Despite the difficulties and the economic slowdown that we are all feeling, we continue to strive towards a fairer world, by sharing our resources.
This year we are supporting the fight against precariousness in India and Nepal. It's via the humanitarian association Karuna Shechen, founded in 2000 by Matthieu Ricard that we act. We chose this organization for its low operating costs and its targeted field actions.
Save lives, alleviate suffering and preserve the health of the most vulnerable. In India as in Nepal, the regions in which we operate are faced with significant lack of access to care, both materially, geographically and financially.
Strengthen access to quality education for all. Education is not only a means of improving living conditions, but also a tool for the overall development of the individual. It is a key factor in promoting equality and autonomy.
Fight against malnutrition through environmentally friendly food.
Food security is defined by physical, social and economic access to sufficient, quality and nutritious food that supports a healthy and active life.
Empowerment to be actors of change. People in rural or mountainous regions of India and Nepal lack suitable training, job opportunities and support.
Promote practices that respect the environment and living things. . The effects of climate change are already at work in our regions of intervention: severe droughts and torrential rains follow one another, strongly impacting the most vulnerable populations, without the means to adapt.
The natural turquoise ring, stone of protection and appeasement is one of your favorites, it is quite normal, and we explain why in this article.
Turquoise is a blue-green colored gemstone that has long been used for decorative and medicinal purposes. In lithotherapy, turquoise is considered a protective stone that helps strengthen positive energy and ward off negative energy.
When worn as a ring, turquoise is believed to help calm the mind and improve communication. It is often associated with the throat chakra, which is related to self-expression and communication. By wearing a turquoise ring, women can boost their self-confidence and their ability to express themselves clearly.
But the turquoise ring also has a unique aesthetic aspect that inexorably attracts. Its bright, shimmering color makes it a popular piece of jewelry for any occasion, from casual wear to dressy nights out. Turquoise pairs well with other gemstones, such as coral or onyx, to create elegant and timeless ring designs.
In short, the turquoise ring is a versatile jewelry choice that combines both beneficial lithotherapy properties and an attractive aesthetic appearance. If you're looking to add a splash of color and style to your jewelry collection while enjoying the benefits of crystal healing, the turquoise ring could be a great choice for you.
Turquoise is a gemstone that has been used for thousands of years by different cultures around the world. The Mayans believed that turquoise had magical powers and considered it a sacred stone. They used it to create jewelry, mosaics, and carvings to honor their gods. North American Indians also considered turquoise a sacred stone and often wore it as an amulet to protect against evil spirits. They also believed that turquoise had healing properties and used it to treat stomach aches and headaches.
Tibetans also have a long history of using turquoise. They consider the stone a symbol of protection and good fortune. Tibetans believed that turquoise had the ability to protect against negative forces and diseases, and often used it to make amulets and talismans. Turquoise jewelry was also very popular among Tibetan nobles. Even today the Tibetans wear the turquoise ring as a signet ring or even on several fingers, they also wear the turquoise in the form of Dzi (pronounced zee) this oblong pendant.
Turquoise has also been used by other cultures around the world, including the Egyptians, Persians and Greeks. The Egyptians used turquoise to create jewelry and ornaments for the tombs of the pharaohs, while the Persians considered turquoise a symbol of wealth and power and often used it in the jewelry of nobility. The Greeks also used turquoise to create jewelry, but also considered it a protective stone that could help dispel negative energies.
In summary, turquoise has been used for thousands of years by different cultures around the world. The Mayans, North American Indians, Tibetans, Egyptians, Persians and Greeks all considered it a gemstone with protective, healing and magical properties. Even today, turquoise is highly valued for its unique beauty and its soothing and protective properties.
This year we are supporting food security and better management of the water crisis in India. It is via the humanitarian association Karuna Shechen, founded in 2000 by Matthieu Ricard that we act. We chose this organization for its low operating costs and its targeted field actions.
It mainly affects children under 5 and women. Karuna Shechen's project operates in two states in the north of the country, Bihar and Jharkhand. Malnutrition is almost irreversible in children and transcends the stages of adolescence and adulthood. Severe lack of food is the cause of high mortality and morbidity in these two states.
