Transparency; Equity; Accessibility; and Solidarity.

These are the foundational components of our brand, and this year they came through in more ways that I could have imagined. First off, I can’t believe that it’s December again and time for another community update. I thought 2020 was weird and wild, but 2021 took us even farther on our social impact journey.

Loving this little watercolour illustration of our first ever tea blend!

There have always been aspects of our model that I have struggled with. When you tie your social impacts solely to donations you become faced with numerous trade-offs regarding social impacts. Do I source lower quality ingredients if that means I have more funds to donate? Do I hire less staff, etc? Models like this can be really challenging to negotiate because you are constantly balancing the social and the entrepreneurial. This is what the Trico Foundation would term a Disconnected Blend.

Over the past few years, our team has been working hard to imbed our social impacts into every aspect of our business above and beyond the yearly donation we make to the Awo Taan Healing Lodge Society. We love supporting their work, which has some truly inspirational impacts. However, what we noticed is that there are huge opportunities across our business to have impact.

Transparency and Solidarity really came into play when we looked at how we were sourcing. Something like over 43% of the agricultural work force in the Global South is women with Women for Biodiversity noting how gender-based violence limits access to agricultural resources and decision making for these same women (@cbd_women). Similarly, women are disproportionately represented in exploitative forms of manufacturing within the Global South.  This year, as our company grew, we were given more opportunities to really live our values when it comes to standing in solidarity with women and working towards true equity.

This Year We:

• Completed our Pantry Staples Tea Collection, complete with six beautiful Sarjesa dancers. The final flavour we added was our Blueberry Breakfast tea which incorporates wild blueberries from Eastern Canada as well as vanilla and farm fresh Black Tea.

• Launched three new tea latté powders: Pink Tea; Instant Earl Grey; and Maple Chai Latté Powder. All of these beauties have distinct flavours and wellness profiles. We plan on introducing a traditional teabag line for the Pink Tea and Maple Chai in early 2022!

• Created and filled 5 local staff positions, the majority of which are held by women! This includes positions in manufacturing, logistics, and sales. Now that we have a larger team, I can hardly imagine doing it all on my own. There is so much value in having folks on your team who have different expertise and can offer fresh perspectives on how to do different things.

• We grew our sourcing relationships with Canadian farms and foragers up to 6! This is incredibly exciting as sourcing local ingredients and developing those deep relationships is a really important piece of the work, we are doing to create a fresh, flavourful experience for customers.

• We developed sourcing relationships with 5 international farms grounded in restorative agriculture and equitable labour practices, all of whom are doing work to support women in their regions! We also began sourcing some really amazing, ethical and environmentally conscious swag which will be available early in 2022 (keep your eyes open)!

• We started the process of transitioning all plastic materials used in our packaging (liner bags and over wrappers) to fully home compostable materials. This brought us into conversation with some amazing suppliers, brands and collectives. I could not be more humbled by the support we received and the way these community members have really showed up for us. It just goes to show the power of having a shared why.

• As a team, we piloted our first hydroponic growing experiments with the hopes of expanding this pilot in 2023! We aren’t quite ready to share the details of how this works just yet, but we have some BIG news about this experiment.

There’s always room for improvement, and we still have a long way to go. However, this year is one of the years I am the proudest of in our company history. Some things that we are looking forward to in 2023:

• Deepening our relationships with our international farming partners with some EXTREMELY COOL projects that we have coming up!

• Sharing more details on our hydroponics experiments as well as the bigger vision that we have in store.

• Releasing something TOTE-tea-ly awesome on our website, made by the incredible community at WorkShelter.

• Releasing the Sarjesa branded packaging for our new Tea Latté flavours, featuring real and impactful women doing work everyday in our communities.

As I get ready to drop off our community donation, I want to thank you for a truly incredible year. I am so excited to share updates on our future adventures through our newsletter!

When I first had the idea for this tea company, I wanted it to be deeply steeped in the postcolonial theory that had both opened my eyes and given me language to describe my lived experience.

There are two types of postcolonialism, there’s post-colonial (note the hyphen) and then there is postcolonial. Post-colonial is usually used to denote a specific “epoch” in time, but for the purposes of Sarjesa we take a leaf from Dr. John McLeod and view postcolonialism as a set of representations, attitudes and values. For me, it represents a way of looking at the world and working towards a more equitable tomorrow.

