Kulisha works with food and beverage companies to convert organic waste into a protein made from insects for use in animal feeds. We use a type of insect called the black soldier fly to divert waste from landfills while encouraging an alternative to unsustainable fishmeal-based protein.

My parents own a restaurant, and, as I grew up, they instilled in me a deep love and respect for food, as well as for the many hands that are involved in its production. I’m interested in how the act of eating is simultaneously a social, political, cultural, and environmental act. Our food systems today are full of unidirectional pathways — energy from farms to food to landfills, mined nutrients to fields to waterways. Kulisha has the immense potential to revolutionize the way we think about waste and produce food, and I'm excited to make it happen — one black soldier fly at at time.

Teammate: Viraj Sikand