Being involved in the Rare Disease community, I love hearing stories of hope, of passion, and of overcoming. They inspire me to live a better life, and to never take things for granted.
Recently I attended one of the hikes organised by Fit Like Mummy (such fun! You really need to join one) and at our meal afterwards she brought out some sweet chilli jam. Now, I love trying new things and this was no exception. I reached out for a Fry’s mini chipolota and dunked it into the sauce in front of me. Oh. My. Goodness. I don’t think I have ever tasted anything quite so delicious – my tastebuds were exploding, and I knew that I had to keep trying it!
Natasha told me about how it was made by a mother and her 2 daughters – in fact the daughters both have a condition known as SMA aka Spinal Muscular Atrophy.
Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a group of inherited disorders characterized by a loss of certain nerve cells in the spinal cord called motor neurons or anterior horn cells. Motor neurons receive the nerve impulses transmitted from the brain to the spinal cord (brainstem) and, in turn, transmit the impulses to the muscle via the peripheral nerves. The loss of motor neurons leads to progressive muscle weakness and muscle wasting (atrophy) in muscles closest to the trunk of the body (proximal muscles) such as the shoulders, hips and back. These muscles are necessary for crawling, walking, sitting up and head control. The more severe types of SMA can affect muscles involved in feeding, swallowing and breathing. SMA is divided into subtypes based on age of onset and maximum function achieved. SMA types 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 are inherited as autosomal recessive genetic disorders and are associated with abnormalities (mutations) in the SMN1 and SMA2 genes which are located on chromosome 5.
National organisation for rare disorders
I knew this business was one that I wanted to share on my blog, and also support personally. And I am thrilled to introduce them to you below!
Your name: Kayrashni(Pixie) and Jayrashni(Molly) Sewnarain
Business name: Pimoas trading as Timeless Inc
Social media handles: Facebook and Instagram
3 fun facts about you: Something we can never give up is finding humor in literally everything. If we could pick a time period we could live in, we would pick the 1920’s Prohibition America, it would be exciting or maybe we’ve just watch The Great Gatsby too much 🙂 and lastly we actually watch a lot of food shows and then conjure up our own recipes from there.
Tell me a little more about your business: Our business is an online store selling a range of different products, however we specialize in making our own Hotshotz sauce inspired by a traditional indian taste and a sweet chilli jam. We are experimenting with chilli chocolate and hope to launch that soon.
Tell me about the products you have available: Our two main products at the moment is the Hotshotz sauce and the Hotshotz sweet chilli jam. The sauce can be used as a marinade as well as a dip with samoosas, chilli bites and almost anything. The sweet chilli jam can be used as is or as a glaze on roast chicken, it pairs well with brie cheese and phyllo pastry and on crackers. We even made a chocolate cake with it and it is absolutely divine!
What inspired you to start this business: Inspiration came from our outlook in life and with the encouragement of friends and family to give us independence. Covid 19 has unfortunately hit a lot of industries and we feel we need to make income to support ourselves as our sister is currently not working to be able to support us.
What make your products so unique: Our products are unique because it is so versatile and can be used in almost anything. Also this is our own recipes. Each recipe has been tried and tested and perfected to how we want it.
Tell me a little more about the conditions you have: Our mom is legally blind and does not work. Our sister is in the tourism industry but unfortunately there is still no work. We have a condition called Spinal Muscular Dystrophy. We are at the advanced stages of the disease which is called atrophy. It is the degeneration of muscles over time. We have surpassed all the time lines given to us.
How can people place an order with you: At the moment, orders are placed telephonically (0827864184) or through Facebook and Instagram.
What product is your absolute favourite: Pixie: Absolute favourite is the sauce as it acts as a marinade for meats and is stunning on roast leg of lamb. Molly: Sweet chilli jam as I love the sweetness and the heat combined.
Quote you live by:
“The human spirit is one of ability, perseverance, and courage that no disability can steal away.”
disability awareness
Anything else you want to add: We would like to add that for years we were led to believe that we were not capable of achieving much, yet we knew there is so much we could do. It was only with a little support and encouragement that we found the drive to follow our dreams and make it a reality. This was possible only by surrounding ourselves with positivity and people that uplift us.
I absolutely love these products, and learning more about their journey has made me love them even more. What a brilliant way to turn COVID-19 on it’s head, and also ensure that they are still able to support themselves no matter the circumstances they find themselves in. These sauces and jams are the perfect accompaniment to nearly any meal – even for people like me that can’t usually handle any heat.
Enjoy! Your tastebuds (and family) will thank you x