The comment I get sometimes (from English majors who have intellects that far surpass mine) is that you cannot have a business that is postcolonial or decolonial (which is different - btw). The argument is that capitalism and colonialism are always and already inextricably linked.

I don’t pretend to have the answers to this. It seems like something that would take a lifetime to untangle. Yet, I do wonder if there is a future where capitalism can be transformed by the very folk who have been excluded from it for so long.

I used to call the tea an activist project, because I did not want it to become ‘corrupt’ but what I’m learning is that running a business is all about choices and trade offs. We can do so much good when we use business models to change the world around us, especially when we centre transparency, equity, and the voices that often go unheard.

I’m of mixed ancestry, and many of my relations worked in the sugarcane fields under indentured labour. I think about them when I am working with farmers, or receiving a shipment from our agricultural partners. Somewhere in the world people consumed sugar that my family harvested, namelessly. I want to change this.

I don’t think we will ever be rid of colonialism, and I wouldn’t want to forget it or pretend it didn’t happen. When we name injustice, we create spaces for healing. I do think we can be postcolonial, and move towards a space where business is used as a force for good in the community, grounded in reciprocity.

Love,

AD

PS - look at it this tattered, well loved text book

By Alyssa Hartwell, MPH

Photo courtesy of Elle Canada

In the months since mid-March when COVID-19 struck Canada, public health officials have responded to this global crisis in collaboration with provincial and federal governments, at an unprecedented level many of us have never witnessed in our lifetimes. This has included an extremely calculated response to strategic planning, working with the media, evaluation, and ground-level solutions to test, treat, and prevent the spread of the pandemic.

With researchers, government policy-makers, and public health officials spurred into action, another pervasive public health epidemic has worsened in the face of COVID-19: gender-based violence (GBV).

Gender-Based Violence: What is it and how prevalent is it?

GBV is an umbrella term used to include emotional, mental, financial, physical, domestic, and sexual abuse. GBV disproportionately effects marginalized populations including: women, children, elders, Indigenous peoples, people of colour, people in the 2SLGBTQQIA community, those who identify as non-binary, trans individuals, and any combination of these intersecting factors. Consequently, GBV leads to immediate, long-term, and chronic health impacts such as major depressive disorder, migraines, endometriosis, intestinal illnesses, and suicidality amongst many others.

Globally, 243 million females between the ages of 15 and 49 have experienced GBV at the hands of an intimate partner over the course of the last year. Nationally, 1 woman is killed every 6 days with the highest risk of homicide occurring while she’s pregnant.

With many of the primary measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 including self-isolation and quarantine, not everyone finds safety and refuge in the spaces they call home. In fact, just as specialists and professionals in the field suspected, rates of GBV have spiked during COVID-19.

One survey conducted by Statistics Canada revealed that 1 in 10 women are concerned about experiencing domestic violence during the pandemic. While this surge is not exclusive to Canada, with other countries including the United Kingdom, France, and China witnessing the same increases in GBV and crisis centre calls, a greater question of why this is happening must be considered.

Why the increase in cases of gender-based violence?

The correlation between GBV and the COVID-19 pandemic includes a number of interrelated factors. Encompassed are drastic increases in stress-related factors: the volatility of the economy has left many without a stable income, there is concern over food insecurity, paranoia about contracting COVID-19, worsening of pre-existing mental illnesses, increased drug and alcohol consumption, stigma, victim-blaming attitudes, and an overall feeling of insecurity and uncertainty.

Self-isolating measures have also removed necessary familial and community-wide supports for many women experiencing GBV. Many of the GBV support services including emergency rooms, shelters, and helplines have changed their hours of operation, intervention abilities, and capacities. It is also common for survivors of GBV to exhibit feelings of imposition and drain on the system at any time, let alone during a pandemic.

From a service provider perspective, a significant concern is that the brutality and intensity of domestic violence will also increase during the pandemic. Many first-responders to COVID-19 work within female-dominated ‘helping professions’. Therefore, women are disproportionately at a heightened risk of experiencing violent and traumatic harm related to the pandemic while at work.

Accounting for these numerous factors, it is no wonder that the combination of GBV and the COVID-19 outbreak conjure the perfect storm, only to intensify pre-existing public health issues. Provided the intersection between COVID-19 and the exacerbation of GBV in Canada, it is essential that we turn to policy makers and elected officials in government to respond with the same urgency they have to the pandemic itself.

