Lavazza and Slow Food have
teamed up to promote the African defenders of mother earth. The
2015 edition of the Italian coffee maker's holiday calendar is
focused on African members of Slow Food's global network.
The portraits of 12 activists for sustainable, regional
agriculture were shot by American photographer Steve McCurry
under the art direction of Italian advertising agency Armando
Testa.
There is Nadia, a champion of argan oil in Morocco, and
John, the guardian of Lare squash in Kenya. Asnakech holds vigil
over the coffee plantations in Ethiopia.
The portraits are on show from Thursday through Monday at
Slow Food's Salone del Gusto food fair and Terra Madre food
conference in Turin.
The calendar ends with the image of children in the school
run by Father Peter, in Tanzania. The photo shows them throwing
coffee beans in celebration, symbols of a possible future.
The 2015 calendar marks the first time Lavazza will put them
on sale - albeit a limited edition - to support a project that
aims to finance 10,000 vegetable gardens in Africa.
The 10,000 Vegetable Gardens project will also be promoted
on the calendar Web site Calendar2015.lavazza.com. The Web site
invites people to become Earth Defenders making donations in
favor of the African garden project, or to promote the cause on
social network channels with the hashtag #earthdefenders.
''To defend the product, quality and sustainable
development are the values on which our collaboration with Slow
Food is based,'' said Francesca Lavazza, the corporate image
director of Lavazza.
Eighty percent of the company's coffee production is in the
hands of 25 million small growers who own less than two hectares
of land. Counting the supply chain, Lavazza coffee production
helps support 100 million people.
''It is no longer possible to tolerate denying African
communities food sovereignty over themselves,'' said Carlo
Petrini, president and founder of Slow Food.
''Defending the earth is an imperative for everyone. If we
do not defend it, we do injustice to the generations to come. We
are destroying what our fathers left us,'' added Petrini.
The creative team for the calendar, McCurry said, wanted to
portray their subjects' dedication to the defense of their food
communities.
McCurry added that it would be a shame if their unique
traditions disappeared.
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