Kajimba is an NGO local to Auroville that has created a healthier alternative to soda. Kajimba drinks are fermented beverages that contain less sugar than soda and have a sweeter taste than kombucha. Kajimba delivers its drinks by scooters to all their partners and stores that sell their product.

Kajimba is hard to explain but the owner said that it is almost like an nonalcoholic beer that has local flavors. It takes less time to ferment than kombucha and is very expensive to produce due to how fresh all the ingredients are. They flavor the drink with homemade syrups that contain a total of 7-8 grams of sugar. Due to the freshness and natural origins of ingredients, Kajimba has a shelf life of only 2 weeks.

AUP students were lucky enough to see the inside of the operation and the kitchen in which they create all of their drinks. The kitchen is incredibly clean and we were able to see how fresh all the ingredients really are as they were sitting right on the kitchen counter.

Kajimba also has a very interesting recycling policy. They will go back to each restaurant and business that sells their product and take back their bottles to reuse them after thoroughly washing them. The owner and founder of Kajimba said that they are able to get back about 80% of the bottles they distribute to restaurants.

Kajimba likes to employ youths and currently has 12 to 14 teenagers who run all the marketing for the brand. The owner said that having young people run marketing and social media offers a more flexible way of working as well as their perspective on how to market the drink to their demographic.

Even though Kajimba is a very new NGO in Auroville it is very noticeable how well their drinks are doing. While visiting and eating at many different local restaurants, many students, including me, were able to get Kajimba drinks at most of those places. These restaurants included but were not limited to Café 73, The visitor center locations, Tanto, Laxmee Pizza, and Pizza paradise.

Kajimba is now launching a new product line, the iced tea, which will have a longer shelf life than their original drinks. This new product is very exciting for kajimba as it will contribute to their ongoing growth. They have not yet done anything for this new product line outside of concocting the drink itself. This is where Kajimba figured they could use AUP students’ help. A few things that the owner mentioned were:

-Finding a name for the new product line

-making marketing content for the iced tea

-creating any sort of social media content

-And creating content for their website.