Policy recommendations: How should Canada respond?

Informed by prominent organizations including the Violence Against Women Learning Network, the Canadian Women’s Foundation, and the United Nations Development Programme, here are some of the most basic intervention parameters decision-makers can employ:

Image courtesy of the World Health Organization

• Systemically address the social determinants of health and populations at increased risk of experiencing GBV through an intersectional approach. This includes initiating a basic and ongoing income for citizens and growing community-wide resources for women’s shelters, GBV hotlines, and GBV intervention and prevention programming.

• Ensure that urban and rural communities have an adequate financial safety net to respond to individuals’ unique life circumstances and increased demand for resources.

• Interventions for GBV should be integrated into current pandemic prevention procedures including supplying resources in all public health media messaging and materials.

• Consult with GBV specialists, associations, and survivors on what is most needed. By putting women at the heart of policy development, decisions that follow are more likely to have positive intended impacts. Likewise, engagement with males is crucial.

Though navigating interventions for GBV during the pandemic will comprise strategic planning, program development, advocacy work, and more, it is imperative that we hold policy makers accountable to do so immediately; innocent lives depend on it.

About the author

Alyssa Hartwell is a recent graduate from the Master of Public Health & Social Policy program at the University of Victoria. She has dedicated her education and career to the eradication of gender-based violence through public health intervention and prevention approaches, intersectoral collaboration, and community development. Alyssa has a passion for empowering womxn, social justice, and health promotion. She has taught workshops on consent and healthy relationships at both Mount Royal University and through the Alberta Society for the Promotion of Sexual Health (ASPSH). Alyssa recently completed her practicum at the Association of Alberta Sexual Assault Services (AASAS) where she provided service delivery recommendations to increase access to sexual assault centres for Indigenous populations across the province. Since completing her MPH, Alyssa has taken on the volunteer role of Prepare Her Curriculum Coordinator at Ask Her YYC where she provides leadership for womxn to run for City Council and become more effective in civic engagement opportunities. Find her on LinkedIn here.

Several months ago, the Sarjesa team participated in a workshop with Sagesse, an organization that works to empower individuals, organizations and communities to break the cycle of domestic violence. The two-hour workshop was called Stand By and to this day, it is one of the most impactful events I have ever participated in.

While this workshop was extremely educational from beginning to end, it was one particular activity we did that changed forever changed the way I saw how people experience domestic violence.

Using gender-neutral language, the wonderful staff member at Sagesse walked us through the experiences of an individual (and their child) who had just escaped a violent relationship. This individual named Sam stood in the middle, while everyone they had to disclose domestic violence to stood in a circle around them. This circle included teachers, bank tellers, bosses, coworkers, friends, family, etc.

Over the course of the exercise, Sam had to repeat their truth — that they had been experiencing domestic violence for years and had finally escaped — over and over and over and over again. Not only did they have to repeatedly re-traumatize themselves in order to get the proper support and resources needed to thrive in this situation, but the responses received weren’t always encouraging. Again and again, Sam was forced to confide in individuals who judged them, didn’t believe them, or belittled their awful experiences.

This empathy exercise was truly a wake up call to what survivors of domestic violence have to endure in their journeys to safety. Each person who attended the workshop was deeply moved, and to this day, it changed the way we see how to support survivors.

In case you didn’t know, statistics say that people who are experiencing domestic violence are abused 29 times before calling the police. And even then, people experiencing domestic violence leave the relationship 7 times before they leave for good.

Leaving violent situations is complex in every way possible, and we truly are fortunate to have the opportunity to learn how to support survivors — even if what feels right for them isn’t what feels right for you.

Here are some takeaways from the team:

“My biggest takeaway was learning that the resources are there through organizations like Sagesse and crisis centres geared towards domestic violence. I’m unfortunate enough to have been around relationships that were abusive and, in some instances, were violent. When they asked for help, I was at a loss as I wanted to help them in a greater capacity than I felt like I was contributing, but I had no idea these resources were there.”

“Chances are that we know someone who might be or has experienced difficult circumstances. And while we might not have all the answers, we have the opportunity to offer support in really simply ways: by listening with an open heart and an open mind, validating their experience and thanking them for trusting you, supporting their decisions and offering help without judgement, and meeting them where they are trusting them to know what’s best.”

