b'good life TIPS FOR BETTER LIVINGSpice Company "Its what I think nonprofits really should focus on more: giving people the means Sets Sights on Fixingto stand on their own two feet.James McKinley Thomason, Nueva Kerala co-founderBroken Value Chain their money, said Hallett. Theyruns so deep that when Heifer By Katya Cengel, World Ark contributor want their money to align withemployees suggested that farmers the impact that they want to haveuse the roof of an old German in the world and the values thatmansion to dry their cardamom JUST BEFORE THE 2020wanted to buy goats and chickensthey hold. Thats what were doingthey refused, says Munson. PANDEMIC, Heifer partnered withfrom Heifer as holiday gifts forPHOTO BY DANIEL LOPEZwith Impact Capital. The teamThey didn\'t want to be entrepreneur James McKinleyhis customers. His name wasensures farmers have access toassociated with it, it was just bad Thomason to launch a new startupJames McKinley Thomason,finance they need to grow andmemories for them, she said. social enterprise based in the Altahis business, Doug Jeffordsexpand their agribusinesses. Nueva Kerala wants to change Verapaz region of Guatemala. ItsCompany. His product, spices. It is a very different outlook this legacy by giving 6,250 farmers name: Nueva Kerala. Its mission:At the time, Munson wasfrom that of the Europeangrouped into associations a share to disrupt the spice value chain. looking for spice companiesimmigrants, mostly German, whoof the company and a direct outlet Not only is the companyto fund a project that providedbrought cardamom to Guatemalato world markets. Eventually 100% challenging the idea of the spicesupport for Guatemalan cardamomand marketing. The solution wasin Guatemala and took Heiferin the early 1900sone, coffeeof the companys spices will come capitalthe name Nueva or newfarmers, like technical assistancein that email from Thomasonemployees with him to the worldplanter Oscar Majus Klffer,from farmers working with Heifer. Kerala plays on the worlds spiceand access to financing. Afteryears earlier. Then in his earlyspice capital of Kerala, India. Hebrought the first cardamomBut first the farmers must meet capital Kerala, Indiabut its alsoseveral years building connections20s and eager to make a profitintroduced Heifer farmers toseeds to the country. Then, theproduction demands, which the fixing the supply chain by linkingin the spice industry, she andwhile also having a positive socialnewer varieties of cardamomIndigenous communities livingpandemic and hurricanes have farmers directly with processors,Heifer Guatemala Country Directorimpact, Thomason reached outplants and innovative methodsin Alta Verapaz not only had theirhampered. While Munson has enabling them to increase theirGustavo Hernndez were readybecause he was impressed withof pest control. Thomasonland taken by the Europeans,plenty of praise for Thomason, incomes while creating localfor the next stepto get HeiferHeifers approach to living income,wanted to buy directly fromthey were also exploited by them.she says it really started with jobs that pay a living wage. project participants cardamomthe amount of money a familyHeifer farmers for his tins, butEven after the Germans left, localHernndez, whose wisdom, Its a major step towardmore directly to market. Theneeds to live a dignified life, indoing this through third partiescommunities remained largelyleadership and stroke of genius empowering producers: In theonly problem was when thosecommunities where it works. proved complicated, so he andcut off from profits. Often lackingin working with spice farmers traditional spice value chain,companies asked for cardamom,"It\'s what I think nonprofitsMunson struck on an idea: Whytransportation and equipment toset off a chain of events that will cardamom grown by farmersthey wanted it by the ton.really should focus on more:not launch a new company?dry and process the crop and facedimpact the lives of many, many participating in Heifer projectsThat left Munson andgiving people the means to standOnce Nueva Kerala iswith a short deadlinefresh, orfarmersand businesses. had to pass through multipleHernndez wondering, How onon their own two feet," he said.financially independent, Heifergreen, cardamom rots in as little asNueva Kerala recently achieved layers of middlemen beforeearth are we going to get it out ofAt the time, Thomason waswill transition its 49% equity stakehalf a dayfarmers see the lowestorganic and kosher certification. reaching the world market.the country? The middlemen cutlaunching a new retail brand, J.M.in it to the farmers. By directlyprofit margins in a supply chainIn the future, Thomason hopes The solution to this seeminglyinto the farmers profits, but theyThomason, and after Munsoninvesting in the value chain therethat has as many as eight links,it will expand to all of Latin intractable problem arrivedalso knew the steps needed toconvinced him to forgo the goatsis more opportunity to make aaccording to Heifer research. America. Munson sees it going nine years ago, in the form ofprepare the cardamom. Isolatedfor spices, he decided to givegreater impact, explains JensynAs a result, although Guatemalaeven further globally. She has an email in Suzanne Munsonseconomically, physically andHeifer 10 cents from every tin ofHallett, director of Impact Capitalexports more cardamom than anyworked with many companies, inbox. As the director of Globalsocially, the largely Indigenousseasoning blend he sold underat Heifer. Heifer Impact Capitalother country, generating morefrom cosmetics to clothing, Partnerships & Alliances atfarmers were not always able to drythe new brand. Soon, 10 centsalso provides Nueva Kerala withthan $300 million a year in recentbut Nueva Kerala is different.Heifer, Munson was researchingand process their cardamom to thebecame 25 cents and then 50%financial advisory services byyears, most cardamom farmersIn my experience, Ive a new Heifer spice project instandards the companies required.of profits from the venture. Cashhaving a member of the team onearn an average annual incomenot worked with a company Guatemala, when she opened theToday, those same farmerswas one way Thomason gave tothe companys board of directors. of $1,800, around one third whatlike this, that has the potential ostensibly inconsequential email.are shipping their cardamom toHeifer, expertise and training wasMore and more folks areis required to meet their basicto have so much impact An entrepreneur in Tennesseeglobal leaders in spice distributionanother. He visited the farmersbecoming aware of the power ofneeds. The legacy of exploitationforfarmers, she said.n8| SUMMER 2021 HEIFER.ORG |9'