As you probably already know, Diaspora Spice Co. is a proudly immigrant owned company, and we work with thousands of farm workers across India and Sri Lanka to bring you the highest quality spices in the world. A big reason I started this company in the first place was so we could build a global community of care - a world where a cinnamon farm in the hills of Kandy, felt in community with a home cook in California.
We’ve just wrapped up our Big Thank You Sale, the one time in the year we are able to make our spices as accessible as possible for our community. Honestly, the response this year has been nothing short of incredible! Y’all have made this our biggest holiday season yet. Thank you for gifting with us, for choosing our spices for your holiday cooking and baking, we are so grateful, and have so many BIG, EXCITING plans for next year, our 9th year in business!
It feels incredibly important to end this week of abundance by giving back support and funds where they are most needed. Right now, that is Sri Lanka, where, at the time I’m writing this, Cyclone Ditwah has claimed over 350 lives since it struck late last week. Sri Lanka’s President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has called it “the largest and most challenging natural disaster” the country has ever faced. Hundreds are missing and tens of thousands have been displaced due to floods and landslides, as per NYT, and our farm partners and friends in Sri Lanka are fully invested in on-ground relief efforts. So, we’ll be donating 20% of all orders placed until midnight towards non-profits engaged in relief efforts across Sri Lanka right now. Our goal is to raise $5,000 by the end of today, which will go a long way in supporting evacuees, getting displaced folks fed and supplied with basic necessities, and eventually, also funding long term rebuilding projects.
The scale of destruction the cyclone has unleashed is severe, and as per the country’s Disaster Management Centre, over 1.1 million people are affected. Many had to flee their homes without any of their belongings, and for many, the future is uncertain after losing their homes and livelihoods. All 25 districts in the country have been ravaged by the cyclone, with districts like Batticalao, Kandy, Ampara, Putalam being declared especially high risk. At the moment, our partners and processing facility are safe, but given that we work with farmer cooperatives across Kandy, where the impact of the cyclone has been severe, we are yet to find out to what extent their farms have been affected. If the floods have uprooted cinnamon trees, for instance, or deeply impacted the soil bed, it could take several years for the trees to grow back, and the livelihoods of generations ahead could be impacted.
To be entirely honest, this was not the Giving Tuesday we originally intended to write, but this is where our support is most needed at the moment. The fundamental reason we ever wanted to build a relationship-based, fully transparent supply chain is because we want to build a truly global community. It’s not just about showing up for our cinnamon and clove farmers in Sri Lanka, but really showing up for the culture and community when it’s most needed. Our relationships run much deeper than what we get from them. At the end of the day, this is about building a true community of care.
We will be donating 20% of all Giving Tuesday revenue to the following organisations:
- The Sri Lankan Red Cross Society, which is helping provide food, clean water, temporary shelter, and medical care to those in need right now.
- Palmera, which is providing meals, rations and essentials in Anuradhapura, Batticaloa, Badula, Kandy, Vavuniya, and more, where road access is severely affected. You can see how and where funds are being allocated here.
- Chrysalis, which is providing meals and essential items for women and children in Anuradhapura, Badulla, Kandy, Kilinochchi, Matale, Mullaitivu, Puttalam, and Trincomalee.
You can shop with us today so 20% of your purchase goes directly to these organisations, and if you would rather donate directly, I’ve linked to each of their donation pages for you. The important thing is to show up, no matter how, and I believe so much in this community to do exactly that 💕✊
|
|
Got this email from a friend? Subscribe here! No longer want to receive these emails?Unsubscribe.
Diaspora Co. 6631 Saroni Drive Oakland, California 94611 |
|
|
|
|
