Reem Al Khalifa is the founder of Green Bar Inc., a Bahraini apothecary crafting botanical skin care with native medicinal plants.
Her passion is to bring awareness to the healing potential of the plants in this geographical area, connecting the people to the land, and bringing awareness to the environment.
Reem creates products that reinvent the use of forgotten ingredients, for a modern world.
We enjoyed this conversation with Reem about what inspires her and how she connects to her Bahraini heritage while being an adventurous innovator.
tinyOm: So what does heritage mean to you? How would you define it?
Reem: I think that heritage means being from a place, being completely Bahraini, I think heritage can be a heavy word. But I feel the sense of community here, and I love the community. I also love the land because of the challenges that come with living in the desert. It’s kind of like accepting what you have and loving what you have.
tinyOm: Do you connect heritage to culture?
Reem: Culture is only the culture that I’ve grown up with. I don’t force myself to accept anything that doesn’t come naturally to me. Everything I experience that has culture is by osmosis.
tinyOm: Is there a memory like smell, color or texture that comes to mind when you think about heritage?
Reem: The smell of a tomato is something that I really love because it reminds me of being in the garden with my grandfather, and tomatoes grow really well in Bahrain. I just love their smell. It’s one of my first aromatic memory.
tinyOm: How did Green Bar Inc. come about?
Reem: I was very interested in using the harvest and the local resources and not letting them go to waste. I wanted to integrate them again into our daily life. Even if I feel I am only at the beginning of my research, using the ingredients that we have and that grow here, that is something that I feel is worth pursuing.
tinyOm: You also have a really sustainable approach in your work, like using the date seed that used to be mostly disposed of.
It’s actually a bit rebellious because I am finding new ways to use local ingredients. For example, if something like aloe vera is cooling then why wouldn’t I start using it even if it wasn’t before? It’s a form of rebellion when you’re trying to create a new culture.
And when I started using the date seeds and transforming them into activated charcoal, it worked so well and it was fun. I like that I could even keep the pretty shape of the date seed. It’s a bit experimental. It’s not part of the heritage, its experimental but it’s using some old and new remix.
My work is often experimental, I just check if something is worth doing. If no one has used it before but it works and its good for you, then I’ll start.
tinyOm: What is the product that is the most emblematic for Green Bar and the most connected to Bahrain for your?
Reem: I think one of the most emblematic things to Green Bar, is the rose. Rose water is something that everybody here understands. It’s one of the beauty secrets of the Middle East and it was also used as a medicine. It’s very potent. It is digestive, astringent, cooling, it really has many benefits.
tinyOm: What is the most iconic place for you in Bahrain?
Reem: I think the Tree of Life is special, because that tree offers so much shade and being in the desert, shade is something that we really appreciate and treasure.
And we don’t know how old it is, it’s mysterious in so many ways.
tinyOm: how do you connect to this ancient Sumerian script that was used mainly for trade but also to sing lullabies?
Reem: I think its very interesting to connect to this old script, we really haven’t spent enough time in our schools looking at the Island’s own history. I think that words are always special because they are affirmations. Any words can be your affirmation. And especially if you wear it, it’s so powerful to have your affirmation on you reminding you all the time.
tinyOm: So one of the words is ‘Joy’, what does it evoke for you?
Reem: You don’t really need to spend much to have joy. You need to be grounded, you need to be in the sunshine a bit, so there are really simple ways that you can find joy in your daily life. Like working out in in the morning, and then taking cold shower, followed by a nice breakfast. It’s important to remember that you can easily bring joy to yourself. You can choose it. A little bit of sunshine, a little sweat and you’ll feel much lighter.
tinyOm: And what about destiny? What does destiny evoke for you?
Reem: I think that you can definitely change your destiny. You can tweak it here and there, depending on how grounded you are and how interested you are to evolve yourself. It is definitely a pro-active process to be in touch with your destiny.
tinyOm: How would you define Bahrain for someone who has never visited the island?
Reem: Bahrain is very communal, which is great. I think that people here are very open. Generally, people living on an island are relaxed. Bahrain is are known to be kind, it’s kind of innate. And we are excited and curious to know people passing by us. It’s like they bring the world to us. We tend to be happy to embrace that because it just opens us up!
Land of Destiny Collection
Green Bar website: https://greenbarinc.com / Instagram @greenbarinc or @greenbarcafe