How Saathëa Lifts People Out of Poverty Through Its Supply Chain

Transparency is key for impact-making businesses like Saathëa. And that’s why we want to share our supply chain process— so you understand its impact. As a company, Saathëa goes beyond charity to create market-based income-generating activities (IGAs) that lift people out of poverty. 

Here, you’ll find information on our supply chain and details of how we source our ingredients at Saathëa. We’re giving you a sightseeing tour of the impact your money could have on other people’s lives. 

Where Do We Source Butterfly Pea Flower? 

Our main ingredient, Butterfly Pea Flower, is grown and harvested in our shared Prosperity Gardens in Cambodia. These gardens were created to build a lasting, positive impact on women and entire communities. 

By developing market-based IGAs, we’re addressing extreme poverty, one of the root causes of human trafficking, and modern slavery in this region. Instead of giving short-lived handouts, we’re creating long-term, sustainable solutions that empower those affected by these issues. Our community-focused, bottom-up approach to sourcing helps to lift people out of poverty and into opportunity.

An estimated 261,000 people in Cambodia are experiencing forced labor and human trafficking— and this is a conservative number. These crimes happen under the radar, making it impossible to know the real number of victims. 

Behind Our Prosperity Gardens: An Ethical Supply Chain. 

Our shared Prosperity Gardens are the gateway to make our mission a reality. Through our Prosperity Gardens, we’re empowering and training women to become entrepreneurial and generate income for themselves and their families. 

This is how our shared Prosperity Gardens are creating systems change: 

1. Ethical Supply Chain 

At Saathëa, we’re setting up the highest standard for impact sourcing and human rights within the supply chain. In partnership with local social sector organizations, we’re providing economic security for women in the rural areas where we work. We’re creating a blueprint for systems change within the supply chain. 

We know and care about the farmers working in our shared gardens, and we strive to support them in their journey. We’re building equally beneficial relationships with producers— learning from them and co-creating with them by listening to the struggles they face. 

Along with our partners, we’re setting up shared Prosperity Gardens, a space where women grow on-demand crops and herbs. Then, we buy these crops from them at a fair market price, creating a sustainable source of income for them. And ensuring our main ingredient, the Butterfly Pea Flower, is sourced ethically and sustainably. 

We’re enabling women to use their local, natural resources to lift themselves out of poverty and giving them access to the international beauty market. With this model, we ensure they benefit from globalization too. 

2. Empowering Women With Income-Generating Activities (IGAs)

To create a lasting positive impact, teaching and training the women working in the shared Prosperity Gardens is key. This gives them self-confidence and useful skills they can teach to other women and family members. 

Every woman working in our shared gardens is trained in organic agriculture and entrepreneurship. Each garden is designed to be a low maintenance system and provides women with high-quality, organic foods to feed their families and themselves. The rest of the crops are sold at local markets, and through Saathëa, they reach the international beauty market. 

This approach supports disenfranchised women to create economic security and stability over time — freeing them from the cycle of poverty that fuels human trafficking. With market-based IGAs, instead of giving short-lived handouts, we co-create solutions with producers that provide them with a sustainable source of income.

3. Supporting Environmental Sustainability

The women working in our shared Prosperity Gardens use organic farming practices when growing and harvesting our Butterfly Pea Flower.  

Also, Butterfly Pea Flower gives back to Earth from the moment it’s planted and until its last use. Because of its nitrogen-fixing ability, it nourishes and enriches the soil in which it’s planted in— helping restore damaged terrain. Its flowers, after being used, are perfect for composting, creating rich, healthy soil, and further nurturing our earth. It’s the gift that keeps on giving!

4. Addressing The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Saathëa’s Prosperity Gardens address four of the 17 SDGs set by the United Nations (UN) designed to be a "blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all." These are the Goals we’re helping accomplish:

• Goal 1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere. 

Thanks to our shared Prosperity Gardens, we’re addressing poverty at its root and helping tackle it.  

• Goal 5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation

By using impact sourcing as a prevention strategy to address poverty, we’re helping tackle one of the root causes of human trafficking in rural Cambodia. 

• Goal 8. Promote sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all. 

By creating IGA’s, we’re providing sustainable income streams and growth opportunities for women in rural Cambodia and their communities.

• Goal 17: Private-public partnerships. Encourage and promote effective public, public-private, and civil society partnerships, building on the experience and resourcing strategies of partnerships.

As a private sector company partnering up with local public organizations, we’re able to leverage each actor's expertise and resources to create a positive social impact in rural Cambodia. 

Be an Agent for Positive Change 

By sharing our business model and supply chain, we want to inspire you to ask questions to other brands for the greater good. Do they know the farmers? Do they know if partners get paid a living wage?

Companies need to disclose their supply chain practices, so you can understand the process behind the products you buy. This also helps you identify and support businesses that care about other people’s well-being— not only profit.  

Living a kinder and more compassionate life starts by understanding the power of your choices. When you support companies with values and integrity, you’re helping create a better future for all people on earth.  

Support our mission. Shop for our products here.