STIRR is about sharing stories of hope & freedom through the experience of food.
INDIAN CUISINE deMYSTIFIED Rather than feeling overwhelmed by hundreds of spices, we will take you through a journey of experiencing them one at a time. Explore and have fun by incorporating new ingredients into what you are already cooking up. Before you know it, you will be cooking up full-on Indian meals.
FREEDOM & HOPE Each woman you will meet is bravely fighting to stay away from the claws of the sex trade. Their stories show light and beauty despite the darkness that lurks closeby. STIRR celebrates these human strengths and qualitie in all of us. And no matter where you are in world, there is a community who is fighting to find freedom and hope together.
Food is nourishment. Food is community. Food is an artform. Some of the best moments of our lives are had around food that bring people together. It gives us a peek into traditions and cultures when flavors reach our mouths and tickle our palates.
Each day our heroes works hard to bring food home to feed her family. Through rich traditions of cooking, she shares her love in the meals she cooks. She now shares her life with us through our family recipes. And by cooking and eating these meals at our own tables, we can have a taste of her hope and freedom too.
HOW IT ALL STARTED
STIRR’s journey to India started in November of 2011 when founder and photographer, Calvina Nguyen first set foot in Kolkata. There her eyes were opened to the dark realities of sex trafficking. She also saw the deep caring of humans by others demonstrating grace, friendship and unselfish giving; she was moved to the core. She’s traveled back and forth from the USA to India numerous times getting to know communities transformed and now living in freedom. Heartfelt conversations had on woven mats while sipping chai and eating delicious food with the courageous women who chose to walk away from the oppression of the sex trade compelled her to take action and tell their stories of freedom and hope.
The transformation of these lives would not have been possible without the work of freedom businesses. These business were all founded for the purpose of giving women a choice of respectable and alternative income. Each was started and run by individuals who gave up the comforts of their western worlds to live in community with the women they employ.
STIRR works in partnership with freedom businesses to bring these stories to light. Behind each story is a mother, a sister, a daughter. It bridges the gap between worlds; breaking down barriers of culture, language, and continents. It brings people together for real conversations around the table creating ripples of change.