Today we’d like to introduce you to Melissa Klimo-Major.
Hi Melissa, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
Hello! Thanks, I’d love to. I left corporate America to open a natural soap & candle business in 2009. A few years later, after earning my first yoga teacher training certification and co-leading a couple of yoga retreats to Costa Rica, I founded Society Verde, a yoga travel project dedicated to responsible exploration of locations a bit farther off the tourist radar.
I wanted to highlight the benefits of mindful travel beyond the traditional yoga retreat, and on my inaugural trip to Cuba in 2017, I witnessed how intentional travel that centers people and planet could foster growth and a strong connection across borders.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
To transition from soap to yoga to travel was a very big shift to make, and after I had made the business choice to put the main of my effort into growing Society Verde, the pandemic halted everything.
It was incredibly challenging in the moment and felt like I had made the wrong choice to go with the business that could be shut down completely so quickly, but when I look back now, that chance to pause gave me time to find balance. When I wasn’t able to travel, I dedicated time to studying therapeutic and restorative yoga practices, and also began making soap again.
We returned to travel in January 2022 with a trip to Oaxaca, Mexico, and while it felt amazing to explore and lead group travel again, it was really eye-opening to be in another country and witness firsthand the effects of the pandemic on communities.
I have always considered our footprint and impact on the places we visit when planning itineraries, and the global pandemic only highlighted that as a challenge and responsibility that should cross the mind of all travelers. I truly believe we can still enjoy the freedom of travel, but the world is a bit different now, and we should be open to changing to meet it. I will continue to offer group trips through Society Verde, and I also cherish what I learned at home during the pandemic – that I can balance all the travel with more grounding practices at home. I recently opened a soap lab and apothecary in Cleveland, where I offer local soap-making classes and a line of soaps inspired by our Society Verde trips. I am also working on a full travel-friendly line.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Society Verde’s travel philosophy is to ‘explore and restore,’ and my mission is to create connection with engaging ways to positively contribute through travel. I work with local residents and businesses to offer unique and educational experiences and actionable ways to support the communities we visit, and I use my expertise in yoga and mindfulness practices to allow space to cultivate relationships with new and changing landscapes and time to reflect and reconcile, on and off the yoga mat.
I have a reputation for finding locations with rich heritage, forward-thinking, and earth-friendly lifestyles and then doing the work to create unique ways to engage. In Cuba, we helped replant trees on an organic farm after a recent hurricane devastated the region. In Belgium, we rode bikes through the windmill-dotted countryside to visit a small village brewery, and in Belize, we learned how jungle plants provide medicine and created our own skin-soothing tonic with freshly picked herbs.
Our next trip will be in October, when we return to Oaxaca to immerse in dia de los muertos celebrations. This will be our third return to the area, and I’m excited to be working with our local friends to create a once-in-a-lifetime private group itinerary for our travelers.
With our local hosts, we’ll learn how to create an ofrenda (altar), prepare and taste some traditional holiday foods and beverages, learn from local artisans in their workshops, visit some of the region’s cemeteries, and attend one of the region’s most traditional and celebrated parties and parades while painted with la calavera catrina – the skeletal design makeup that is worn to honor the connection between life and death. Currently, we have only a few more spaces available to book for this trip.
Risk-taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
Travel is wild these days! And wild does not mean scary, but one could say any travel in the modern world can be seen as risky. For those willing to take the leap though, the rewards really can be life-changing. My story is that my brand started small, with no start-up funds, and our first launch was to Cuba. Today, I still operate as a very small brand, and each trip requires a hefty up-front financial + time investment to launch, This is the risk I continue to take, because the reward is knowing that travelers are finding deeper connections and returning home with memories of experiences they couldn’t even dream of before joining an itinerary. Always worth it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.societyverde.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/society.verde
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/societyverdecle/
- Other: https://apothecaryverde.com/
Image Credits
Jennifer Mangino
Marybeth Esposito
Shelby Kulick
April Bleakney
