How Captain Longhair saved the world is a movie about a man who wants to make a difference. When Haiti was hit by a devastating earthquake on January 12th 2010, captain Arjen van der Veen decided to load his cargo ship with aid supplies. Together with his eleven crew members he sails across the Atlantic ocean in a mission to help the people of Haiti.
Watch the trailer below and join the presentation of the movie by Maarten Kal in Amsterdam on June 12 and June 13.
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‘It takes a whole village to make one chocolate bar’
Deep in the tropical forest of the Caribbean Island Grenada is a perfect place to grow cocoa. When anarchist chocolate maker Mott Green arrived for the first time to Grenada, he saw both the enormous potential of cocoa and the large local unemployment (40%) and he came up with a revolutionary idea of creating a cooperative of organic cocoa farmers and to actually make chocolate in the tropics ‘the whole idea of the Grenada Chocolate company started to revolutionise the connection between cocoa farmers and making fine chocolate, to strenghten...
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After steady wind up to the English Channel, the crew of Tres Hombres was surprised to find almost no wind at all on their way into Portsmouth. This caused a delay of a few days, as they were ‘tacking’ every few hours to make as much progress as possible… On Monday we set out on a yaught to escort them into the harbor and a tugboat pushed them the last part because there really was no wind…
Exhausting last days for the crew before getting to the port and therefore an extra warm welcome upon arrival – friends and family waiting for them and many curious and interesting visitors.
A...
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The time that the Tres Hombres was in Grenada, the crew of the boat and the staff of the factory visited each other and got a grand tour on both locations. For the crew of the boat is was a nice trip inland, up to Hermitage in the North where the Grenada Chocolate factory is located, very near to Belmont Estate where the cocoa is fermented and dried - and across the road of the cocoa plantations...
After a 2 hour drive Mott showed them around - they had never seen so much cocoa beans all together - and in the factory they were all very interested in the production process - just see the look...
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Party time at the factory as the crew of the Tres Hombres/FairTransport and the people of the Grenada Chocolate Company celebrate together before the departure of the ship later that week.
After a grand tour of chocolate making in the factory and at Belmont Estate, the crew returns to the factory and the most delicious local food, is cooked on charcoal and served on banana leaves (!)
A lot of story telling, on wild sailor adventures, travels, organic cocoa farming and chocolate making. These two companies seem to have a lot in common in their way of doing business and doing good, however...
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Tonight is the night of the Milan Film Festival (MIFF) where the documentary Nothing Like Chocolate is nominated in the category of Best Documentary!
This documentary tells the message of hope in an an industry entrenched in enslaved child labor, irresponsible corporate greed, and tasteless, synthetic products. 'From currency to candy, chocolate reflects a rich history saturated with sacred ritual, endorphin highs, hip anti-oxidants, exotic sensuality and high quality luxury. Nothing Like Chocolate adds new depth to the stories of chocolate.'
Definitely see the trailer and look out for the documentary...
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Eerlijke chocolade zeilt uitstootvrij naar Amsterdam
Deze maanden vaart een historisch zeilschip met een bijzondere lading vanaf Grenada in de Cariben naar Amsterdam. De zeereis, die plaatsvindt van maart tot juni, is het eerste CO2-neutrale transatlantische chocoladetransport ooit. De aankomst in Amsterdam is op 6 juni 2012. Het schip, de schoenerbrik Tres Hombres, zal dan aanleggen bij Het Scheepvaartmuseum.
Aan boord van de Tres Hombres is 3 ton biologische chocolade (24.000 repen), geproduceerd door de Grenada Chocolate Company, een unieke ambachtelijke chocoladecoöperatie die chocolade...
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Week seven at sea has passed again and brings the ship very close to their first destination; Portsmouth UK. Winds have changed a couple of times and eventually turned for some 'racing towards home' as the end of the voyage is already coming near now. Read below about the highlights past week and find full texts on Mott's blog and the Tres Hombres blog;
'The Tres Hombres has a nice start now, moving swiftly along with a good breeze in a good direction toward Portsmouth, England for the big chocolate delivery.
Back in the 19th century this route, we take from the Azores to Europe, was often...
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The first time I heard that just 15 of the world's biggest ships emit as much pollution as all the world's 760m cars I was shocked. That is outrages! Pollution from ships is very little regulated. Shipping emissions have escalated in the past 15 years as China has emerged as the world's manufacturing capital. To ship all this cargo, a new intercontinental container ship has been developed which is extremely cost-efficient. However, it uses diesel engines as powerful as land-based power stations but with the lowest quality fuel.... I guess because we don't actually see it, so we don't know it. Other...
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The impressive beauty of the Brigatine Tres Hombres when sailing on open sea - especially in the scenery of the caribbean but also in Northerns seas;) - some video's show it all;
on the IJsselmeer (NL)
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