Black cumin is a rarer variety of cumin seed. Black cumin and nigella seed are often confused, but they are two different spices. Black cumin only grows in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Tajikistan. Not easy countries to trade with, as you can imagine.
How we stumbled upon black cumin from Afghanistan was actually a coincidence. Iona worked for a while for MOMA (an initiative that brings local dairy products from the Amsterdam area directly to the city) and was selling them when she met Jawid there. Initially, they started talking about saffron and the possibilities of producing a saffron drink with MOMA. What Jawid didn't know was that Iona herself trades in spices! Sometimes coincidences seem too big.
Jawid founded The Spice Change to provide poor families in his home country Afghanistan with an additional source of income. Black cumin grows wild in certain areas and is a highly valued spice. However, it is often tampered with; large traders mix common cumin with black cumin to improve the taste, or the cleaning process is not carried out properly, because the weight is then higher (and payment is made by weight).
The Spice Change pays the families 1350 Afghani per kilo. This is an extra source of income for them, as they can pick this cumin in the wild and therefore do not have to plant it themselves. We pay The Spice Change €37.41 per kilo for the cumin.
Last year, the average market price for cumin was 800-1400 Afghani per kilo. However, after the first purchase, a second cleaning process is needed, which drives up the market price because weight is lost during the second cleaning process. As a result, the market price fluctuates considerably.
Trading with Afghanistan
To be honest, we did hesitate for a while whether this was a chain we wanted to venture into. Firstly, we couldn't visit Afghanistan ourselves, whereas we usually always go and see how the farmers (in this case, collectors) work. However, it helps that Jawid lives in the Netherlands and that we therefore have good contact with him. And he, in turn, is in good contact with his cousin Abdul, who still lives in Afghanistan and collects the cumin there. Abdul is also the only person in the photos; all the families we work with want to remain anonymous.
Secondly, it is not possible to import from Afghanistan to the Netherlands. Therefore, an extra step must be added to the trade chain. The spices go to Pakistan, where an exchange with Afghanistan is still possible, and from Pakistan, we can then import the cumin. From Pakistan, the cumin then comes directly to our warehouse in Arnhem. Subsequently, it is also filled in Arnhem by the employees of the social workshop Siza, also in Arnhem.
The taste of the first samples was so convincing that we decided to explore the possibilities for this chain anyway. And moreover, this is a good example of how you can make a positive impact in the spice trade. 43 families in Afghanistan receive an extra source of income, which they can put to good use. Moreover, this black cumin grows in the wild and therefore not on plantations where many chemicals and pesticides are used to achieve the largest possible harvest.
Cumin from Afghanistan
Afghanistan exports a lot of cultivated cumin. This is grown on plantations and not necessarily according to natural farming methods. Ultimately, it's all about making as much profit as possible. The quality of cumin largely depends on when it is harvested. Some families collect the cumin too early, so the natural ripening process has not yet completed. This early harvest also leads to a loss of nutritional value.
Large companies buy wild cumin to mix with their cultivated varieties. This improves the taste of the entire harvest, but unfortunately, the unique properties of this pure wild cumin are lost. Often, these mixed varieties are sold at approximately the same high price as pure wild cumin.
The areas where the cumin grows are not easy to reach. Abdul traveled around for several weeks on his motorcycle twice to collect all the cumin. A similar trip is planned again for next year.
