The Katra Box: by desi women for desi women

By Je’nae Singh

The Katra Box is focused on the uniqueness of the South Asian American woman. Created by desi women, for desi women, this box is the first of its kind and is meant to empower and celebrate our diversity and our diaspora (desi is a word those of South Asian descent use to describe themselves.) This diversity reaches the golden shores of the Pacific Islands and Carribean, to the deserts of Africa, even reaching Europe and Canada. Coming from a community this large in number, it is far from being homogenous; while having similar national origins and immigration stories, we’re a collective of different ethnicities, languages, and religious identities. It is this unspoken understanding of familiarity but uniqueness that brings us together.

Our founder, Ghonva Ghauri, has always strived to create a space to uplift South Asian American women, their individualities and their wellness. The Katra Box is about speaking up and having the voices of women-of-color be heard. It is about making room for desi women to be comfortably loud and honest and live their fullest lives. Since the desi community does not often acknowledge or address significant topics in the home, such as depression or colorism or LGTBQ+ identities, we believe in the importance of unapologetically acknowledging intersectionality and inclusivity. Not only within our community, but in the promotion of brands as well. The Katra Box seeks to support artists from the South Asian diaspora, and almost exclusively works with women-owned, queer-owned, and minority-owned brands. We try to be intentional in who we include and what we include in our boxes every season. This intentionality also includes: working with sustainable and eco-friendly brands, as well as natural-ingredient and ethically-sourced items. In other words, we prioritise businesses who strive to create products that are beneficial to consumers, as well as the environment.

Our goal is to make ethical, fair trade, and clean products more accessible for South Asian women, while supporting business owners from marginalised communities! Our boxes are full of products that meet your beauty, wellness, fashion and lifestyle needs. Part of our mission emphasises that “we know women in the South Asian diaspora all over the world who are on-the-go and creating big waves in many diverse industries. So, we’d like to take some of the hard work out of their hands. We’ve done the research, so you don’t have to.” Think of it as ordering a seasonally-shipped care package for yourself! We want to ensure that subscribers’ every-day desires are met, while also including products that incorporate South Asian traditions and passed-down wellness teachings.

The Katra Box is a seasonal subscription box. This means four times a year, we send out a box filled with products to reflect that season and its needs. Boxes are shipped every March, June, September, and December. This past Spring 2019, our box included products like a Turmeric Peel-Off Mask by a South Asian American businesswoman and a family-recipe-inspired Trini Pepper Sauce by a Trinidadian American entrepreneur.

The products altogether in one box will always reach well over a value of $100; however, an individual box is only $49.99 (or less)! We provide two different subscription options. With the Seasonal Subscription Plan, subscribers pay $49.99 every 3 months (aka every season), so they pay prior to each box release. On the other hand, subscribers save when they order through the Annual Subscription Plan! They only make a payment of $169.99 once a year to cover an entire year’s worth of boxes. No matter which plan you get, each box is hand-designed by our team, bringing the beauty of South Asian-inspired designs to your front door.

Celebrate the diversity of the diaspora and the uniqueness of desi women.

Be unapologetically brown.