We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Catherina Gomes. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Catherina below.

Catherina, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

I am the daughter of two Bangladeshi immigrants that came to America with a dream of better opportunity, education, and prospects for their daughters. My father worked three jobs simultaneously to pay for my school tuition and I was among the first women in my family to ever receive my college degree. I got my degree in chemical engineering at NC State University in Raleigh, NC and grew my small Raleigh-based business focused on both my global and local roots.

I created 700 Rivers to celebrate my heritage and to create equal opportunities for Bangladeshi women and girls through my business. At 700 Rivers, we work with Bangladeshi artisans who have escaped and overcome human trafficking and employ 22 women to handcraft our all-natural soaps and employ them with fair, living wages, dignified careers, and a safe work environment. We partner with a fair-trade organization in Bangladesh that is World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO) certified. We also have a give-back program through our product sales that funds scholarships for Bangladeshi girls to go to school by removing financial barriers.

I was able to combine my chemical engineering background with South Asian skincare traditions passed down through generations to formulate high-quality skincare recipes. Our soap bars are made with a moisturizing coconut oil base and scented with natural South Asian essential oils including those derived from cloves, cinnamon bark, turmeric roots, mint leaves, rose petals, lemons, and more to celebrate the beauty and traditions of South Asia.

As our soap business grew, we expanded into additional products, including bath bombs and soy candles that are handcrafted in Raleigh, NC and help fund scholarships for girls in Bangladesh to go to school. As I expanded my business, I knew I wanted to expand our mission as well to support educating impoverished children, especially girls, by removing financial barriers. This is incredibly personal to me because I know how much an education can change a girl’s life and her future.

My Didima (my maternal grandmother) grew up in a small village in Bangladesh where she went to school until second grade, then worked to help take care of her household as most village girls were expected to do. She was married at 14 and raised 7 children on her own while my grandfather traveled globally for his work.

My mother was able to begin and then continue her schooling through high school and dreamed of becoming an accountant as she was incredibly adept at math. She even began taking college courses; but in her early adult life, it was customary to begin considering marriage. At 19, she was married and left school to focus on being a wife and mother as was expected of her at the time.

My parents immigrated to the USA with nothing but hope and a dream of bigger opportunities for their daughters. My mother always encouraged my sisters and I to focus on our education and to dream big. My parents both worked multiple jobs all through our childhood to help our family meet our basic needs. When we set our sights on a university and career, my parents always told us they would figure out a way to cover the costs of tuition, books, application fees, and anything else necessary.

I am one of the first women in my family to receive my college degree. My education and chemical engineering degree opened doors to incredible job opportunities, which in turn opened the door to a brand-new level of security and stability in life. Most importantly, my education supported me to have agency over my own life choices, including getting married when I chose to and to whom I chose, instead of when and to whom I was told. In just two generations, we have been able to witness mothers pushing their daughters to go further in their lives than they could have ever dreamed for themselves. In just two generations, we can see how my education provided me with the foundation to design a life around my ambition, hopes, and dreams.

As a mother now, I deeply understand the feeling of wanting to see your children accomplish everything they could desire. But I don’t just want this for my daughter alone. I want every young girl to have the chance to learn, to dream, and to succeed.

An education can change someone’s entire life trajectory. An education can not only uplift one person but can uplift an entire family or a whole community. I am the first generation within my family that is not living in “survival mode” and was able to use this privilege to fund the start of a business that is completely focused on giving back. But this isn’t just me. This was made possible by all the women that came before me that worked and worked to make sure the next generation that came after them had a better life. And it is because of you. We are working together to make sure the next generation receives better opportunities, starting with their education.

700 Rivers products are empowering women across the globe. Our customers are changing lives, one soap and candle at a time.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My background is in chemical engineering, but my passion has always been in social impact and women’s empowerment. I am also a proud daughter of Bangladeshi immigrants. While I love my culture, I also recognize that women in Bangladesh are still facing barriers to economic and social equality which can lead to women being trapped in vulnerable situations. I learned about trafficking in college and was determined to create a solution to empowering women. As I researched potential solutions, I learned one of the best ways to combat trafficking is through meaningful jobs and fair employment. I considered my own skill sets and decided to use my chemistry background to create a high-quality, natural personal care product line. We created all-natural soaps with skin-friendly and eco-friendly ingredients that met the daily needs of our customers. And thus, 700 Rivers was born.

700 Rivers products are inspired by South Asian ingredients that share the beauty and richness of Bangladesh while smelling great and providing skin benefits. 700 Rivers’ hand-crafted soaps and bath products are infused with natural and local ingredients that tell the important story and rich traditions of Bangladesh, such as clove, cinnamon, orange, turmeric, lemon, lavender and rose. These ingredients can be found abundantly in Bangladesh and South Asia and we love sharing them with the world.

All of our soaps are made with a coconut oil base which lathers beautifully to gently cleanse, naturally hydrate, and soften skin. We also use 100% essential oils to naturally scent the soaps without any fragrance or synthetic oils.

We have also incorporated ingredients used in traditional beauty and skincare rituals passed down from generation to generation. For example, our Orange Turmeric soap bar provides calming aromatherapy benefits with the use of orange essential oils, balances and cleanses your skin, and refreshes your mind. Turmeric has also been used in South Asian foods and skincare for centuries. This incredible root is known to have antibacterial properties which can help disinfect and heal the skin. Turmeric also has anti-inflammatory properties which can help reduce redness or irritation on the body.

Since our origin, we have also expanded our product line to include all-natural bath bombs and now 100% soy wax candles. You’ll find ingredients rooted in South Asian tradition in any 700 Rivers product.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Being a daughter of two Bangladeshi immigrants meant that I grew up as a product of two cultures which caused a dual identity. I was bullied a lot in school for being and looking different, so I learned to suppress my South Asian culture in school or around my peers. I started to hide any part of myself that seemed different. It took a long time for me to unlearn but by my early adulthood, I realized I didn’t want to break myself into pieces anymore. I stopped hiding the things that made me different and instead embraced my cultural background as what made me unique. I was also able to celebrate and fuse my South Asian and American cultures by bringing them both together within the design of all the 700 Rivers products!

We’d really appreciate if you could talk to us about how you figured out the manufacturing process.

I used my chemistry background to start designing my own soap bar recipes. I designed and tested my recipes by making soaps in my kitchen and sharing them with friends to test and provide feedback! Once we had settled on our recipe formulation, we partnered with our artisans in Bangladesh to handcraft our soaps in a larger scale. All our soap bars and even our paper box packaging is handmade!

We also handcraft all our candles in Raleigh, NC. Our candle line is a lot of fun – we work with our customers via email and Instagram to co-design our new candles together! We survey our customers on new candle scents, the candle name, and even the design label! It is so much fun creating our products with the 700 Rivers community!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sevenhundredrivers.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/700rivers/

Image Credits

Photographer: Amy Paulson