Social Innovation Incubator Profiles: Mama’s Fire Gourmet Sauces

July 26, 2011 at 8:23 am Impact Entrepreneurs at Portland State University 1 comment

Mama's Fire hot sauce jar

Mama’s Fire Tibetan hot sauces and BBQ sauces have a hint of ginger, a slight smokiness, and a dose of bodhicitta—“the fundamental awareness of loving kindness intrinsic to all humans.” While some hot sauces may alleviate suffering (or sometimes cause it) few do so in the manner of Mama’s Fire.

The company was formed to provide financial support for the Sacred Works Project, a nondenominational 501(c)(3) that funds scientific research, spiritual pilgrimages and education, and artistic expression. Current projects include a documentary on the hospice care movement in Africa; workshops for communities struggling to engage with the justice system in a manner consistent with their values; and a preservation effort for Valmont Butte in Colorado, an area sacred to local indigenous peoples.

The hope is to provide reliable funding to such projects from sale of the Tibetan-style sauces. Jesse Thompson, founder of Sacred Works Project and Mama’s Fire, is the first to point out that barbecue may not be traditional in Tibetan cuisine, but hot sauce certainly is—and his recipe is authentic enough to make a believer of at least one Tibetan. The popularity of Mama’s Fire has already put it on the shelves of nearly 50 stores nationwide and the company is seeking partners to help expand marketing and distribution.

A Tibetan hot sauce that helps document African hospice care or preserve sacred landscapes seems a fitting concept for our age of expanding cultural, spiritual, and economic ties across the globe. Bodhicitta may not come in a bottle, but Mama’s Fire does, and where else can you buy a hot sauce that helps spread loving kindness?

Mama’s Fire and the Sacred Works Project: