Paris, France
In a bold move to bring the roasting community more in line socially with the rest of the world, the French Association of Roasting Coffee (FARC) announced a new sponsorship opportunity for their roasting event this year. “We are very pleased to offer a Millennial Safe Space for roasters that are new to dealing with what can often be an unruly profession.” said Phillipe Hass-Nobales, spokesperson for the group.
Jetez la Vache known for being thought leaders in equality felt this was a natural fit for their brand as well as a natural step forward for the industry. You may remember last year when this socially forward group built their flagship ‘inclusive café’ that featured a menu board with no labels, gender neutral bathrooms without doors, and that design feature of no walls in the building (which later proved to be a bit of a magnet for thieves along with the self-serve cash registers).
This new feature of the roasters event will be designed by the Committee on Inclusion (Comm-I) of FARC. The space will include:
- A feeling wall where you can express any frustrations on a giant white/black board
- Free noise cancelling headphones and sleep masks to block out offensive experiences
- Referees wearing clearly identifiable uniforms to assist in conflict mitigations
- Bean bag chairs with hand-made quilts
- And a latte bar featuring only fair trade coffee and GMO-free mothers milk
A long debate ensued in Comm-I about the space needing walls or just a clearly defined chalk line on the ground. They settled on a half wall made of bubble wrap.
“Last year we incorporated the ‘every-ones-a winner’ contest and we continue in that proud tradition now with the Millennial Safe Space. We really want to thank Jetez la Vache for stepping up!” Said Haas-Nobales.
Story by Yuga Tobe Kidame