Support Women Farmers: Choose Yaji Spice!
Creates fair trade opportunities and ensures sustainable livelihoods.
Delivers training and resources for organic farming techniques.
Promotes community development with educational and health programs.
“Let me share the story of Yaji Spice – your go-to online source for natural whole spices and blends,” Anne Toba says, ready to explain her West African spice company. “The women behind it were, and still are, farmers.”
Anne’s journey with Yaji spice began with a deep commitment to understanding and supporting these women farmers. These farmers have unique challenges to overcome, so Anne set out to discover what their needs were. The result? She formed Ripples in Africa, a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering over 11,000 women in Nigeria and Ghana through agriculture and regenerative farming.
Before COVID-19, Anne traveled to Africa three to four times a year. “When I’m there, everyone turns up,” Anne says. “We don’t just visit; I bring doctors who offer free medical care to the entire village, and children receive presents. When they hear Ripples is coming, the whole village shows up.”
Anne seeks detailed feedback on how to best support the West African community. In one-on-one meetings, women share their challenges. “They paint a clear picture of their issues,” Anne explains.
One takeaway was that the 22-kilogram irrigation equipment was too heavy for the women. The farmers were also spending too much money on gas to power the pump.
“So that’s how I created the project. It must use solar, so they don’t have to pay for it. We must be able to make it locally so we can maintain it. It must not be heavy so the women can carry it. And it must be sustainable,” Anne says.
University of California, Berkeley students developed two options, which are now getting ready to pilot and scale.
Another piece of feedback Anne received was that the women were losing a lot of their harvest because there was no way to store it. They also couldn’t afford to transport the harvest to the big cities so they could sell it. “So, they have the harvest, and then the harvest starts rotting, and they lose the harvest,” Anne explains.
As a result, the women farmers wanted to enter the export market so they could earn more and stop losing the harvest.
“When they ask us, they know we will look into that,” Anne says. “Initially, I thought, that should be easy to do. But as you all know, eCommerce is not easy. Look at us now, trying to generate the market, generate all of that. So, we’re still in the infancy, but at least we know it’s doable.”
There are many women who are waiting to become part of the program. Right now, Yaji Spice is only in Nigeria. “You can imagine when we move to Ghana; there are whole villages waiting.”
“So that is the story of Yaji Spice,” Anne says. Our purpose is to empower women farmers by providing access to international markets, promoting sustainability, and enhancing livelihoods. We’re committed to delivering unmatched quality spices with distinctive flavors, all while respecting the climate and nature. For our customers, it means knowing the spices are pure and natural, directly from the farm. They don’t use fertilizers; they grow everything organically. When you buy from Yaji Spice Shop, you’re supporting women’s economic independence and contributing to a sustainable future.
Please note: While no nuts are added to the Nut-Free Suya Spice Blend, Yaji Spice operates in facilities that may process nuts and therefore cannot guarantee the absence of trace allergens. Yaji Spice bears no responsibility for any allergic reactions or related incidents.
