Embassies throughout Washington, DC, open their doors to the public to shine a light on their respective cultures for Passport DC, a one-day event held once a year. This year, the Bolivian and Guatemalan Embassies highlighted Fairtrade coffees. The Bolivian Embassy showcased Fairtrade, organic coffee grown by small-scale Fairtrade coffee farmers and roasted by Rockville, Maryland-based coffee roaster, Mayorga Organics. Kishe Foods, a California-based company, provided the coffee served at the Guatemalan Embassy.
“We teamed up with Mayorga and the Bolivian Embassy to do two things,” explains Fairtrade America’s executive director, Hans Theyer. “Firstly, we want to help the embassies promote the excellent, sustainably-grown coffee grown by their citizens. Secondly, we hope to make local coffee lovers aware of Fairtrade’s mission to empower small-scale farmers in developing countries.”
Rodney North, director of marketing, said of the events, “[They] were a huge success. Everyone, including our two coffee partners (Mayorga and Kishe) were quite surprised by the huge crowds and long lines. We were also – as hoped – able to sign up many people for our Fair Trade Coffee Break Challenge (which ties into World Fair Trade Day).”
Approximately 11,000 attended the Bolivian Embassy event where about 1,200 cups of coffee were served. Six thousand attended the Guatemalan Embassy event where about 800 cups of coffee were served.
Learn more: http://fairtradeamerica.org/en-us/get-involved/events