The New Spice Girl

Shaira left behind a successful career and a collection of shoes that Imelda Marcos would have been jealous of because she felt something was missing. Her journey led her to the Algarve where she discovered how to make delicious chocolates from carobs.

You might recognise Shaira’s name as she is one of the new food and drink columnists at Tomorrow, The Spice Girl. She set up a company Spicelifeshop, with the aim to get people closer to the source of their food. Shaira is involved with the markets in Aljezur and in Barao São Joao in order to bring the consumers closer to the farmers and enhance their awareness of where their food comes from and how it grows.

Having previously lived in a big city in Holland, she became discontented with the commercialism and set off travelling to find herself. The desire for travel is not surprising given her heritage. She was born and spent the first years of her life in Suriname in South America, “coming from the rainforest it is heart-breaking to me that we are losing plants that we haven't even discovered yet,” she says. Her father is Indian, her grandmother Dutch, her grandfather is from Java,  her Great Grandfather originated in Macau and her great grandmother was Native American. “My whole background centres around the colonial spice route so it is not surprising this has influenced me.”

She sailed across the Atlantic location and lived in caves where she discovered how little we need to be happy and how much of what we think we need is forced on us by advertising. “Women used to forage for berries but now because of consumerism we are foraging for the latest fashion or gadget and it's not making us happy or healthy.”

Shaira came to the Algarve to visit friends and was offered a job here as a Socio Therapist, helping Dutch children with behavioural problems. While discovering all of the local natural ingredients available in the region, she decided she wanted to make people here aware of the origin of their food and to go to the farms they buy from. She argues that you do not need to spend money buying something with an organic sticker. “Your small farmer is probably more organic and sustainable than the large farms which have the money to achieve this accolade.”

Shaira’s Indian grandmother taught her about spices and the concept of Ayurveda which in Sanskrit means “science of life.” It is an ancient system of medicine with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent, Shaira´s grandmother taught her the medicinal benefits of spices and food. Knowing how to achieve good health is about understanding that the mind and body are linked and Shaira combines spices, food, yoga and meditation in her retreats. 

Ideal nutrition comes from consuming a variety of fresh foods that are appropriately prepared and eaten with awareness. “Spices are holistic,” Shaira tells me; “They are about the flavour but also about the health benefits.”

Shaira is sharing her knowledge which has been passed along generations, by hosting a number of workshops and retreats. One of her workshops has been on fermenting vegetables, which is a great source of probiotics. “Now we have fridges, the art of fermenting is vanishing at the expense of a number of health benefits.”

It was while she was experimenting with local foods that she discovered the carob, after asking farmers what they did with it, most told her that they fed it to cattle but her research showed that it had great health benefits with no fat, natural non-processed sugar and high in antioxidants which prevents ageing and keeps cells healthy.

Incentivised by this she went into her kitchen and started experimenting with a way to make this natural ingredient into chocolate. “I could not believe that no one was doing this, but it took six months to get the right balance and it also depends on the weather to get the right structure.”

Finally, she succeeded in creating healthy chocolate containing coconut and dates. She now holds workshops to teach other people how to make the chocolate.

Sharia has a myriad of professional strings to her bow, including being a social science teacher, a nurse and a social therapist so if you want the benefit of all of Shaira’s wisdom, her retreat on the West Coast in October will include lessons in carob chocolate making, fermenting classes, international cooking classes, herbal walks and cosmetic workshop.. She is currently growing all the vegetables she needs for the classes at the retreat and you will also be to forage for food.

She is meeting farmers and trying to get them to work together as a co-operative. Her next project is to build an app which will connect local farmers directly to the consumer, which is a very noble enterprise.

Shaira is also organising farm visits which will be a fun day where people can explore the farm where their food comes from, “I don’t want people to consume, I want them to experiment and discover the origin of their food.” 

Find out more about her workshops and retreats on her website.

spicelifeshop.com