Through ‚Grenzenlos – World University Service‘, Valeria Salazar from Colombia, who has been studying in Würzburg for a few years, visited us on the second project day – unfortunately only virtually. She spent a day with us on the topic of sustainability in coffee production:
First, Valeria started with a digital quiz in which all participants competed against each other and revealed their (in)knowledge on the topics of Colombia and coffee. Who can pinpoint the exact location of Colombia on the world map? Or would you have known who consumes the most coffee internationally?
The KAHOOT quiz was finally won by a Spanish student, closely followed by German teacher. But even for the two winners it was clear that it was worth getting involved in the project day to learn more about the topic.
After an overview of life in Colombia in general, the participants dealt with the growing conditions of the sensitive coffee plant. They also explored the question of what impact climate change is already having on coffee cultivation, and even more so in the years to come. If climate change continues, scientists predict a 50% decline in coffee production by 2050! Diametrically, coffee consumption (currently 500 trillion cups a day worldwide!) continues to rise.
Valeria also talked about the working conditions under which Colombian farmers produce their coffee. Everyone was amazed at how much manual labour goes into coffee! The fact that coffee is grown in Asia (!) and that the market is flooded with cheap beans from there was also new to many.
At the end of the theoretical part, the students met in virtual group rooms to discuss in German-Spanish-Italian teams to what extent the problems of Colombian coffee farmers caused by climate change also concern us Europeans and what possibilities we all have to work on a solution. All groups agreed to pay more attention in the future to where and how the coffee beans they consume are produced, even if they have to pay more for a fairly produced coffee.
The crowning finale of the project day was a coffee tasting under the guidance of Valeria with three different varieties simultaneously in the project countries. We had previously packed coffee packages and sent them to our partner schools. Freshly brewed, the black energy source was tasted, sipped and gargled everywhere. Even die-hard tea drinkers could taste the differences in the varieties! Thank you Valeria for this unforgettable day!
„Borderless – Global Learning in Vocational Education and Training“ is a project of the World University Service (WUS) and is funded by the Free State of Bavaria, the Federal States of Baden-Württemberg, Brandenburg, Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland as well as by ENGAGEMENT GLOBAL on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). You can find more information about the project „Borderless“ here.