Abieke Hamilton is a Berbician, a mother, and as she puts it, a woman who over time has worn “many hats” and tried her hand at various pursuits. She recalls that at sixteen she underwent a course in hair dressing afforded her as a Christmas gift. “That sparked my interest in hair care. Later I underwent a massage therapy programme and it was here that I learnt about the body and its sensitivity to touch. I learnt how to apply massage therapy and how massage could be useful in the treatment of a stroke as to aid blood circulation, among others things. I also learnt the benefit of essential oils and how these are incorporated into marketable products.”
Abieke’s health conscious outlook is, she says, a family trait. “My family have been vegetarians for most of our lives. Eating healthy, using superfoods, fruit and vegetables, have been part of our lives. We try as far as possible, to grow what we eat and to control what is in our vegetables.”
Purpleheart Organics, Abieke’s line of health and beauty products derives, she says, from her love of ‘mother earth.’ It grew out of a personal challenge. In 2018, her new-born son had developed eczema on parts of his upper body. “Being a country girl I started to look for a natural (non-chemical) remedy that might be helpful. That was when I discovered Sleeping Andiroba (crab oil).” It took two days for results to materialise. Thereafter, she became a firm believer in crab oil. She ‘drew a line under’ the use of over-the-counter remedies and began to explore “alternative, organic, options.”