BIPOC Portraits is a series in which Best of Vegan contributors Val & Mani Latifi of Plant-Based Passport profile one BIPOC vegan creator each week over the course of 16 weeks, to shed light on the unique challenges BIPOCs face in making the decision to embrace veganism. For BIPOCs, the prevailing narrative that veganism is a white-dominated movement can often mean a perceived loss of cultural identity. The hope of this profile series is to make veganism a little less lonely for BIPOCs and to give courage to vegan-curious BIPOCs out there. In the thirteenth installment of BIPOC Portraits, Nisso Rahmonova-Stanley of @shedreamsofthewild shares her journey to veganism as a Tajik-American. She also provides a delicious recipe for Shakarob.
[The acronym BIPOC stands for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color]
Nisso Rahmonova-Stanley is a stay-at-home mom and former Project Manager from the Bay Area, California. Nisso embraced veganism three years ago, after joining a Whole Food Plant-Based challenge for a month. The challenge inspired her curiosity to learn more about our overwhelmed healthcare system, as well as animal agriculture and its impact on the environment. Her favorite things about the vegan lifestyle are making a positive impact on her health, doing good for animals, and playing a role in leaving a cleaner planet for her children, grandchildren, and future generations. Nisso enjoys cooking, baking, food photography, camping, and cycling. She is currently working on a blog. Follow Nisso on Instagram.
When you first went vegan, did you see the vegan community as diverse? Did you see yourself as having a place in the vegan community as a BIPOC?
My experience may be very different. When I went vegan, I really didn’t think about whether the vegan community was diverse or white-dominated. These issues came to light later. Remember, I was trying to kill my curiosity [by joining a Whole Food Plant-Based Challenge]. I didn’t know any vegan Tajiks then. I don’t know if I know any now except for my half-Tajik children.
I started creating and recreating my Tajik recipes from my childhood. Every time I made something successfully, I would scream with happiness and tell myself: “I can live this vegan life!”
Did you have any fears or reservations about going vegan? Did you feel like you might lose part of your cultural identity in your transition to veganism?
Absolutely! I didn’t know I would be vegan when I went vegan cold turkey. I thought I would try it for a month, kill my curiosity, and go right back to eating salads and veggie mostly, healthy soups, lots of homemade bread with occasional meat, and baked goods with eggs and dairy. But when I decided to keep going, I started to see family and friends questioning my decision—not understanding why I was doing it. My family in Tajikistan still asked me if I was on my plant-based “diet.” The first couple of months were fine because I was involved in a Whole Foods Plant-Based challenge. When the challenge was over, however, I started to crave my Tajik meals and started researching some recipes to see if there were any, but couldn’t find any. Then it dawned on me. If you know me, you know how important my Tajik heritage and culture are for me, and how I feel obliged to pass them on to my children. One way to do that is through food and holidays. I had to make a decision to keep going as a vegan or have occasional cheat days on holidays where I could have my Tajik food. So, I started creating and recreating my Tajik recipes from my childhood. Every time I made something successfully, I would scream with happiness and tell myself: “I can live this vegan life!”
Did you worry about how your friends and family would react to your decision to go vegan? And how did they react?
I didn’t worry at first, but once I decided to keep going as a vegan, I felt I was being sidelined—questioned. When I went to Tajikistan two years ago, it was challenging at first because family and friends invited me to their houses and made big feasts for me, but it was all non-vegan. It was also culturally rude to refuse the food. I found eating ahead of time helped and when I came to a party, I would graze on nuts, fruit, and veggies, which are abundant in Tajikistan if you go in the summer. My dear mom still worries about my calcium and protein. I love my mom.
I love recreating and veganizing my traditional Tajik dishes, so my children stay in touch with their Tajik heritage, and teach it and share it with their children
Did you have challenges finding vegan substitutes to make your cultural dishes?
At first, I eliminated meat and dairy completely and didn’t feel the need to substitute and vegan substitutes were expensive at stores. Later, I started making my own cheese spreads and seitan.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
Tajikistan and Tajik food have been influenced by so many cultures and cuisines, that it was challenging to pick a dish that wouldn’t be claimed by neighboring Central Asian countries, China, Russia, or any other former Soviet Union country. I feel like Shakarob or Qurutob (Shakarob’s cousin) are the only dishes that are true Tajik and remain so without being influenced or changed. I love recreating and veganizing my traditional Tajik dishes, so my children stay in touch with their Tajik heritage, former Soviet heritage, and teach it and share it with their children. I want a little piece of Tajikistan to be here in the U.S. and shared in the vegan community.
Article Val and Mani Latifi. Recipe and photos by Nisso Rahmonova-Stanley of @shedreamsofthewild.