“Domestic violence can happen to anyone, of all ages, with any background. My biggest takeaway was that people need time and that leaving the relationship immediately is never the right move if it doesn’t feel right to them. The best thing you can do as an ally is support them however they need. I’d highly recommend everyone to take this workshop in order to understand the frustrations that a victim could feel and how you can support them to the best of your capacity.”

Online dating tips for single women living on their own
By Nadia Ross

Technology makes it easier for people to meet others from online, but it also likely puts women more at risk. Photo courtesy of Unsplash

Growing up, I remember people prepping me from a young age about how to stay safe in the real world. Part of being in the real world is dating, and as a confident and curious girl, my mom recognized that sometimes men don’t always have the best intentions and gave me the run-down on how to be safe while in a new man’s company. The problem is, mom grew up in the age of face-to-face dating.

But today, the rules have changed. I honestly wasn’t made aware of these new rules until I began to live on my own and was given tips through friends sharing their experiences. Once, I had a roommate lay out ground rules so that we could live comfortably and safely. That’s when it hit me: How many other women do not know these things?

This is what I have been told over the years to keep myself safe while exploring a new world of dating.

TIP 3: Do not disclose any personal information beyond your first name

It’s easy to get caught up in conversation and it seems innocent to tell your newest match what your last name is or that you are a fabulous fashion editor at Ralph Lauren in your nearest downtown area. For someone with good intentions, this is a way of opening up and creating a connection. But for a predator, these are great stalker starting points. Until you meet someone in real life, give them the most vague and basic information about what you do and who you are. 

TIP 2: Your home is private — keep it that way 

Letting someone pick you up for a first date is a personal no-no. HOWEVER, not everyone finds a problem letting someone new pick them up. While this could be fine, it is important to be safe and  not let this new right-swipe know exactly where you live. Instead, give them a general meeting spot by describing your area. If you live beside a McDonalds, ask them to meet you across the street from that location. If you have the luxury of having a front and back entrance, use the back door and walk around front. While this may give a stranger a general idea of where you live, it will make it more complicated to pinpoint exactly where you are coming from. 

TIP 1: Oh, you live alone? No, you don’t

NEVER, EVER, EVER, under any circumstances, let a stranger know that you live by yourself. As a young woman — or vulnerable dater — flexing about your living independence puts a huge target on your back. This falls in line with rules three and two. Your living situation and home are your personal information and it’s really easy to forget that when you’re looking into the eyes of a blue-eyed, tall, dark and handsome man. It is also suggested that you mention there is another man in the home, even if there isn’t. This could be a brother, friend or roommate’s boyfriend. Either way, let it be known that there is someone there that could potentially fight back if they have any plans to be aggressive. 

This isn’t meant to scare anyone from pursuing love or lust online — just be aware of the unspoken or unknown rules surrounding safe online dating. Your mom won’t know, because your mom didn’t use tinder to meet your dad… Hopefully. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nadia Ross is Sarjesa’s social media volunteer. When she isn’t working on building engagement across Sarjesa’s social media channels, she’s busy working hard for her degree in public relations in Calgary. Nadia is passionate about feminist and environmental issues, and would like to become a bad ass lobbyist for women and the planet one day. Her passion for social justice and the importance of family makes her that much more excited to be part of the growth for Sarjesa. You can find Nadia on Instagram here.

Let’s talk about cultural appropriation — because it’s that time of year again. Every Halloween, without fail, we see culturally offensive costumes and the like surface. It brings about some difficult but necessary conversations — not just about costume attire, but also about Sarjesa and our teas.

Cultural appropriation has always been a big point of tension for me, as the founder. There is a fine line between acting as an accomplice and profiting on someone else’s story, identity, knowledge — cultural inheritance. As a mixed race Indo-Caribbean woman, I have sensitivities around cultural appropriation in my own community, and try to situate myself always as being a Non-Indigenous settler with an intersecting legacy of oppression.

Origins

Still Dancing, by Jonathan Labillois

The tea started as a class project for an Indigenous studies course (facilitated by Dr. Renae Watchman), where we were asked to bring resistance into our everyday experience. Over the course, we learned about different moments of activism and read amazing books. The tea started as a way of educating Non-Indigenous communities about missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. I purchased locally grown ingredients from my aunty, and hand stitched together teabags. Each tea bag had a paper sachet which included a statistic about violence towards Indigenous women and girls.The box featured “Still Dancing” by Jonathan Labillois — a painting that honours the missing women and girls, and hangs in the Native Women’s Shelter in Montreal. I reached out to Jonathan Labillois before including his work in my school project, because it’s always important to ask. 

