Spice as a Force for Good | Rumi Spice | Ethically Sourced Spices

Our Mission

Rumi brings flavorful, ethically sourced and socially responsible spices from Afghanistan to our customers while catalyzing sustainable rural economic development in Afghanistan and providing countless jobs to Afghan farmers and women who harvest and process the spices.

We are a public benefit corporation and are committed to empowering Afghan women and bolstering the country’s economy. Rumi reinvests back into agricultural and manufacturing infrastructure.

 

 

Connecting Afghanistan

Rumi began with a mission to cultivate peace in Afghanistan. Over 80% of the Afghan population is reliant on the rural agricultural economy. The success of the spice industry not only helps farmers and the women providing direct labor, it can touch every member of the village we work in. We have seen output from our existing partners double and triple, while new farmers have asked to join our network.


Connecting Afghan farmers with the global market is key to unlocking the economic potential of Afghanistan. By building demand for Afghan agricultural products and creating a global supply chain, we can directly impact the economic development of the country. 

With hot, dry winds over semi-arid lands, Afghanistan’s growing region is ideal for growing saffron and other artisanal spices. For example, in 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018, the International Taste and Quality Institute of Brussels awarded Afghan saffron first place out of 30 competing regions.

Rumi saffron is tested in accordance with ISO (International Standards Organization) protocol 3632 and surpasses the highest standards for Category 1 saffron by over 25%. Our test results show that our farmers are producing some of the world’s best saffron.

 

Our Founding

Rumi’s founders were a team of military veterans who served in Afghanistan with the US Army. They developed our strong Afghan networks and on-the-ground understanding of how business is conducted. With this knowledge, we built the critical relationships, partnerships, and organizational infrastructure necessary to operate within and out of Afghanistan.

Our competitive advantage is our ability to navigate the Afghan business landscape, which is built on trusted relationships.

 

Proud B Corp

We are proud to announce that Rumi has earned certification as a B Corporation, a testament to the company’s commitment to social and environmental ethics, transparency and accountability.

From day one, Rumi was laser-focused on the "why" of our work. Mission and purpose are at the core of everything we do—economically empowering Afghan farmers, inspiring Afghan women through direct wages, and building out Afghanistan’s agricultural infrastructure.

Now we join a global community of 1,500 other Certified B Corporations in over 120 industries and 40 countries with 1 unifying goal – to redefine success in business.

As a B Corp, we promise to meet the highest standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability and aspire to use the power of business to solve social and environmental problems.

 

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