As part of the Fulbright enrichment programme, I was invited to a seminar in San Diego, USA, on ‘Leveraging Strategic Innovation and Entrepreneurship for Long Term Success’. It showcased numerous projects undertaken by young entrepreneurs, which were open for discussion and critique by the distinguished international participants. As the speakers rambled on and the heat was at its peak, pangs of hunger set in. My attention was drawn to a side table, which had some cookies and coffee on display, and a bunch of youngsters attending to them. They were students of the San Diego University, which was hosting the seminar.
There was something about the youngsters, which raised my curiosity. Speaking to them over cookies and hot coffee, I got to know some intriguing stories. The delicious cookies were offered by Soul Much Foods, an enterprise started by Reyanne Mustafa and Kristine Krugman and came in flavours of beetroot, chocolate and fruit.
The girls explained, “While in college, we took a part time job at a restaurant. We were shocked to see the amount of food that was wasted at the end of the day. So we decided to ‘rescue’ the food. This was food that was unutilised and not leftover by the clients. We tied up with the restaurant and at the end of the day, collected the grains which would be thrown away. These were brought home, dehydrated and ground into flour. Then we visited juice centres, where we procured unused juices. We added these to the flour and baked cookies from it. We added different flavours as per the resources available. These cookies, which were very hygienic and nutritional, sold like, well, hot cakes. We soon had to expand our venture and now supply to more than nine outlets in the city.”
This venture is bound to make inroads into a country like the US, where more than 60 million tons of food is thrown away each year.
Then we caught up with John, who was serving the dark coffee. He said, “I come from a small town on the outskirts of San Diego. We have an open space near our house, which doubles up as a park. It is not frequented by the locals, but is rather visited by youngsters. They use it to drink, take drugs and so on. Fights are common and in a way, the place is unsafe. But it was a place for the youngsters to visit friends and I went there often. One day I decided to carry home- made coffee and offered it to some of the guys there. They liked it and wanted more. It soon became a daily ritual of sorts for me. Cashing on this demand, I decided to rope in a few of the boys, who loitered about, to help me make the coffee and serve it in the park.”
It was then that the idea of starting a coffee centre was conceptualised, John adds. “Interestingly many of the boys, who would hang around that area, had indulged in risky behaviour, with some of them even having gone to jail. But once they joined me, they were a transformed lot. That’s how DOJO cafe started. With our motto being ‘Coffee, Culture, Community’, we believe in empowering people through coffe’. We have transformed this area into a safe zone now and it is frequented by many families. We offer a range of coffees and eats. Apart from this, we also engage and organise different community events and support good causes. In a short time, it has become a much-sought-after coffee joint, a place to hang out, mingle and relax. And it definitely has transformed lives,” he says.
The youngsters seemed excited about their ventures and the difference it has made to many. For me, not only were the cookies appetising and the coffee energising, but talking to them also strengthened my belief that with the right attitude, commitment and passion, anything is possible!
