theory it should work. I want to get hold of the essential oil so I can enjoy the natural, fresh, revitalising smell of Puglia in my house year round.

Nature, Wellbeing and Happiness in Salento panorama

Aloe vera, lavendar and olives growing organically at the Naturalis Bio Resort

Do you tap into nature and the five senses to make yourself look and feel better?

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8 Comments

  1. Johanna February 24, 2014 at 3:29 pm - Reply

    Ohh how lovely. I love natural products, especially Aloe Vera, but I haven’t bought any since our days in South Africa. I wonder if this was the product I once used to buy, the packaging looks familiar. I must seek it out again. How lucky you were to get a lovely goodie bag :)

    • Annabel Candy February 25, 2014 at 10:11 am - Reply

      Hi Johanna,

      I always thought aloe vera was great for sunburn and cuts, I didn’t realise it was useful for wrinkles too ;)

  2. Carolyn February 24, 2014 at 6:02 pm - Reply

    What a great place to visit. I love the idea of using all natural, organic products and I’ve just started using Australian jojoba moisturiser which is lovely. I don’t blame you for wanting the essential oil smell in your house all year round – it would bring back lovely memories each time you smell it.

    • Annabel Candy February 25, 2014 at 10:13 am - Reply

      Hi Carolyn,

      It’s a very fresh, clean smell. I love it and yes, using natural, organic beauty products is great, especially now I know they work because I’ve tried them. I’m definitely converted.

  3. jenny@atasteoftravel February 26, 2014 at 11:42 am - Reply

    This looks like the perfect place to spend a week and restore the body and soul. The natural products sound interesting…I love the sound of the Dome candle. I hope they eventually come to Australia

    • Annabel Candy February 26, 2014 at 1:08 pm - Reply

      Hi Jenny,

      I like mine so much I’d like to start importing them!

  4. Barbara February 27, 2014 at 4:57 am - Reply

    I’m all about pampering myself whenever possible. This sounds like a dream trip!
    b

  5. Che bel uomo! And he’s got a huge warm smile. Sounds like a really enjoyable trip. Love a natural product.

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