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We are hungry, so we buy something. We try to buy free range, organic or fair-trade when we can, but we do it more out of routine than reflection. We rarely take the time to think about the journey our food has taken and the lives that have been impacted along the way.
We rarely take the time to think about the journey our food has taken and the lives that have been impacted along the way.
One of the reasons I love to travel is to break my routine. To reconnect with myself and the world around me. And in the case of food, to reconnect with the origins of the delicacies that I have come to take for granted.
For me, the biggest delicacy of all is chocolate! Chocolate cake, chocolate ice cream, hot chocolate, but most of all a big chunk of dark chocolate.
So it seems wrong that in all my travels, I have never met a cacao farmer. Or reflected on the story of chocolate - until I visited the Wellington Chocolate Factory a few weeks ago.
I knew about the Wellington Chocolate Factory’s GOOD values - their organic, ethically sourced, bean to bar chocolate. But I’d never really thought about what Bean to Bar actually meant until I had the opportunity to meet with Miriam and Nayte.
We were meeting to discuss how we might work together. I’d heard that they offered tours and thought they might be of interest for GOOD travellers visiting my home town.
We had a great chat over a delicious hot chocolate. We talked about lots of ideas, but the part that got me most excited was this: The Bougainville Bar, and specifically, a little sticker on the bar that said “Sailed by Vaka - Zero Emissions”.
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It turned out that these chocolate bars were made from cacao beans that had been sailed on the Uto Ni Yalo, a traditional pacific voyaging canoe, from Bougainville, Papua New Guinea to Wellington, New Zealand. A journey of 10,000 miles and countless adventures. You can read all about it in their blog here.
These chocolate bars were made from cacao beans that had been sailed on the Uto Ni Yalo, a traditional pacific voyaging canoe, from Bougainville, Papua New Guinea to Wellington, New Zealand.
The goal of this journey was to:
But for me, what is most inspiring about this journey is that it reminds us that everything we eat has a story. That everything we eat has an impact. And as consumers whether we’re travelling or at home, we have the power to ensure that impact is a positive one.
What is most inspiring about this journey is that it reminds us that everything we eat has a story. That everything we eat has an impact. And as consumers whether we’re travelling or at home, we have the power to ensure that impact is a positive one.
So what does all this mean for you, GOOD travellers?
EAT! Next time you head to the store or sit down to dinner, take a minute to think about where your food has come from. Ask your kids if they know. And next time you’re travelling, try to eat locally-sourced and locally-produced food as much as possible. You’ll be reducing your carbon-footprint by avoiding imported foreign foods and you’ll be helping to support the local economy - from local farmers through to local producers, vendors and chefs. If you have time, why not take a cooking class too? Sharing the joy of food is one of the best ways to connect with local people and cut right through language barriers.
WIN! We’re excited to have partnered with Wellington Chocolate Factory to give you the opportunity to win some of the Sailed by Vaka Bougainville chocolate. Just keep an eye on our Facebook or on our Twitter for regular chocolate competitions!
TRAVEL! We’re currently exploring the idea of a joint Wellington Chocolate Factory + GOOD Travel tour focused on, you guessed it, the origins of chocolate! We want to give travellers the opportunity to connect with, and become part of, the journey of chocolate.