Diaspora Spice Company
“My lofty dream was to cultivate an entirely new, exceptionally flavorful, and genuinely fair spice trade, transforming a flawed system into one built on just exchange.”
Sana Javeri Kadri, who grew up in Mumbai, India, witnessed the blend of food and culture throughout her life. However, her time in the US made her recognize that not much had shifted in the realm of South Asian spices since the Middle Ages—farmers continued to face unfair conditions, supply chains remained convoluted, and spices on the market were often stale.
Determined to make a change, she returned to Mumbai, diving into extensive research by visiting farms and markets, as well as engaging with The Indian Institute of Spices Research, a pivotal experience she describes as “transformative.”
Starting with a singular spice, turmeric, her ambitions included “building a new, highly flavorful, and fundamentally fair spice trade that would challenge a broken system towards equitable exchanges.” This vision involved directly sourcing from farmers, ensuring they received a fair wage, promoting regenerative agricultural methods, and advocating for supply chain transparency.
Moreover, their dedication to partner farmers encompasses more than just fair compensation. Through their Farm Worker Fund, Sana and her team emphasize the social and economic welfare of farming communities by providing both immediate and long-term solutions that facilitate access to essential rights, healthcare, education, and dignified living conditions.
At Diaspora, a sense of community is at the heart of their mission, empowering them to share narratives of “liberation, challenges, and diaspora through culinary experiences.”
LONA
“We hold the belief that every woman deserves the opportunity to craft the life she envisions for herself.”
Statistics from Forbes reveal that women globally earn, on average, 77 cents to every dollar earned by men, with BIPOC women facing even steeper disparities. At this rate, it may take 257 years to fully close this pay gap, and LONA is committed to accelerating that process.
Through grants, mentorship, and expert guidance for women-led startups and businesses, LONA empowers women to generate economic opportunities for themselves and other women, enabling them to pursue their entrepreneurial aspirations.
From the South Asian queer spice venture Diaspora to Indigenous artisans in Guatemala and Black-owned food startups in California’s Bay Area, LONA’s grantee program fosters sustainable, long-term solutions for female entrepreneurs. “We believe that every woman has the right to create the life she wants for herself.”
Additionally, LONA promotes a culture of mentorship among grantees, encouraging them to guide future generations, thus extending their positive impact to a wider circle of women and girls as they pay it forward.