I connected with two Elders who live in Kainai — the amazing Raymond and Greta. My mom and I made the two hour drive to visit them, and spent time sharing stories and drinking the most amazing tea I’ve ever had. Walking into their home, you could feel the love and smell the mint that was drying. I thought the relationship would be one where I paid them to teach me about herbs, a student teacher relationship. Little did I know, this family would become just as important to me as my own family. 

Freezing at the first market

There was never a question about who we would donate funds to — the Awo Taan Healing Lodge was the natural choice. The work the organization does, the kind and inspiring team, and the story and intention behind every piece of the shelter has always blown me away. As a 20-something-hot-head, the community at Awo Taan has taught me a lot about cultivating practices of restorative justice and healing for whole families not just individuals. 

Before we piloted, there were things that had to be changed. I couldn’t physically sew together enough teabags or print enough sachets for it to be a viable business. We moved, instead, to a loose leaf tea - featuring our original blend of peppermint, rose, and sage. In order to be respectful of the wishes of the families of the women in the painting “Still Dancing,” we commissioned a piece by Jonathan for our labels. Our very first market was in -25 degree celsius weather. Despite the fact that I almost froze to a metal outhouse seat, I was happy as a clam. 

our first sellable package - labels put together by Jesse McLean of Field Media Lab

After winning a substantial grant and award, we were able to work with a design team to return to our original box idea — rebranding under the name Sarjesa, and launching a full product line in December of 2017. Throughout this, we were overwhelmed by an amazingly supportive community including members of Walking With Our Sisters, small business owners, and suppliers. 

First boxes by Trout and Taylor

The roots of our metaphorical mint plant deepened, and we continued to grow. We began working with local farms to source ingredients — farms that welcomed Elders to their properties to bless and put medicine down for the land. It has always been important to me that Sarjesa finds a balance between knowing and following protocols and traditional ecological practices, without selling traditional knowledge. None of our packaging contains details of the stories or teachings shared with us — as this is the legacy of the communities we work with. We can be informed by these processes, but I’ve always felt like it’s not our right to disseminate this knowledge. Additionally, we don’t discuss the specific cases of MMIWG, as these are also not our stories to share. Instead, we choose to highlight community members who are willing to share their photos and stories on our website and through our social media. 

As we grew, and began to work with more communities and tea growers overseas, we realized the violence towards Indigenous women is a problem that transcends borders, colors, and communities. As we began to incorporate new ingredients and new communities into our processes, we launched two more flavours of tea featuring dancers from other communities (art by Hugo Dubon and Natalie Lynem). We took our cues from the Awo Taan Healing Lodge, which is grounded in Indigenous frameworks and teachings - but open to all women. Our goal became about bringing different communities together in respectful solidarity, to find ways of overcoming violence towards women. We chose to target our efforts on domestic violence. 

Moving Forward

Since then, so much has changed. We’ve travelled all over Canada — and learned about so many different plants for many different people. We also traveled to Hawai’i where we got to learn from the Kanaka Maoli community, and tried Mamaki tea for the first time.

last harvest on the peppermint farm

Taking a step closer to the original Sarjesa vision — we now have biodegradable tea bags (and no, they are not hand stitched by me - but maybe we will return to paper sachets in future, who knows!) We are also working to develop our key documents for sourcing directly from community — testing it out in the summer of 2020. Overharvesting is a big issue, especially when using plants that have medicinal stories attached to them. As such, we’ve been playing around with restorative agriculture. This is, in addition to our community donation, another way we are hoping to cultivate some economic benefit for the communities we work with.

So that’s it, the basics of our story (sans the complicated parts — like how I learned to work a teabagging machine etc). 

It’s not a perfect fit, and it’s messy. We try really hard to ground our efforts in community, and we talk to a lot of people. It’s not easy — and there aren’t really a ton of great role models when it comes to allyship and accomplicity. It’s a long learning curve, one that will probably last a lifetime. I’m so grateful when people ask me about cultural appropriation - because it gives me the opportunity to say that I don’t have all the answers, and that we are still learning. Keep asking these sorts of important questions, because they help keep businesses (which are really just a collection of people and systems) accountable and helps us to imagine better and more radical ways to do better and be better. 

