Then there was chocolate…and it really helped!

Judy Logback (above, with work from the collective) and Leonor Cayapa will share the story (and skills) of their cooperative next week on the island....

Linda from the Slow Food Land & Sea Cooperative has a great presentation series ahead, starting next week on Tuesday – here’s the deal:

Making chocolate...

I wanted to let you know about about visitors we are bringing to the island from Ecuador’s Kallari Cacao and Chocolate Cooperative.

Judy Logback is an activist and the founder of the Kallari Cooperative. Judy will be traveling with a young Ecuadorean woman of the Kichwa tribe, Leonor Cayapa, a cacao grower and chocolate maker who is also the financial director of the Kallari Cooperative. Marion Melville and Doug Bison have generously made their Bison Guest House available for the visit.

Judy and Leonor will be giving a presentation about the Kallari Cooperative at the Friday Harbor Library on Tuesday, October 18 from 10:30 am to 12 noon, sponsored by Land & Sea Friday Harbor Slow Food Chapter.

They will talk about the cooperative, sustainable farming practices and fair labor practices used by the cooperative’s farmers, the improved environmental changes, and improvements in the local economy after formation of the cooperative. They’ll be talking about lessons from the formation of the cooperative that our islanders can relate to. They will also talk about the making of chocolate, and Judy and Leonor will also have chocolate to sample.

Leonor speaks primarily Spanish and the Kichwa language. Judy will also speak and interpret.

The public is welcome, and the presentation is free. (Donations will be happily accepted from anyone wishing to help defray the cost of the chocolate.) This will be an incredible presentation!

Thanks to Adrienne Bourne, library program director, for helping us to arrange this visit. For more information, go to the current events calendar for October 18.

Leonor and Judy will also be giving a truffle making workshop Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 18 from 1:30 – 4:30. Class size is 14 people. Class is already filling fast, but some spaces are still available. Cost is $25 to cover cost of materials and travel. Call Linda at 317-5890 and leave a message with contact info if youwould like to take the class.

Monday, Judy and Leonor will be visiting Friday Harbor High School Spanish language, current events, and cooking classes, also sponsored by Land & Sea Slow Food chapter. FHHS’s wonderful and energetic Spanish teacher, Brook Landers, helped schedule Monday’s visit and will be our Kallari visitor’s main ambassador during their visit, along with Linda.

Monday evening, Judy and Leonor will do a Kallari chocolate tasting/demo at the SJ Community Co Op sponsored by Land & Sea and the SJ Co Op. Caffe Femenino coffee will also be available, sponsored by the Soroptimists.

Wednesday Oct. 19,  Judy and Leonor hope to go to the Community Dinner at the High School, which should be delicious! The dinner will be prepared with many local ingredients, by the Chef 101 and 201 culinary students, and Liz, Andy, and Ruthie Paull and her class. (With the help of students we hope to harvest the Ozette potatoes now growing in the Land & Sea Youth/Community garden across from the school for this dinner. Let’s hope for no rain!)

Judy and Leonor have a Kallari event Thursday morning in Seattle and must leave that morning on the early ferry, so their attendance at the Community dinner depends on the ferries running on schedule. (Let’s also hope the ferries are running on time by then!) Thanks to Brook Landers, Ruthie Paull, Jim McNairy, and Liz, this will be a great visit for our high school kids!

You can support the San Juan Update by doing business with our loyal advertisers, and by making a one-time contribution or a recurring donation.