Since the early 2000s, the state of Bihar has experienced significant water crisis. In Jharkhand, about a third of the surface and ground water comes out of the region. The consequences are wells and water reserves completely dried up, from November to February, in both states.
To ensure the food security of the poorest, Karuna Shechen deploys several micro-programs to install:
Farmers receive drip irrigation kits, including a 500 liter water tank, as well as vegetable and fruit seeds and seedlings with unique registration. They are also trained in mushroom cultivation and organic compost management.
To boost water harvesting Karuna-Shechen installs rainwater harvesting systems, a traditional technique that turns rain into a reliable source of water for families' domestic and non-drinking needs. Teams in India are installing 1000 liter water tanks in schools and villages, as well as 500L domestic tanks next to homes for families, for laundry, sanitation and watering vegetable gardens. To help farmers during the dry season, drip irrigation systems have been introduced, so they can use water efficiently while growing more crops (65-75%), less weeding (80% savings). A suitable solution is offered to each farmer, depending on the layout of his land (well, reservoir).
In 2021, 320 people benefited from this program!
Lapis lazuli is a semi-precious stone with a deep blue color, sometimes mottled with white (calcite) or golden glitter (pyrite). The use of lapis lazuli dates back more than 6500 years! Loved by the Egyptians, Babylonians, Chinese, Greeks and Romans, this deep blue stone has been used in the finest works of art throughout the ages. One of its most famous uses is in King Tutankhamun's death mask. One of his successors, Cleopatra, used ground lapis lazuli as eye shadow. Marco Polo wrote about lapis lazuli mining in 1271.
In the Middle Ages, painters ground lapis lazuli to make the dark blue paint known as "ultramarine", the blue used to paint the dresses of Mary of Nazareth on the walls and ceilings of churches, including the Sistine Chapel. In South America, pre-Columbian cultures, including the Incas, carved, traded, and fought over lapis lazuli from the mines of Argentina and Chile.
Since the dawn of time, lapis lazuli has been associated with strength and courage, royalty and wisdom, intellect and truth. In ancient Egypt, lapis was powdered and worn around the eyes to improve eyesight. Today, it is considered by some to help balance the brow chakra (which influences vision and hearing). Imbalances of the frontal (or blue) chakra are said to cause headaches, anxiety, and skin disorders.
Lapis lazuli is also a symbol of cheerfulness and harmony. It is a stone of love and friendship, which creates an aura of tenderness and sympathy around its owner. Lapis is particularly recommended for nervous people, on whom it has a calming action.
The two-part name for this stone comes from two different cultures: lapis is a Latin word meaning "stone", while lazuli comes from the Persian word lazhuward, meaning "blue".
Lapis lazuli can be used on the third eye and forehead chakra. Applied to the 3rd eye chakra, it solicits intellectual properties and intuition.
Lapis lazuli has a hardness of 5 to 6/10, 10 being the hardest stone, diamond. It is a natural stone quite sensitive to shocks.
To maintain your lapis lazuli stones, simply wash them with clear water. Professional ultrasonic cleaning from jewelry stores is not recommended for this semi-precious stone.
Lapis lazuli has a medium hardness, which makes it harder than many other popular stones, but more fragile than many transparent gemstones. Lapis is sensitive to pressure, heat, and household cleaners. Clean the lapis with warm soapy water. Wipe dry with a soft cloth and store dry, in a bag or box where the lapis can't get scratched or scratched by other jewelry.
Omyoki offers handmade lapis lazuli jewelry, created in collaboration with our artisan-partners in India. Original creations, in limited editions, and sometimes in unique pieces. This video puts in image, this history of know-how and craftsmen.
Each workshop was visited, to check the working conditions, the quality of life and the fair remuneration of the craftsmen. A personal relationship has been established with each artisan, around countless teas and spending hours chatting, as it should be in Asian countries.
This year we have decided to donate €1000 to the humanitarian association Chay Ya. This donation helps finance an effective and direct “field” aid program to deal with covid 19 in Nepal. Chay Ya has a main antenna in Nepal, with Nepalese staff and volunteers and several fundraising antennas in Europe, the USA, etc.
