Share Food Share Luv 4 Ethiopia

The Short Version! We’re the founders of TruLuv Granola in Ethiopia. Our vision is to lead the way in improving Ethiopians’ access to nutritious foods while caring for the environment and creating a team of dynamic women employees. Unfortunately, our target market is no longer present in Ethiopia, so we’ve suddenly lost a majority of our revenue. As a team, we have been working on ways to adapt and find solutions over the past few months. Enter, the Share Food, Share Luv 4 Ethiopia campaign!

Share Food, Share Luv 4 Ethiopia Share Food, Share Luv 4 Ethiopia was created as a response to the COVID-19 epidemic. We wanted to support vulnerable women and children experiencing challenges, while also keeping our team of 10 awesome women and 1 man employed.

For this campaign we have partnered with the Tikuret Lesetoch ena Lehitsanat Mahiber (TLLM) organization. TLLM has lost most of their funding because of the pandemic, and is very much in need of any support we can give. 

We’re asking donors to give any amount they can to fund TruLuv’s production of our yummy, healthy snack bars. We will produce and donate these bars, along with a few other needed items, to women and children supported by TLLM.


#sharefoodshareluv

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The Full Story!

Hello & ሰላም,

We’re Blayne & Kifflé, wife and husband, and co-founders of TruLuv Granola!


(Us, early on in launching TruLuv!)

TruLuv Granola is based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. We make healthy snacks with local ingredients, crafted by Ethiopian women. We believe that caring for health and the environment are key pieces of building a bright future for Ethiopia. And that they should be available to all Ethiopians!

Our mission is to create more understanding of these issues and make our healthy snacks available to everyone. Our vision is to improve Ethiopians’ access to nutritious foods while caring for the environment and creating a team of dynamic women employees.

(Our team: Alem, Mimi, Betty, Elsa, Dege, Kibu, Helen, Gizman, and Netsanet roasting up some coffee for a celebration pre-COVID-19 days)

We created this campaign because the COVID-19 pandemic has had a big impact on our business over the past few months. Until this point, we have funded the business ourselves. But now, with most of our customers -- tourists and foreign residents -- gone, we are unable to continue paying out of pocket to keep our business running. We love our team and want to make sure we’ve done all we can to protect their livelihoods, along with those of our key suppliers. 

Over the past couple of months, we’ve brought our whole team  together to brainstorm ways to adapt in these difficult times. 

(Our Sprint-style brainstorming session, all distanced hands on deck!)

(Gizman leads our team fearlessly through the sprint process!)

After many trials (some tastier than others!) we finally created a product we’re proud of!

(Some of the new product prototypes our team came up with! These didn't make the cut to be ready to go to market, but show the creative spirit of  our team in the face of our business' challenges)

The product we finally landed on is called ቅመማ ቅመም/Kimema Kimem (we have Elsa to thank for the beautiful name). Kimema Kimem is all-natural, made with oats, teff, a bit of honey, ginger, and black cumin seeds. The whole team came up with the main ingredients during our sprint session, but the final recipe was pulled together by Helen, a long-time TruLuv team member (fun fact, an illustration of her graces the logo of Kimema Kimem).  The bars are natural, delicious, and most notably, a labor of TruLuv love!


We have started selling small amounts of Kimema Kimem in some locations in Addis. We hope we will be able to sell this product across Ethiopia eventually. But to do so calls for a large investment in marketing, which is not feasible for now.  


Why Share Food, Share Luv 4 Ethiopia?

We know that food insecurity is growing around us.

“COVID-19 does not treat us equally, and whether or not we have a healthy, nutritionally balanced diet is a key factor in how our bodies respond to the virus,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa.  “If we are not getting enough food, or not eating enough of the right sorts of food, our bodies will find it harder to fight off COVID-19 infection.”

We have been thinking about how TruLuv, as a food business, could contribute to people in need due to COVID-19. That’s when we found Tikuret Leseotch Ena Lehitsanat Maheber (TLLM), an Ethiopian, non-profit, organization which seeks to improve the lives of vulnerable women and children.


In Addis Ababa alone, the organization supports 2,000 women and children. Due to the pandemic, TLLM’s need and value has grown. Sources of employment are changing and vulnerability is increasing. Also, TLLM’s funding has completely dropped off. They need any support we can provide more than ever. 

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How to support Share Food, Share Luv 4 Ethiopia

We’re asking you to donate any amount you’re comfortable giving. 

For every dollar you give, you reach AT LEAST one person with your luv!



Every single donation helps in 3 ways:

1) Allows us to produce our healthy bars, which:

---Keeps our 11 employees working. This means they are able to support themselves and their families over the next 6 months.
---Keeps us buying from our suppliers. Many of our top suppliers are also small women-owned and employing businesses. 
---Keeps TruLuv in operation until business picks back up (we estimate 6 months). 
---Allows us to continue to work towards our vision of supporting Ethiopia’s nutritional status and awareness.

2) Funds our donation of healthy bars to vulnerable women and children through TLLM, which: 
---Feeds them with our delicious and iron and fiber-filled snack bars.
---Exposes them to a new type thinking about food and nutrition. 

3) Funds a donation of other basic materials for the women and children of TLLM too!

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If you would like to support us locally in Ethiopia, we would be happy to accept bank transfers/deposits (please text us your name and reference number at 0966784344 once you’ve made a deposit so we can record the donation thank you!): TruLuv Trading PLC

Commercial Bank of Ethiopia: 1000186290147
Awash Bank: 01304211986200
Bank of Abyssinia: 15654767
United Bank: 1171816585120011
Dashen Bank: 0010657143011

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Every donation makes a difference and by supporting this project, you are helping making a difference for a lot of awesome Ethiopian women!

Luv, 
Blayne & Kifflé
(And the whole TruLuv Team)
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