Lentils legume

Traceback your Product

and explore your

impact on people

& the environment

Creating a

FAIR ECONOMY

13%

of the product price is directly going to the farmers to cover the farm cost and a fair compensation for farmers.

Creating a

FAIR SOCIETY

100%

of full-time employees who worked to produce this product receive health insurance and safe working conditions.

Life Long Learning &

WELLBEING

10%

of the working time is dedicated to art and self-development activities; to promote wellbeing and happines at work.

Protecting the

ENVIRONMENT

3.3kg CO2e

were sequestered/absorbed by the soil, per package, reducing the impact of agriculture on climate change.

Farming

This Anise was produced on four farms across Egypt using a form of organic agriculture, called biodynamic agriculture which is a sustainable form of agriculture that protects the environment and increases biodiversity.

The cultivation of this Anise is on fields where chemical pesticides and fertilizers are banned, this renunciation is actively protecting water and air from pollution.

The organic production of Anise protects the health of farmers and the lives of the pollinators (such as birds, bees, other beneficial creatures) from synthetic pesticides.

Economy of Love certified farms are actively building a healthy soil to increase natural fertility, which creates a more sustainable farm in the long-term.

Meet The Farmers

get to the source of production

Samy

Farmer in Bene Suef, Egypt

Samy Mohamed Khames is a biodynamic farmer from Bene Suef, South of Cairo. Samy is an old partner and supplier of high-quality agricultural products for SEKEM company. For more than 18 years he has been cultivating multiple products for SEKEM every season.

Mostafa

Farmer in Wahat Oasis, Egypt

Mostafa Saber is originally from Minia in upper Egypt. He joined SEKEM Wahat farming team in 2019. Mostafa came to SEKEM Wahat because he wanted to learn more about organic and biodynamic farming.

Abdallah Ali Moursy

Farmer in Minia, Egypt

Abdallah is 71 years old and still very much involved in the agricultural process of his family farm. Since 23 years he uses biodynamic methods. He likes reaching out to other farmers to raise awareness for healthy food and production.

Abdel Ghaffer

Farmer in Assiut, Egypt

Abdel Ghaffer is a farmer in the Assiut Governorate, south of Minia, Egypt. He has been working with SEKEM for many years and therefore he is deeply connected to the vision and principles of biodynamic agriculture.

Processing

After the Anise arrives at the Lotus Company, samples are taken to be tested for compliance with organic&biodynamic standards. Then the Anise is sieved, cleaned, and quality checked one more time. After that, the Anise is ready to be filled into large 20Kg paper bags and sent to the packaging department in iSiS company.

Lotus strives to create fair long-term relationships with the supplying farmers, thus round-table meetings are conducted annually where many farmers gather with the companies to discuss prices, challenges, and draft solutions.

Energy-saving measures are taken and renewable energy is promoted to reduce the environmental footprint. Lotus is aiming to run on 100% solar energy by the end of 2021.

The share of organic waste in Lotus is 96%, of which 100% is being recycled. 48% of non-organic waste is being recycled. 100% of wastewater is recycled and used for tree irrigation in the factory area.

Packaging

The Anise arrives at the iSiS Organic Food company and is directly processed further. The 20Kg bags are emptied into a machine that is automatically distributing the raw material into small tea bags. A worker is then making sure those tea bags are nicely put in a paper carton box.

Since its foundation, the iSiS factory has implemented the Core Program which enables all factory employees to engage in courses of art, acting, music, geography, and many more to promote happiness at work.

In addition to the Core Program, iSiS started implementing the EoL EDU program, across the company to give employees the feeling they are part of a community striving towards creating safer work environments, a sustainability mindset and space for wellbeing.

As part of SEKEM holding, iSiS contributed to the planting of 30,000 trees in 2019 to offset its carbon footprint.

Packaging Material

The Anise may be responsibly grown and processed, but its packaging material and the companies from which they are sourced also have a huge impact on the product’s lifetime impact, and cannot be neglected.

The boxes are made of paper which is produced in a factory in Cairo that promotes worker safety and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities.

The paper tag and filter fibers are FSC certified sourced from German companies that are constantly researching sustainable packaging alternatives, and sustainable production practices.

Some packages require plastic wrap to meet customer’s requirements. but the company is committed to finding more eco-friendly alternatives.

Distribution

The Anise packages are now ready to be distributed directly to your home, local shops, or overseas.

The company’s transportation emissions are calculated and monitored to actively work on reducing them.

Drivers have a limit on the number of hours they can drive per day, to ensure their safety

Whenever possible, SEKEM chooses sea fright over air in order to reduce emissions.

Meet The Employees

have a look, who processed, packaged and distributed your product

Marwa

Quality Manager in iSiS

Marwa has been working in the tea department of iSiS factory for more than 8 years. Together with her husband and two children, she lives on the SEKEM farm.

Ahmed

Factory Engineer at SEKEM

Ahmed has been working in SEKEM for four years, and lives right next to the SEKEM farm with his family.

Ahmed

Factory Engineer in Lotus

Hassan is in charge of the cleaning and packing machine in the processing facility of Lotus. He has been working in Lotus for 17 years and enjoys that work is combined with cultural programs.

Abd El Magid

Distributor in SEKEM

Abd El Magid has been an employee in SEKEM for over 15 years. He is responsible for distributing the finished products to stores all over Cairo.

What is the True Price?

Are there hidden costs that the price doesn't reflect?

True Price Comparision

Sustainably & ethically produced products add value to society. However, when comparing prices, we don’t take into account the long-term impact of the product. For example, since this Anise is sequestering Co2e it is actually saving up to 0.35USD per kilo! This means that it is cheaper than products that emit Co2e, but so often the price tag doesn’t reflect that.

We encourage you to compare products based on their true price; the price that reflects the hidden costs that we and future generations eventually pay for.

This Anise saves up to 0.35 USD/Kilo, by sequestering carbon from the atmosphere

Indirect Costs include:

WATER

REPROCESSING COST

Society is paying taxes to clean water sources from agriculture’s chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides, as well as the irresponsible disposal of wastewater from factories, in order to make it usable/drinkable water.