Khaya Cookies: Cookies with a Conscience

Khaya in Pictures: Part 1

I'm back in the States!

This trip was fun... but extremely busy. Had reunions with good friends, conquered a few Khaya-related projects, and also (and most importantly) visited the the home of the original Khaya... where it all started. A lot has changed in the past decade since I've traveled back and forth to the townships in and around Capetown--for instance, you'll see from the pictures the development that is happening on the waterfront. With every visit, I am still more reinvigorated by the possibilities and opportunities available to make a lasting impact on these Capetown communities, and the lives of these women and children.

Unfortunately, I can't take you to South Africa with me to meet the folks who live in and around Capetown, nor can I give you a first-hand tour of the community. But hopefully these images will give you a glimpse of what I get to see. (Click on images to make larger.)

Lots of development happening at the Capetown waterfront:

Children at The Nobantu Center, home of the first Khaya Cookie Company.

Nobantu means "Persons" in Xhosa. This center, administered by a group called "Women for the Peace", is where women and men come to learn skills and/or a trade to enable them to earn a living, skills like baking, sewing or gardening. Any products that are made are sold by this support organization to help secure an income for the women. The center also offers support to underprivileged children by providing meals and after school activities. Nobantu is where it all started. Whenever I'm in town, I make sure to stop by and pay my respects to these friends.

Wellington (pictured below) is where the current Khaya Cookie Company stands.

That's it for now. It's a beautiful day in Philadelphia... but my heart is in Capetown.

Cookies, puppies, and memories...oh my !

I just love when you guys share your stories with us. One of my fav Khaya community members, Bruce and his puppy, Khaya, writes:

Hello Alicia,

I know you're busy, but I've got to share a picture of my old dog, Cedar, with you.

He had been abandoned in January 2008 and rescued by the shelter. He was my big dog in a small package and went EVERYWHERE with me. He had just passed his first birthday when a puppy impulse made him break for the street where a truck got him before I could even react.  Cedar will be a hard act to follow for Khaya, my newest puppy and your mascot! 

 

To celebrate Khaya’s homecoming, my first Khaya Krunchis arrived today. Ice and a winter storm forecast for tonight, so my puppy Khaya will have to wait to get a bite and his picture taken with the bag. (he lives out of town at the moment)  My other dog, however, is bugging me as I write because I shared a Khaya Granola Fruit Krunchi with her and she wants more.

Food for thought: Bet you didn't know that flaxseed provides the only essential fatty acid a dog needs. (linoleic acid)  So, I guess that a Khaya canine line would be redundant. My first reaction to tasting your cookies was ' OK, that’s different', then I got my mind past normal oversweet, refined cookies that we're all used to and read the label. All good stuff ! No junk and I COULD taste the orange juice and all of the bits that go into them. My second krunchi was the revelation. These are real and very tasty. What is ROOIBOS? Is it addictive? Definitely seems that way…

I gave my wife, Andrea, a bag of the shortbreads and she took one bite and said "get them out of here!", which means that she would eat them all if left to her own lack of self control. So, being a dutiful husband, I finished the bag....  

Gotta go! Krunchis to eat and a kitchen to clean up!

Puppy Love

February has a tough act to follow after all of the holidays celebrated in the previous months. In its favor, however, February celebrates the holiday for lovers. Yes, the realist pessimists see Valentine’s day as a marketing scheme - a chance to sell colored hearts that on any other given day would be too bright and overly priced to stomach. And yes, the single independent population dubs the day as “Black Saturday.”

The battle over validating the day can be alleviated if it isn’t exclusive to lovers, but to love. Love doesn’t only come in a heart shaped box or a small jewelry case. Love can be furry, sung in a tune, set in a pair of eyes, cooked from a recipe, or written in the sand. It can be shared between parents and children or between a good book and its reader.

This month, I was lucky to witness the love between a Khaya client named Bruce and his new best friend. Bruce gave me the fortunate opportunity of sharing his Khaya karma story. Now this is the love I was talking about…. Puppy love! Bruce writes:

Dear Alicia,

This puppy brought me to you.

I am a carpenter these days and last summer I lost my wonder red English Cocker, Ceder. This little guy is my new puppy, born on New Year's Eve and coming home to me in March.

He needs a name. His color (in daylight) is a mahogany and in researching mahogany, I found the species of African mahoganies are of the genus 'Khaya'. How pleasant a word! Hoping to do better research than President Obama's team of cabinet nominees, I 'googled' the word to make sure there were no obnoxious or weird associations with it. None of which were found; nothing strange about a home or a hut!

Of course, the Khaya Cookie Company came up in the search, and I thought what a wonderful way to announce my new puppy, by giving out Khaya cookies! The Khaya Cookie Company retailers assured me that I wasn't likely to be getting chocolate covered insects (just kidding). I liked your business model. I had in fact meant to get 3 boxes each of the cookies I ordered, so, on the assumption that they are as good as they look, I intend to order again very soon! So that's my story on how I found you.

Bruce Britton ( & Khaya)

THANK YOU to Bruce and Khaya for your warm thoughts. Your story is what motivates the Khaya Cookie Company to continue its passionate mission of cooking, caring, and conscience.

Enjoy the Khaya cookies !!

Khaya Karma

I’ve done Bikram yoga a couple of times enough to say “I’ve felt the heat” and not enough to call myself a “yogi.” What I did learn from Yoga class, however, is the magic of removing yourself from the bustling noises of the city into a room powered on breathing. After sweating profusely for over an hour, I can attribute my sense of feeling “lighter” to my lost water weight, or maybe, just maybe – on learning how to breathe.

I’ve spent this past couple of weeks in South Africa. I was fortunate enough to be accompanied with a very special CNN reporting videographer Shadley Lombard and professional photographer Brent Taylor. (I promise I'll get into that later).They wanted to see what the chatter was all about regarding "Cookies with a Conscience." Not only did I show them the entire cookie making process from scratch, but they also had the chance to see the positive karma the company had on its employees.

   

I transported myself from the hectic airport at JFK and twenty one grueling hours later, I found myself surrounded by mountains. Through the course of my trip, I finally caught my breath and took this opportunity to show the softer side of the Khaya Cookie krunchi. The women who gain their financial independence through our opportunities literally opened their doors to CNN. That’s when the Khaya Karma came flooding in.

 

 

I was able to re-energize and return to New York fully loaded. It’s not about how fast you can out order your barista or how quickly you glide through the sidewalks. When you see the softer side of life and when you stop to breathe - you can actually feel how your actions positively affect someone else’s life even from so far away.

You can share some of this good Khaya Karma with the people that surround your life.

 

 

Remember my pictures I’ve shared, simply pick up a box of our cookies, and spread some of our Khaya Karma. I promise it’ll come back to you.