Kuli Kuli is an Oakland-based benefit corporation (B Corp) launched by Lisa Curtis, who was posted to Nigeria with the Peace Corps and inspired by the nutritious moringa tree she encountered there. Local women couldn't find a reason to grow moringa because there was no market for it—while in the US, many health-conscious people seek natural nutrition. Kuli Kuli sources moringa directly from women's cooperatives and smallholders in West Africa, Haiti and elsewhere, with guaranteed purchase and technical support, and sells it in the US as superfood bars and powders. This creates an international market and sustainable income for smallholders, while improving local nutrition and advancing reforestation through planting drought-resistant moringa. It has so far sourced from 2,400–4,000 smallholders (many of them African women), brought $1.5–5.2 million in income to farmers, and planted 1 million–24.6 million moringa trees. With the Clinton Foundation, it also carries out reforestation in Haiti.
●●○ medium
There is no confirmed −; independently verified + decide the position (B). No unreachable strike-through.= non-additive meter
Kuli Kuli Foods: Moringa for women smallholders' income and nutrition. The letter is B; certainty is medium. Unconfirmed concerns are placed under “Watching.” (As of 2026-Q3; estimate based on public information.)
Main narrative
One person’s story (N1)
+ A single story
Women smallholders in West Africa/Haiti who had moringa trees locally but no market, and thus no reason to grow them and no cash income. By Kuli Kuli sourcing directly with guaranteed purchase and technical support, the women gain an international market and sustainable income, support their households, and improve local nutrition too. The benefit appears as a collective: it sources from 2,400–4,000 smallholders (many African women) and brought $1.5–5.2 million in income to farmers.
Source nature: The Borgen Project／Business Call to Action / P2 Independent (third-party). Positive effects are not used to offset negatives.
Positive / negative effects
+ effects
- A B Corp founded in 2008/2014. It sources moringa directly from women's cooperatives and smallholders (guaranteed purchase, technical support, fair wages) and sells it in the US as a superfood, creating an international market and income. It has planted 1 million–24.6 million moringa trees (drought-resistant, good for reforestation). Haiti reforestation with the Clinton Foundation and the Smallholder Farmers Alliance.P2 Independent (UN platform) / Business Call to Action(UNDP)／3BL
− effects (confirmed)
- No confirmed −.
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- Making farmer-income/nutrition outcomes visible; scaling direct sourcing; narrowing the gap between wellness marketing and substance; verifying the ecological effect of reforestation.
A second look
The plus is income and market access for women smallholders in West Africa, Haiti, etc. via guaranteed purchase, technical support and fair wages, improved local nutrition, and reforestation through planting drought-resistant moringa (People, Nature), backed by the structural mechanism of direct sourcing (not mere donation), B Corp status, the Clinton Foundation partnership, and 2,400–4,000 farmers. Caveats: this is a commercial wellness/superfood brand whose main activity is selling high-value snacks to affluent US consumers; the 'superfood' pitch is marketing-oriented; and the scale of farmer income is modest ($1.5–5.2M cumulative). Weighing the structural direct-sourcing plus, B/medium.
Sources
How to read this assessment
- Reachable upper bound (ceiling): a confirmed − sets the ceiling, and independently verified + decide the position within it. + do not cancel out −.
- The weight of evidence is not symmetric: only confirmed − are counted; the volume of disputes or allegations goes under “Watching.” + are counted from independent evidence, while an organization’s own PR is treated as “reference.”
- Size is not value: scale is not used in the assessment. Matters that stay within money or competition—investors, shareholders, sanctions, trade secrets—are also excluded.
- The letter (assessment) and certainty (how reliable the information is) are separate axes.
This is a translation; the Japanese version is authoritative. The assessments here are generated automatically by AI based on published criteria. The operator does not alter individual results. Because they are AI-generated they may contain errors, and they are opinion and commentary, not statements of fact. Where evidence is insufficient, the entry is marked “On hold.” Requests for correction are accepted via the form.
Terms: Narrative Value = an assessment (A–G) of the distance between the story an organization tells and its reality / Ceiling meter = a visualization of the reachable upper bound / Watching = unconfirmed matters not counted / Protected stakeholders = people, animals, nature, and future generations. | Generated by: AI | As of: 2026-Q3 | Back to top