Until 2020 we supported the Karuna Sheshen association but unfortunately many projects are suspended because the association employs several Westerners who were unable to continue their actions on the spot. The Chay Ya association has a network of local volunteers in the seven Nepalese provinces, which makes it possible to act in an emergency and to face an evolving situation.
Chay Ya is our choice for this year because she has excellent field actions, because these operating costs are extremely low (2% administrative level) and because she works with serious partners like UNICEF Nepal or national hospitals. on large-scale projects.
Here's a very simple pdf table allowing you to see how the funds of the aid project in Nepal are used - covid 19.
To find out more information about covid-19 actions in Nepal, you can click here and on ongoing covid-19 actions in Nepal, click here.
Tourmaline is a magnificent gem with colors as varied as that of a rainbow. Its wide range of colors: black, green, brown, yellow, red, pink, blue, yellow, colorless or multicolored, comes from the different chemical elements that compose it: iron, manganese, nickel, cobalt, titanium… Its name is derived from Sinhala word (language spoken in Sri Lanka) "tournamal" which means "stone with mixed colors". Tourmaline, although present on all continents, is widely imported to Europe, by Dutch sailors bringing it back from the Kingdom of Ceylon.
The majority of tourmaline comes today from Brazil. The other main deposits are located in Afghanistan, India, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Burma, Russia and Thailand.
Tourmaline is known for its electrical properties that give it a role in protecting the body against static electricity and radio waves from all kinds of electrical devices. In lithotherapy, tourmaline is known to act as a detoxifying agent. These crystals promote relaxation of the body and mind.
It is believed that the first tourmalines were discovered by the conquistadors in Brazil in the 1500 years. At the time, it was assumed that these green tourmaline were emeralds. It was not until the nineteenth century that scientists realized that these stones actually had their own kind of mineral.
Tourmaline has a hardness of 7. It is a note on 10, 10 being the hardest stone, the diamond. It is a semi-precious stone very ure and resistant to shocks.
To maintain your tourmalines just wash them with clear water. It is a fine stone that does not need to be cleaned. To recharge the tourmaline it is enough to expose it to the light of the sun or the moon.
Omyoki offers tourmaline jewelry, designed in France and handmade by talented artisans in India, Nepal and Tibetan communities. Original creations, in limited editions, and sometimes in single piece. This video puts in image, this history of know-how and craftsmen.
Each workshop was visited, to check the working conditions, the quality of life and the fair remuneration of the craftsmen. A personal relationship has been established with each artisan, around countless teas and spending hours chatting, as it should be in Asian countries.
Omyoki supports local people in India and Nepal and supports the NGO Karuna Shechen, founded in 2000 by Matthieu Ricard.
Our jewelery is mostly made in India and Nepal, this is why we chose an NGO focused on these two countries, and with very low operating costs (8%). Karuna Shechen focuses on the following main actions:
The creation of new ethnic jewelry and bohochic jewelry has been underway since February! Indeed, I (Stéphanie, the founder of Omyoki) am once again traveling to India and Nepal to work with local artisans on new models.
The semi-precious stones have been chosen one by one, with some novelties, including the star ruby, the bumblebee jasper, the ocean jasper, the tourmaline, the azurite, the rutile quartz ... The natural stones lighthouses remain the moon stone, labradorite, And the turquoise. It was a great pleasure to choose the stones, their shapes, their colors, their purity… Each selection of semi-precious stones is an opportunity for incredible unpacking, to make the eyes shine. We spend hours and days discussing stones, setting and models! There is a strong desire to choose everything and to have incredible quantities of jewelry manufactured, but you have to know how to stay in a reasoned production!
