Organic Cardamom is one of the most widely used ingredients in our collection of teas. The majority of the cardamom we source is from the Village of Santa Tereza de Omoa in Honduras, a jungle village that’s home to 1,200 people; many of whom are involved in the cardamom growing process.
As part of our commitment to Do Good in our local and international communities, we partnered with the village on two projects that work to improve quality of life for Cardamom growers, their families and neighbors.
The Bridge Project
Through our relationship with the grower community, we learned that the Village of Santa Tereza was isolated from larger villages nearby, after the river separating the communities was rendered un-crossable for months during the rainy season.
For the villagers of Santa Tereza, these nearby villages were often home to relatives and offered access to schooling and supplies that were otherwise unavailable. In just under three months, our project was complete: the Village of Santa Tereza de Omoa was now home to “Puente Yogi,” a bridge constructed from the reclaimed wood of a fallen Tamarind tree found near the village’s organic cardamom fields.
Offering a safe path to larger villages nearby, the bridge allowed for better access to schooling and the area’s only grocery store; enhanced ability to conduct business related to the village’s cardamom crops, reconnected separated families, and provided the 1,200 residents of the Village of Santa Tereza with an overall improved quality of life.
School Expansion Project
Just one year after completing the Bridge Project, we partnered again with Pure Ground Ingredients (PGI), the Jerazano family, and the villagers of Santa Teresa de Omoa to rebuild and expand their local school complex.
The new school complex supports three additional grade levels and 100 additional students, and will help to improve the overall future of the village and community. It is our hope that by providing more children with the opportunity to attend school and receive an education, the Village of Santa Teresa will benefit from the school expansion project for generations to come.