Full marks to...Die Bestnote erhält ...Full marks to the US Army veterans behind Rumi Spice for starting a company that helps Afghan farmers. Rumi Spice buys saffron from Afghan farmers and sells it on the international market, including to top restaurants. “We wanted to create something to empower everyday Afghans long after we left,” Kimberly Jung, one of the company’s founders, told The New York Times.
Jung, a former army officer and engineerIngenieur(in)engineer, to serveMilitärdienst leistenserved in Afghanistan. So did co- founderGründer(in)founders Keith Alaniz and Emily Miller. The fourth co-founder, Carol Wang, worked as a civilianZivilist(in)civilian in Afghanistan for the World Bank.
We wanted to create something to empower everyday Afghans long after we left
The group started the company in 2014 — with some initial resistance from the farmers, who had seen other aid projectHilfsprojektaid projects fail. “Once they started seeing we could really sell the product, the farmers started knocking on our doors,” Miller comments.
Additional employment is provided for about 75 women at Rumi’s processing plantVerarbeitungsbetriebprocessing plant, which was opened in Herat in 2015. Rumi pays the women directly, rather than following the traditional practice of paying their husbands or fathers. Another 300 to 400 women were hired for the annualjährlichannual harvestErnteharvest.
saffronSafranSaffron is one of the most expensive spiceGewürzspices in the world. A kilogram can sell for as much as $30,000 (about €28,000).
Watch Rumi Spice talk about their project:
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