In Asia, artisans are used to working quietly, producing a few pieces for each model. All the jewelry is handmade, from A to Z. It is easy to create unique pieces but always very complicated to produce the same jewelry in quantity. Omyoki strives to stick as much as possible to local habits and customs. We respect and tend to promote traditional Indian and Nepalese know-how. An avalanche of new ethnic and modern jewelry awaits you in the coming months! Because to be in tune with this Indian and Nepalese rhythm, the jewelry is created in unique pieces or in mini collections. In this way, each craftsman brings maximum attention to the creation of each piece of jewelry. It is the respect for unique work, hand-made work, work at an Asian pace, far from chain creations! The result is a job done with love and care, where every craftsman has the pleasure of the job done.
In the continuity of this link between our Western world and developing countries with ancestral know-how, our jewelry designs are a fusion of styles at the crossroads between East and West. Omyoki still relies on traditional Asian designs, bringing a modern and Western touch.
This spring the focus has been on the diversification of semi-precious stones, adjustable rings and gilded jewelry. Ethnic jewelery and chic, understated silver jewelery remain at the heart of the Omyoki collections, with a little more golden gilded jewelry.
The new ethnic and bohochic jewelry is being created for the coming months. It will take a little more than a month for the first jewelry to arrive! To be continued…
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See you soon on Omyoki!
Omyoki offers a line of ethnic silver jewelry from fair trade. Handmade jewelery by talented craftspeople we have been looking for in the heart of Asia, India, Nepal, Thailand and Indonesia.
The style of our ethnic jewelry is largely influenced by Indian arabesques. Most of our creations have been designed in collaboration with artists from Rajasthan, a region of northern India renowned for its expertise in goldsmithing and stone cutting. You will also find original pieces made by Karen tribes from northern Thailand and other jewelry with perfumes from elsewhere.
With Omyoki you opt for an ethical fashion and contribute to a fair trade. You buy handmade jewelery from artisans in developing countries and thus support local crafts and families of small craftsmen.
We work with selected artisans, and we visited each workshop to ensure a good quality of working conditions, the non-employment of children, a respect for each craftsman. Omyoki offers fair prices, both for artisans and for its customers. This is how we are committed to fair trade.
Our ethnic jewelry perfumes elsewhere are compositions in 925 silver and natural stones. Most of the semi-precious stones come from the jewelry making region. We favored moonstone, rose quartz, labradorite, turquoise and other natural stones from India and surroundings.
Fall on bohemian or more refined designs! Creations made with care and combining ethnic style and contemporary Western fashion.
Kyanite or kyanite is also called kyanite. Its name was given to it by Abraham Gottlob Werner in 1789. It comes from the Greek "kuanos" or "blue". Kyanite is colorless and owes its famous blue color to the presence of chromium. Its color then varies from blue to purple, passing through green, yellow, pink, white, brown and gray. The main deposits of are located in Brazil, Nepal, but also in Austria, Kenya, Myanmar, Zimbabwe.
Kyanite is the stone of "letting go". It is a stone of intuition and self-acceptance. Soothing for buried anxieties and fears, kyanite promotes deep and restorative sleep for both mind and body.
Kyanite is a stone sensitive to shocks and makes it a little stone used in jewelry. Yet some Asian cultures make jewelry in kyanite, for its virtues. The result is spectacular considering the aesthetics of the stone.
Kyanite or cyanite has a hardness of 4 to 5 on the faces of the prism and 6 to 7 transversely. It is a note on 10, 10 being the hardest stone, the diamond. It is a semi-precious stone that is relatively fragile and sensitive to shocks.
To maintain your kyanite stones just wash them with clear water. Professional ultrasonic cleaning of jewelery is not recommended for this delicate semi-precious stone.
Omyoki offers kyanite jewelry, designed in France and then handmade by talented artisans in India, Nepal and in Tibetan communities. Original creations, in limited editions, and sometimes as a unique piece. This video puts in image, this history of know-how and craftsmen.
Each workshop was visited, to check the working conditions, the quality of life and the fair remuneration of the craftsmen. A personal relationship has been established with each artisan, around countless teas and spending hours chatting, as it should be in Asian countries.
Fine bangle in 925 silver NEPAL
by Jitka Š.
DEEP BLUE lapis lazuli man necklace
by serge Gordia
JAÏ fine hammered gold hoop earrings
by Sandra Arnaud
