DailyNews Online Edition

Laurencia Kyariga:Producer of world class natural beauty products

Ms Laurencia Kyariga displaying her product

Laurencia (Lau) Kyariga, is a Tanzania woman, born and raised up in Serengeti District, Mara region. She schooled in the country up to university level.

After a short stint as a Mathematics and Chemistry tutor at the then Dar es Salaam Technical College (now Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology) she went to Canada for further studies and finally settled in the US where she started natural beaty products known as Ebenezer Natural Beauty Products. She granted this interview to WOMAN writer ISSA MUHIDINI MICHUZI. Excepts…

A: I was born in Magange village (Serengeti District, Mara) to Mr and Mrs Beatus Mwita Kyariga. I went to Kayanga Primary School (Karagwe District) for the first five years of primary education and then finished up the last 2 years at Masinki Primary School in  the village where I was born.

Question: Tell us about the Ebenezer products

A:Ebenezer Natural Beauty products are a product line that I’ve started with the intention of formulating body and bath products with the African hair and skin in mind. These products are targeting the special needs of our African skin and hair. The products that you find in most stores /shops overseas are products that are formulated for majority use and its obvious Africans are not the majority in those countries.
 
These products are customized for Africans with the benefits of natural ingredients.  Ebenezer Hair Food is very effective with a variety of African Hair; it contains natural oils, natural butters, vitamins, herbal extracts and other natural and beneficial ingredients.

It strengthens the hair, revitalizes the scalp and promotes hair growth, moisturizes the scalp, does not clog pores and block hair shaft, soothes scalp irritation, not greasy, moisturizes and maintains the moisture. It stops hair breaking and helps volumizing hair.  It softens hair and makes it easy to manage. Ebenezer Hair Food is made of all natural ingredients.  The benefits are more than a few that are mentioned here and results may vary from person to person depending on the needs of the hair and hair type.
 
A: Where did you conceive the idea from, and how long did it take before taking the plunge?
About seven years ago my hair was thinning, breaking and end splitting; my hair was weak, falling off when I comb. So I started asking myself, why do I have to always use harsh chemicals to permanently change its form in order to manage it? Why not use something like oil to make it manageable? I challenged myself, and asked myself a lot of questions regarding what I know about chemicals, about oils, about herbal extracts, about vitamins, about natural butters, essential oils etc. I wondered about the relationship between health natural hair, healthy relaxed (chemically treated) hair and things I mention above.

I told myself Lau, as an seasoned chemist you should be able to formulate something to solve your own problem, you have formulated and tested a lot of chemicals (including a number of pharmaceuticals) so you should be able to come up with something. These thoughts sent me to a thinking mode, a research mode, inquisitive mode, a prayer mode, I was out to search for the information from outside and within. I researched about different types of oils and plants (roots, leaves, tree backs, flowers, etc) and their benefits to human hair and skin.

I remembered when I was pregnant my hair grew more and was really healthy!. I know it wasn’t what I used on my hair, it was probably what I ate: I ate healthy and took some prenatal vitamins. Could it be the vitamins? I didn’t want to formulate something that has to be taken orally so I settled for the idea to formulate something to be applied externally.

I started researching in 2005 and experiments in 2007 and finally have the working product proved to work out and was in the market last year 2011. The Ebenezer Natural Hair products are formulated specifically for African hair and good for men, women and children and recently registered by the Tanzania Food and Drugs authority (TFDA)..
 
Q: How long have you been in this business and what are the results so far?
A: The products have been available on the global market for a year now and doing well. We have a lot of satisfied product users and a lot of referral customers from all over the world. The majority of users are happy and repeating buying Ebenezer Natural Hair Products for their regular use.
 
Q:  How have Tanzanians received/responded to the products. Equally how does it fare abroad?
A: Tanzania, I love my country and appreciate the challenges. At times it has been very difficult for all of us to tell fake from original. As a chemist I know what bad products can do to people and it’s my responsibility (professionally and ethically) to provide to the public with products they can trust.

I have not officially launched the products in Tanzania but can only assure my fellow Tanzanians that they should expect the best from the person who has been in the regulated (FDA and EPA) lab environment for over 18 years.

