Diaspora Co. X Spicewalla: A Match Made in Golden Heaven

Freshly harvested turmeric root bound for Diaspora Co.

A few months back, we stumbled upon a little company called Diaspora Co. that was making waves in the world of turmeric (is there a “world of turmeric”? Well, if there’s not there should be), waves that were outsized for what was essentially at that point a one-woman operation. Needless to say, we were impressed.

Here was a company that had as the first line on their website “We are a queer, woman-of-color owned business that moves forth in the spirit of social justice. We are here to put money, equity, and power into the hands of Indian farmers, and to disrupt, and decolonize an outdated commodity spice trading system.”

Here was a company that showed pictures of turmeric with the most beautiful color we had ever seen: life blood of the earth and Indian cuisine in powder form. 

Freshly milled Diaspora Co. turmeric

Here was a company that advertised their turmeric as equitable: paying their farmers up to 6x the market price, organically and sustainably farmed, and extremely fresh: always same year harvest and milled every three months.

Was this a fever dream that had risen up from somewhere deep in the ashes of my college idealism, distilling everything I ever thought possible for transforming the world of food when I was an idealistic young college student reading Fast Food Nation and The Omnivore’s Dilemma? Were these impossibly beautiful photos of impossibly verdant foliage and searingly orange roots being pulled from the ground by an Indian farmer’s lovely callused hands figments of my imagination? Was this Sana Kadri founder-person with the electric smile really 25 years old??

Sana Kadri, founder of Diaspora Co. in Vice Magazine

As it turned out, it was all real, and just a few weeks after we discovered her, she actually reached out to us (happy with ourselves? Yes, very much so) as she felt she had found a fellow “cool Indian cousin” and she wanted to collaborate. And of course the back and forth gushing commenced. “Your packaging is amazing,” “No, your’s.”

She sent us a sample of her turmeric. Saying, "it blew our minds" is putting it lightly. In the many years of turmeric consumption that the Spicewallas had experienced, never had we tried a golden powder THIS fresh, THIS potent, on THIS side of the world. We knew we had to collaborate with Diaspora Co. in some way, and after months of logistical conversations, virtual cheers and hugs, funny emails, and spicy support, we are ready to share our newest collab with you!

And there is it: Spicewalla x Diaspora Co. turmeric. Click image to purchase.

Many of you may be thinking, "But wait Spicewalla, I bought some turmeric from you guys last week, whats the difference?!" and that my friends is a wonderful question. Spicewalla's turmeric is indeed fresh, delicious, and priced affordably for the restaurant and the home-chef.  Diaspora Co. takes turmeric to another level with their single origin, direct trade, and sustainably farmed spice. They are not only building a community with the farmers in India who are producing these crops by ensuring living wages to all of their partner farms, but they are also celebrating the origins of this beautiful and useful root by using heirloom seeds and organic farming that is sustainable and replenishes the land. We're so excited and so proud to be working with a company that puts so much heart and hard work into their products.  There is more to come from our relationship with Diaspora Co., so be on the look out!  In the meantime, you gotta try this turmeric, you will not regret it!

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