Thank you!

Alexandra

PS - my direct email is alexandra@sarjesa.com and we are ALWAYS open to hearing from you about what we can be doing better. 

[CW: Covert Narcissism, Emotional Abuse, Covert Manipulation, Relational Abuse]

Leaving an abusive relationship may leave you grappling with an intense mix of emotions. Some of these emotions may be incredibly confusing and difficult to share with others.

I want you to know that it is completely normal to feel this mix of emotions! It is normal to feel both shame and pride, loneliness and freedom, regret and excitement, numbness and vitality, confusion and clarity…they are all a part of what you have been through.

You may also experience an even more confusing set of symptoms related to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). One moment you may feel fine and the next you may find yourself feeling anxious or completely numb. You may find that you frighten easily and that you avoid the outside world.  Perhaps you have trouble sleeping and get caught up in a frenzy of anxious thoughts.

Just know this one thing: healing is possible. You deserve better and you deserve to rebuild.

Rebuilding after an abusive relationship is a journey and not a destination. Regardless of the path you take towards rebuilding, healing means doing the internal work and showing up for yourself over and over again.

Finding Safety

One of the first ways that you can show up for yourself, is by re-establishing a sense of safety. When we are in an abusive relationship our fight, flight, freeze system (the part of our bodies designed to respond to danger) is constantly being activated. That means your body is constantly saying “danger, danger, danger!”. Now that the threat is no longer there, your body needs time to remember what it feels like to be safe. Take this time to find stability and safety. Physically be in a place where you know your ex cannot harm you anymore. Mentally find space to feel safe. This may mean learning how to ground yourself in the present moment, holding yourself tightly to calm your nervous system, or meditating to find stillness…whatever helps you feel that sense of stability and safety.

Allowing for Grief

Once you have established safety, give yourself time to grieve. The grief you feel after leaving the relationship will feel confusing, conflicting and sometimes downright infuriating. Find a way to process this grief rather than hide from it. Feel the emotions as they arise, sit with them. Picture each big emotion like a wave crashing over you, knowing that it will eventually pass...and come back. Showing up for yourself in this moment may mean journaling, mediating, praying, making art, being in nature, dancing, singing, drumming, or moving your body in a joyful way- all the while allowing yourself to feel what you feel.

Processing & Healing Trauma

Finally, the last way that you can show up for yourself is by giving yourself the time and space to process, and heal from, the trauma that you have been through. Processing and healing trauma can be incredibly scary and yet incredibly freeing. You will learn that you are not your trauma. You will learn that what you went through makes you a warrior. You will learn that your story has the power to heal. Know that this is a process and it doesn’t only take time, it takes vulnerability, patience and tenacity. You will feel up, down and sideways along the way, but eventually you will feel things smooth out. You will feel a greater sense of peace and empowerment. You will feel like ‘you’ again.

Author: Kassandra Heap, MC, Registered Psychologist

@kassandra.heap.yyc on Instagram

Kassandra is an associate clinician at Cobb & Associates in SW Calgary. For more information about her and how to book an appointment visit https://www.nathancobb.com/Cobb-And-Associates.html

*Disclaimer: the article is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice. The author is not liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on information obtained through the article. It is your responsibility to evaluate the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information, opinion, advice or other content in the article. Please seek the advice of professionals, as appropriate, regarding the evaluation of any specific information, opinion, advice or other content. Never disregard professional advice, including medical advice, or delay in seeking it, because of something you have read in this article.

Join the Super Steeper family here!

I have always been an activist — even before I knew what activism really was. When I was a child, all I knew was that I LOVED fighting for things I cared about (my poor parents) and I loved knowing that my actions were making a difference. Whenever I fought for something I cared about and I saw change, whether it was within the conversations I had on a day-to-day basis or on a grander scale, I felt like I was one step closer to fulfilling my life’s purpose.

However, as adults, I think we all know that it isn’t that easy. With such busy lives, it is often difficult to put aside the time or resources to make a meaningful, impactful difference. It’s even difficult to figure out how you want to make a difference and how much it’ll take to get there. There’s such a distinct feeling when it comes to being an activist and choosing where to put your money, where to put your time, where to put your energy, and most importantly, where to put your trust.