Users overseas are increasingly impressed by the results they see and spread the word to their friends and family. As a result, I have been invited/attended women expos and community gathering to present the products to attendees. Also the products are available online (www.ebenezer-arisebeauty.com) and people all over the world can order what they like and be shipped to them. We have five distribution /sales agents in the United States, two in Canada, in process to having one agent in Zimbabwe and the number is growing and spreading to other countries.
 
Q:  Where would you be in 10 year's time?
A: In ten years I will be residing in Tanzania with more items on the Ebenezer Natural Beauty product line. The products in line are lotions, knee and elbow cream, face cream, lip gloss, facial black spot remover and the list goes on.
 
Q: Who is Laurencia (Lau) Kyariga?
A: I was born in Magange village (Serengeti District, Mara) to Mr and Mrs Beatus Mwita Kyariga. I went to Kayanga Primary School (Karagwe District) for the first five years of primary education and then finished up the last 2 years at Masinki Primary School in  the village where I was born.

Then I was selected to go to Msalato Secondary School, in Dodoma region. I went to Jangwani Girls High School. After the one year compulsory national service (JKT)( I joined the University of Dar-Es-Salaam and graduated with BSc (Ed) in 1988.

For about three years I taught Mathematics and Chemistry at Dar es Salaam Technical College (now known as Dar-Es-Salaam Institute of Technology) then went to Canada for further studies and completed a Masters degree in Chemistry in 1995.

Here are some of the positions I held in Canada and in the United States of America; Forensic Chemist, Quality Assurance Laboratory Manager, Research and Development Scientist, Senior Chemist, Consultant and Chemical Application Engineer, Principal Chemist and in my current role as a Regulated Laboratory Supervisor.

I am responsible for managing and leading the Compliance Analytical Chemistry Team /Group which conducts GMP and GLP analytical testing for submission to the US government agencies in support of product registration with both the US’s EPA and FDA (Products worth more than 1.5 billion US Dollars in annual sales).
 
Q: How can you describe Lau Kyariga?
A: I am focused, friendly, easy going, down to earth, self motivated, confident, a loving mother, sister, aunt, daughter and friend. I am approachable and reliable, Trusting God in every step of my life. I am just a simple human.
 
Q: Do you believe what men can do women can do better?
A: What I can say about that is. I know I have been around for sometimes and around men and women. My gender has nothing to do with my performance. It is my focus, determination and perseverance. Knowing that it is a privilege to serve and through my everyday life I have realized that I can do anything in Him who strengthens me.
 
Q:  How do Tanzanians in the Diaspora fare and what is
your call to them?
A: Tanzanians Diaspora, to my knowledge, are doing well with all the complication of leaving in foreign countries. Since I just know about the Diaspora community around where I live, it will not be accurate for me to respond to this question in any way.

I am limited to what and who I know.  The only call to them is not to forget home, not that they will forget or are forgetting home but it is the only reasonable thing I can say since I do not know the specifics in their lives abroad.

I have been told so many times by my relatives and friends in Tanzania that I should not forget home and so I am passing the message along.
 
Q: What advice do have you to women in Diaspora and those back home?
A: Women everywhere need to understand that life has rules and everybody has to play by the same rules to move ahead. You reap what you sow in life, in relationships, in business, in school, in everything.

Rules do not know you are a woman, they apply to everybody. Don’t sit back and wait, do something with your life. Having said that, try to pay attention to what you are sowing as you go on with your everyday life. Grounded women can get away with a lot in life, effectively and peacefully.

 Q: Any other business you feel should be told?
A: I would like to reside, work and do business in Tanzania and hopefully be able to have a manufacturing facility in Tanzania. My dream is to come back and use my experience and knowledge in whatever capacity found profitable to the nation. East or West, home is best.

Also, we all should be contented with our beauty, retain your beauty, prevent damage, preserve, enhance but do not alter by using irreversible means. If you take care of yourself, your skin, your health at the later stage, it will take care of you.

I am approaching 50 years old and never used harsh chemical on my skin, I think it looks healthy…. What do you think?