Sara and I have been finalists in five startup competitions, looking to raise capital for Ajiri Tea. Most of the time we are beat out by someone promising change driven by "cutting-edge" technology and huge growth projections. Employing women to handcraft the packaging, supporting small tea farmers, and sending orphans to school---why, there wasn't anything new about that. Time and time again it seemed like potential grant givers were so blinded by the idea ofĀ newnessĀ andĀ disruptive changeĀ that they couldn't see the value in something tried-and-true. Or maybe they couldn't see the value in something handcrafted in "Africa." Or maybe it all just seemed like women's work.
Making it to the finals but never winning is starting to feel like "always a bridesmaid, never a bride." But we now know that a marriage to these good-looking grants isn't our destiny. While others are reaching up to catch buzzing flies, we are reaching down planting seeds.
Thirteen years later, these seeds are pushing through the red clay ground of generational poverty. Reuben is employed as a secretary in a hospital because of his computer skills learned through Ajiri. Christine is using her Ajiri earnings to send her children to school and started a hair salon.
So here is my pitch to you. Stop thinking about value. We both know that a life worth living isn't based on ROI. Maybe our company is revolutionary. Or maybe our company is ordinary. But we know that a good life is made up of kindness andĀ risks and sunrises and energizing growth and the sound of cicadas in the afternoon and a shared pot of tea.
amen!!
letās not be daunted! the money will come. itās an avenue the Universe can easily work thruā itās set up so nicely, so humanely, so efficiently, so beautifully. the Truth will win here, iām sure of it!
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At Ajiri, we feel so lucky to be on this earth at the same time as all of you. Your purchase of tea holds a lot of that elusive power of art. Sure, your purchase is the transference of physical money that goes to support women and children. But your purchases of tea, time and time again, transfers this feeling of belief. You believe in these women. You believe in these kids. You believe that the world can be a better place.Ā
People in the U.S. like to lament that there is no āvillageā anymore when raising children. But hereās the thing, Thomas was born without a village to support him. We made that village. You are that village. Every box of tea, every donation, gave Thomas the love and structure and opportunities to grow.Ā
We will continue to share our good fortunes with others. We will continue to run Ajiri Tea throughout this tariff madness. We will continue to run Ajiri until we canāt. Running Ajiri is a type of protest in this constricting capitalist world. If to grieve means to have loved, then to protest means to hope.Ā
Kate Holby
Author