I’ve loved Sarjesa since I read this article on the work that Alexandra was doing. It absolutely BLEW MY MIND that she created a business in which people can make a difference simply by continuing to do something they do everyday. With Sarjesa, you don’t need to make a major life change to change lives — you simply just need to continue drinking/buying tea, which is something that so many people already do! When you intentionally choose to switch over from buying your daily tea from Starbucks to buying one box of Sarjesa tea each month, not only are you saving money but you’re committing to changing the lives of women in crisis, which I think is pretty dang cool.

This is why I’m so excited about our new tea subscription! With the Super Steeper Subscription, each month you’ll get a box of tea with a gift from Alexandra delivered right to your doorstep! I’m already a subscription fanatic because I love how easy, convenient, and affordable they are (Spotify rules my life), but the Super Steeper Subscription brings this to another level. My favourite part about this subscription is that, with part of our proceeds going to local women’s shelters, you are committing to a monthly donation to Awo Taan Healing Lodge Society. 

By spending $20 a month (including shipping) and becoming a subscriber, you will:

1. Have a month’s supply of your favourite tea (30 servings of loose leaf tea OR 30 biodegradable tea bags - your choice)

2. Be supporting a small local business that works closely alongside farmers from small, ethical farms, thus supporting small farmers and stepping away from forced labour

3. Automatically donate $2 a month to the only Indigenous-led women’s shelter in Calgary, Awo Taan Healing Lodge Society

I had the privilege of meeting the amazing women at Awo Taan months ago to speak to them about Sarjesa, and it was so heart-warming to see how much support and love goes into the relationship. The women at Awo Taan are so incredibly grateful for Sarjesa’s undesignated donations because it allows them to cover costs that they otherwise would struggle with. By subscribing to the Super Steeper Subscription, you are ensuring that the women at the shelter are met with proper resources so they can focus on leaving crisis and living fulfilling, happy lives.

Join the Super Steeper family here!

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It is National Indigenous Peoples Day! At Sarjesa, we aren’t only celebrating the diverse history and culture that Indigenous people bring to our lives and country, but we are acknowledging reconciliation in real, tangible ways. A lot of what we do at Sarjesa is to be better and do better for Indigenous women who have been mistreated; we are working towards a better, safer future for those who need it.

How are you celebrating National Indigenous Peoples Day? What are your Calls to Action?

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To me, a large part about being an activist is making sure that I’m making necessary lifestyle changes to support communities that have been brought down by oppressive systems and to step away from the things that aren’t serving me or those communities.

Lately, this lifestyle change has emerged in one main form: shopping. There has been a TON of dialogue surrounding shopping and sustainability lately, and rightfully so. But I’ve found that throughout this dialogue, one major detail is missing — a focus on supporting small Indigenous and POC businesses. One of my (many) other projects outside of Sarjesa is creating a racially conscious shopping guide for the Canadian Cultural Mosaic Foundation, a non-profit in Calgary with the goal of ending racism through education. Through this work with CanadianCMF, I learned a lot about the importance of being mindful when shopping, having truthful and meaningful conversations surrounding race and consumerism, and supporting Indigenous/POC businesses and artisans.

This is why I am so thrilled to introduce Indig Inc to our audience at Sarjesa! Indig Inc is an online marketplace for Indigenous artisans to sell their work without being exploited or discriminated against. Indig Inc was created by Heather Abbey and Samuel Tipewan, two artisans who saw the potential of Indigenous artisans’ creativity and business goals, but recognized the absence of a platform to support them.

“Our inspiration was to create an online meeting place for artisans and buyers looking for that authentic experience and storyline connection. Indig Inc is a space where the stories of the artisans is weaved into the very fabric of platform, offering an authentic experience in a new way, and connecting people across the globe.”

Indig Inc has a wide variety of products, including art, apparel, home decor, skincare and dry meat — all sold by Indigenous artisans! A few of my favourites are this “We Are Still Here” bracelet by indigenousintentions, this Matriarch Panel Dress by Tammy Beauvis Designs, and this Desert Everyday Blanket by MiNi TiPi.

If you are an Indigenous artisan looking for somewhere safe to sell your work or if you are simply looking to support small businesses and artisans, Indig Inc is exactly where you should be looking.

At Sarjesa, we are strong believers that you can make an impact through small, everyday actions, and this is one of them.

With solidarity,
Karina