The incognito Blog
In the words of Eddard Stark “Winter is coming” … Or in reality, winter has already come! That reality is clear as following a hard days work we trudge home in the near darkness with winter coats hanging off our shoulders, Christmas music filling our ears from high street speakers and thoughts of mince pies, … Continue reading "Where do insects like bees go in the winter?!"
Nope – not a jungle in South America, but the so called ‘jungle’ refugee camp in Calais (although incognito Insect Repellent was still a much needed and appreciated item!) I returned two weeks ago from a month volunteering with the brilliant organisation Help Refugees, directly distributing aid to residents of the camp. My time in Calais restored … Continue reading "A Month in the Jungle "
It’s a late summer evening, you’re sitting outside on the veranda enjoying a meal with your friends. They’re commenting on how much they love your new sweet smelling perfume, and you can’t deny it, you’re pretty pleased with your latest purchase. You’ve caused a real stir… although hang on, it’s not only your friends attracted … Continue reading "The double act: perfumes that act as insect repellent"
You may be wondering why we’re writing a blog about jellyfish when we usually protect people from avoiding insect and tick bites!? You may also be wondering why we’re even writing a blog about jellyfish in the first place. Well, the answer to both these ponders is because we make a clever device called a … Continue reading "The Rise of the Jellyfish"
Enshrined in the incognito articles of association, is a commitment to donate 10% of profits to Charity. While this is a fundamental part of what we do, and why we do it, we also try to offer support in other ways. Where possible, we have offered knowledge and guidance to individuals or organisations who demonstrate ingenuity, or … Continue reading "The Bustle of Bombita – Part 2"
Incognito’s commitment to donating 10% of all profits to charity has allowed us to support a rich variety of creative and life-changing projects of all shapes and sizes.
One such project, is a student-led enterprise from the Enactus Edinburgh society. Their project aims to confront the lack of opportunities available to young people in Bombita, a village which sits on the southern coast of the Dominican Republic. Their solution? An insect-repellent soap which is made and sold locally to simultaneously tackle challenges of hygiene, insect-borne disease, income and education.
In the first of two guest-blog posts written by Laura; one of the student volunteers, we are introduced to the small village of Bombita, its beauty, eccentricities & charm, and also the challenges and hardships which were to inspire Laura to undertake this project with the Enactus Edinburgh team.
If I were to describe my first experience of Bombita in one one word – departing an over-crowded, dilapidated bus as I said farewell to the middle-age woman with whom I had shared a lap with for the past 6 hours, whilst the audacious orange and red sign marked BOMBITA glared me in the face – it would be foreign. In this particular instant I was beginning to wander if the feat that I had taken on was in fact rather brash. I was seventeen and had newly graduated from secondary school, I had spent the past year and a half fundraising to fly to the Dominican Republic and volunteer as an art teacher and until this point had not once doubted whether or not I was capable of spending 12 months away from my friends and family, never mind learn an entirely new language or control a classroom of 30 finger painting 5 year olds. I could have never anticipated the warmth with which I would be welcomed into the lives of complete strangers and how quickly I would gain a second family in the Dominican Republic.