Vermont Academy Alumni Article : Spring 2005

Growing up in northern Somalia, Mahdi was a firsthand witness to the suffering of his people.
A 1988 civil war, followed by civic unrest and the overthrow of military dictator Siad Barre, even-
tually led to the independence of five northern administrative regions now known as the Republic
of Somaliland. Though not acknowledged by international groups, the republic held its first pres-
idential elections in 1993 and in 2002 transitioned to a multiparty government.

Sent by his family to Canada to escape the ware and begin a new life, Mahdi never forgot the
substandard lifestyle and poor working conditions of his homeland. Somaliland's landscape changed
after the war. The economic infrastructure left behind by British, Russian, and American military
assistance was destroyed. Today, clean water, hospitals, and roads are desperately needed. Over
half of Somaliland's 3.5 million citizens are nomadic, and most are poor and uneducated. But
because the country is not recognized internationally as a separate state from Somalia, its people
are unable to reap the benefits of international aid. To supplement their small income from sheep,
goats, camels, and cows, the people gather the resin of frankincense and myrrh for exportation.

A resin from trees often found in parts of the Middle East, frankincense has been used for centuries
for aromatic and medicinal purposes and in religious ceremonies. A base for perfumes, skin
products, candles, incense, and aromatherapy, it's used to heal stomach disorders, ulcers, asthma,
inflammation, and arthritis. Inhaling frankincense is said to relieve bronchitis and laryngitis, and
chewing the resin strengthens gums and teeth.

But harvesting frankincense is a difficult task. Its source, the boswellia
tree, grows from rocky ledges perilous to access, in a terrain that's home
to snakes. Every seven to 10 days, harvesters must revisit the trees to
scar the bark and release the milky sap, which forms a resin. When it's
the right consistency, the resin is cut from the tree. European companies
ship the product from Somaliland, via the tax-free United Arab Emirates,
to distill it for the perfume and cosmetic industries.

Because European companies have made frankincense and myrrh cheap
to purchase, no U.S. company has bothered to enter the distillation
market. But current medical research suggests that these are substances
whose time has come. The Harvard Medical School has determined that
frankincense may be useful in treating Crohn's disease and colitis, and
the Sabinsa Corporation's New Jersey laboratory has published a study
that found it may inhibit the growth of leukemia cells.

Remebering this natural resource back home, Mahdi realized how he
could help his countrymen. With Billy's assistance, Mahdi studied up on
the frankincense trade and their company, Ismael Imports, was born.

With the help of its partners in France, Thailand, Japan, and Ethiopia,
Ismael Imports hopes to open up the frankincense trade. The company's
goal is to omit the middlemen and provide fair trade to the workers who
gather the resin. Their hope is that competition will force countries for-
merly in control of the industry to pay a higher, fairer price for raw material. Once Ismael Imports
has established a market, they plan to donate 20 percent of their profits to Somaliland to create
clean water systems. They're also eager to oversee sustainability issues by promoting rotational
harvesting to protect the trees, which are difficult to propagate.

For now, Ismael Imports operates out of the Lanzettas'
back yard, where, with the help of master plumber Matt
Farnham '93, Billy has built a large distiller that transforms
four tons of resin into oil in 15 days. (Somaliland does not
currently have the energy sources or protective services
to make their own distilleries feasible.) Meanwhile, the
company's third partner, Casey Lyon, is on the road mar-
keting the product and looking for wholesale buyers.

Their fame is growing. At the University of Vermont,
students in "Ethnobotany: An Ecological-Economic
Perspective" are studying Ismael Imports and the impact
that the frankincense trade has had on Somaliland's social
structure, culture, and economy.

In reflecting back on how he got to this point, Billy said,
"The friendships I made at Vermont Academy are
stronger than those I made in college. They opened my
eyes to traveling as much as one can afford. (Thanks to those who have hosted me more than a
few times: Grymes Cannon '94, Matt Farnham '93, Mike Creeley '93, Doug Rumsey '93, Nick
Lizotte '93, Jason Lersch '93, Marco Bucci '92, Ezio Berretini '92, Bill Kelleher '92, and Bill Newman.)

"If I hadn't gone to Somaliland and experienced the people, culture, and history, I wouldn't be able
to stand behind our product or work as hard as I am. I got to see how crooked things are, and now
I have the opportunity to straighten things out. I truly believe every little bit counts."