Jasberry โพสต์ใหม่สิ่งนี้
It was such a privilege to visit Jasberry rice farms in Chiang Rai, Thailand last week to see rice planting in action and interview Jasberry rice farmers about their views on sustainable farming! This trip was filled with eye-opening moments. Here's one that stood out: As we pulled up to Peekop’s rice farm, I noticed the beautiful house that was on the land. I was admittedly shocked—Jasberry was founded to lift Thai farmers out of poverty, and I did not expect to see anything resembling wealth. I asked my boss about the house. He said, “When I was here two years ago, there was only a wooden bench where this house now is”. The average Jasberry farmer experiences a 14x increase in income by switching to Jasberry rice. That's life-changing. This summer has taught me the power of a brand that truly cares about social impact. As a sustainability major, I'm skeptical of companies making social and environmental claims. It’s easy and common to fall short because conducting transformative business is hard; it has taken the Jasberry team 13 years of working with farmers, dodging shotty deals with rice mills, and being rejected from an endless stream of grocery retailers to build a self-sustaining business. Now, the brand is in over 3,000 retailers across the US, including Whole Foods. Yet the challenges of upholding high farmer incomes and strong environmental standards can still seem insurmountable at times. This team's unending commitment to their mission is unlike anything I’ve seen and I’m honoured to be part of the team this summer. As someone who has spent endless hours reading about climate-adapted and sustainable farming, it's amazing to see it in person! Thank you so much Watcharin (Nhon) Jaiwongkaew and Peetachai (Neil) Dejkraisak for bringing me along. Thank you also to The Cansbridge Fellowship, my sponsor Ivy Xu, and my supervisor Graham MacDonald for making this possible!