Green Goo Partners with PARSA to Develop Sustainable Herb Garden Initiative in Afghanistan
LYONS, Colo. -- All-natural body care brand Green Goo, under parent company Sierra Sage Herbs, recently established a partnership with PARSA (Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Support for Afghanistan) to develop a sustainable herb garden program to foster vocational training and economic opportunities for members of PARSA’s Healthy Afghan Women’s Support Groups as part of its Trade Afghan Business Network.
In tandem with PARSA’s professional staff, Green Goo will provide counsel, resources, and training to support group members, who will then grow a selection of herbs that may be used to produce clean, natural body care products. The products, which will be formulated by Green Goo Co-Founder and Director of Product Development Jen Scott to fit the Afghan context, will be simple to produce and will only require locally-available resources. Suggested starter products include healing first aid, dry skin, and pain relief salves. The PARSA support-group members will be trained in growing, dry processing, and storing the herbs, in addition to learning to produce and package the respective products. They will then be taught basic entrepreneurship, wherein the women will be able to sell the products locally, reinvest their earnings to grow their small businesses, and earn income for their families. PARSA intends to start the program as a pilot with a support group based at their head offices in Marastoon, Kabul.
“The idea of introducing a sustainable herb garden model to communities, especially women, in developing nations has been a concept we have evolved for the better part of the last decade,” said Green Goo Co-Founder and CEO Jodi Scott. “We feel so incredibly fortunate to have found a partner in PARSA who can help us make this dream a reality. We’ve seen the extraordinary healing qualities of herbs in our own products firsthand, and to be able to share that insight and ingenuity with PARSA beneficiaries, and to empower them to take these ideas to create economic opportunity for their families, is especially momentous.”
As part of the Green Goo partnership with PARSA, Jodi Scott has been named to the philanthropic organization’s international Board of Directors, where she will also serve as an adviser to their Trade Afghan Business Network, a mentorship program established in 2013 in response to women in Afghan communities who requested help developing and finding markets for their products.
"The Green Goo Partnership creates a program where Afghan women can support themselves and their children through a cottage industry and products that can be made at home," noted PARSA Executive Director Marnie Gustavson. "This is especially important in the current historical context in Afghanistan where women's rights to economic access is becoming more and more uncertain because of the re-incursion of the Taliban in Afghan communities, and the subsequent increase in violence against women. This project will provide a safe network for women entrepreneurs to earn a living, to survive the instability of the current political conflicts, and to continue to have a voice in their future."
Green Goo plans to make an annual financial contribution to PARSA in support of the herb garden initiative and various other programs. For the month of December 2020, Green Goo will also donate a percentage of their hand sanitizer sales to the organization.
About PARSA
PARSA, an international 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, trains and develops professional Afghan leaders who care for the women, youth, impoverished families, and the disabled citizens of Afghanistan by offering innovative programs that provide the greatest impact to these communities. They believe strongly in empowering visionaries who want to make a positive change and their organic approach has allowed them to be highly creative in program development. PARSA has been working at the most grassroots level in Afghan communities since 1996, consistently evolving over the years to meet the changing needs of the people they support. Visit PARSA to learn more.