海角大神

It was at Barb Stegemann鈥檚 kitchen table that Trevor Greene decided to enlist in the Canadian Armed Forces. Ms. Stegemann wanted to join Mr. Greene, her best friend, but a mild hearing impairment made it impossible.

In 2006, Greene, who had been part of the Canadian mission in Afghanistan, returned home severely wounded. During a peaceful discussion with village elders he had removed his helmet as a sign of respect. A teenager, influenced by the Taliban, had brought an ax down on his head. Doctors weren鈥檛 optimistic.

Stegemann was devastated.

But she was also determined that Greene would get better and that she would, as she promised him, 鈥渃arry on his mission to make up for not being there.鈥� She hadn鈥檛 a clue, however, how she was going to do this.

Then, thanks to a 2008 public radio story, she learned of Abdullah Arsala, a farmer in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, who was growing orange blossoms and roses instead of illegal poppies 鈥� and encouraging other farmers to do the same.

The process of distilling essential oils from flowers is similar to the way heroin is made from poppies. Creating fragrances from flowers can be lucrative, but Mr. Arsala was struggling.

鈥淭he same people who attacked my best friend were knocking over [Arsala鈥檚] distillery,鈥� Stegemann says.

She made him an offer. She would purchase his orange blossom oil and use it to make a high-quality fragrance under the brand The 7 Virtues, the name of her self-published book.

When her bank refused to grant her a loan, she charged $2,000 on her Visa card to purchase one cup of Arsala鈥檚 oil. From that, she produced 1,000 bottles of Afghanistan Orange Blossom, which she launched on International Women鈥檚 Day in 2010, selling it out of her garage.

In four weeks, she broke even.

Stegemann makes it clear that what she does is a business 鈥� 鈥渞etail activism,鈥� she calls it 鈥� not philanthropy. Her approach is guided by her own childhood poverty. Handouts did little to help 鈥渋nvite my sister and me to the banquet,鈥� as she puts it.

Today her business model emphasizes fair trade. She purchases from distillers in countries that have experienced wars or natural disasters in order to invest in the rebuilding of those communities.

She didn鈥檛 introduce herself to Arsala a minute too soon. He had borrowed money from friends and family 鈥� though they thought he was crazy because he could have secured a well-paying job thanks to his command of English. 鈥淸I was] a little disheartened,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 one thing to have a product, but you need people to buy.鈥�

Stegemann鈥檚 initial investment may have been small, but for Arsala it was 鈥渁 breath of fresh air,鈥� he says. Because she鈥檚 been willing to invest in his business, Arsala says, others have gained confidence to do the same. 鈥淚鈥檝e got buyers because of her. I have people asking for me,鈥� he says.

And she motivates him. 鈥淪ome days she sends me an e-mail with something that will make my day,鈥� he says. Stegemann is known for sprinkling her conversation 鈥� and her correspondence 鈥� with inspirational quotes from philosophers Marcus Aurelius and Socrates, or novelist Mary Wollstonecraft.

鈥淏arb just wants to bring beauty to everything,鈥� says Heather Josey, fragrance buyer at Hudson鈥檚 Bay, an upscale department store in Canada. 鈥淪he wants to make everyone feel connected. You want to be around her because you know she鈥檚 only going to do good in the world.鈥�

鈥淏arb鈥檚 the first to admit she was raised with very little,鈥� says her business partner, W. Brett Wilson, 鈥渨hich is why she鈥檚 quick to [say] that her business is not about charity. Barb鈥檚 model lets everyone have dignity.鈥�

Mr. Wilson, a 鈥渄ragon鈥� on the popular Canadian reality TV show 鈥淒ragon鈥檚 Den鈥� (the US counterpart is 鈥淪hark Tank鈥�), agreed to invest $75,000 in The 7 Virtues just as Stegemann鈥檚 first run of Afghanistan Orange Blossom was selling out, despite virtually no advertising. She was at work on a new scent, Middle East Peace, which combined oils from Iran and Israel. She appeared on the TV show seeking a financial investment and 鈥渨ise counsel,鈥� as she put it.

鈥淭he passion for something different was so obvious and so compelling,鈥� Wilson says.

Stegemann鈥檚 success on 鈥淒ragon鈥檚 Den鈥� gave her the confidence to cold-call Ms. Josey at Hudson鈥檚 Bay.

Josey remembers that call well.

鈥淚 thought she was a little off the wall,鈥� Josey says with a laugh. 鈥淏ut that鈥檚 what visionaries are: They鈥檙e a million miles ahead of you.鈥� It took three meetings before Josey completely understood Stegemann鈥檚 business. 鈥淏ut I knew I wanted to be part of this woman鈥檚 journey,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about rebuilding lives. I wasn鈥檛 sure how we were going to do it. It鈥檚 different than anything already on the market.鈥�

Stegemann decided early on that the names of her perfumes would reflect the locations from which their ingredients come 鈥� and tell a different story than the one we read in headlines.

鈥淚n Jalalabad,鈥� she says, 鈥渢hey have poetry festivals during harvest, and they produce this beautiful oil. I鈥檓 not going to pretend it鈥檚 all perfect ... but there are people there that want to shine a light on what鈥檚 good, and we get to be a part of that.鈥�

Stegemann鈥檚 fragrances now have been picked up by other top retailers: Lord & Taylor in the United States, Galeries Lafayette in Europe, and Fenwick Bond Street in Britain. She receives calls from distillers of essential oils around the world hoping to interest her in creating a fragrance using their oils. [Editor's note: This paragraph was updated Feb. 15 to reflect a recent change to a different retailer in Britain.]

鈥淚鈥檒l partner,鈥� she says. 鈥淵ou make the oils. You make sure they鈥檙e fair trade. You make sure they鈥檙e certified. I鈥檒l buy from you.鈥�

She鈥檚 done exactly that in Haiti with Vetiver of Haiti (she joined Bill Clinton on a visit to Haiti in March 2013), and partnered again with Arsala for Noble Rose of Afghanistan. She works with distillers in both Israel and Iran for Middle East Peace and a co-op of farmers made up of adult children and widows of the genocide in Rwanda for Patchouli of Rwanda 鈥� The 7 Virtues bestseller at Hudson鈥檚 Bay. Coming soon is Vanilla of the Congo and a holiday fragrance that will combine frankincense and myrrh from Somalia.

The story behind each fragrance is told on the back of the box.

The light she鈥檚 shining on her suppliers is paying off. She recently received the exciting news that CPL Aromas, an international producer of fragrances based in Britain, 鈥渋s going to buy field loads from my farmers,鈥� Stegemann says. 鈥淚sn鈥檛 that beautiful? It鈥檚 all I鈥檝e ever dreamed of.鈥�

She takes delight in what she鈥檚 created but is quick to shrug off credit.

鈥淭his is not mine,鈥� she says, 鈥淚鈥檓 an excellent servant.... There鈥檚 something bigger going on. And that鈥檚 the way it should be.鈥�

After many years of rehabilitation her friend Greene has regained his cognitive faculties but uses a wheelchair, though he鈥檚 determined to walk. Stegemann now has a military uniform of her own. In 2011 she was made an honorary colonel at a Canadian Forces Base near her hometown of Halifax, Nova Scotia.

She takes the honor seriously.

鈥淲e need to make rebuilding more exciting than destruction,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e must ... lift each other, partner with each other.

鈥淲e鈥檙e equals.鈥�

鈥� To learn more about The 7 Virtues, visit .

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