Sicilian Volcano
I was born in Sicily, in a town called Messina, 60 miles from the largest volcano in Europe, Mount Etna. 60 miles seems a long distance, but despite all these miles that separated my house from where material is ejected at over 1000 °C, whenever the volcano had a significant eruption, soon after, a cloud of dark ash would fall and cover distant areas with what looked like black sand. Depending on the direction of the wind, it would sometimes fall on Messina, and I remember vividly helping my mother sweep our balcony and collect the dark material in buckets for my father (more on this later). If you took some of the ash in your hands and tried to crush it, it would make the sound of dry biscuit crumbs being pulverised.It was a normal and frequent event (as the wind wasn’t always blowing in Messina direction) but when it happened I did not find it abnormal either.
Don't be scared it's just an active volcano
The reason this article came to be was because I was talking to a friend from London the other day. I don’t remember how, but I told her that Etna was erupting at the moment, and she said: “Oh really, I’m so sorry to hear that.” I looked at her fairly perplexed before telling her that actually, it is the most active volcano in Europe, if not in the world, erupting almost every year, so for me, who grew up there, it almost feels strange when there is no volcanic activity at all. Never mind also that I, like many others in that area, always thought of the eruption in a romantic way, thanks to the Greek mythology of Hephaestus (Vulcan in Roman), son of Zeus and blacksmith of the Gods, whose forge was believed to be inside Etna and would be active whenever he was busy making something. Etna for me was never an angry place but a place of myth, respect, and peace, never anger or fear.
Volcano Ash
When somebody who has never seen a volcano before sees one, the first thing that comes to mind is that they look harsh and barren, but this is not the case, especially for areas near the base of a volcano and surrounding areas. The reason is that volcanic ash is extremely fertile. Whilst my mother and I would collect ash in buckets, my father was then using that same black sand-like material to fertilize the soil and grow the juiciest and tastiest tomatoes you could ever eat in the summer. The very same thing happens in all the areas surrounding Etna, making everything that grows or is produced in that area taste better; trees and wildflowers grow faster. Amongst the creatures that flourish here, the Sicilian Black Bee is very productive even in high temperatures up to 40 degrees when other species of bees stop producing, collecting the pollen from all the flowers that grow out of this fertile soil.
From volcanic ash to abundance.
We are a UK company, but our roots are in Sicily, and it is here that we draw inspiration for our products. Recently, we acquired some rare Sicilian Black Bee honey and decided to include it in our formulations. Our latest creation, a soap, is inspired by the flourishing, wild, and aromatic areas around Mount Etna. This unique blend captures the essence of a land that transforms volcanic ash into fertile soil, producing ingredients that are as distinctive as they are beneficial for the skin .