Today following a very restful sleep we embarked upon day two of our journey in the Netherlands. We began by eating a quite tasty breakfast to prepare for our long day of walking and activities. First, we took an hour-long canal cruise that gave us insight into early Amsterdam and the houses that lined the street. Specifically interesting were the gable stones, these colorfully painted pieces that were above doorways were meant as house numbers before they existed, and literacy rates were high. The gable stones have a picture that depicts the occupation of the person that lives in the house. It was also interesting to hear about the pulley hooks attached to the outside of Amsterdam homes which were used to load the homes which were formally warehouses because the homes were so narrow. This showed the Netherlands ingenuity when working around the barrier of their narrow houses, especially considering the houses had to be narrow due to spacing and because house width correlates with wealth.

This is an example of a gable stone that represents the owner of the house was a grass cutter.

Following our canal cruise, we were able to go get lunch, after wandering around for a while we settled upon getting coffee as we were not hungry. I got an espresso to hopefully jumpstart me and prepare me for the second half of the day. For the second half of the day, we visited Cacao and Spice a chocolate shop that specializes in chocolate from organizations with fair pay and treatment of employees, production in the country of cacao farms and choosing practices that were against child labor. We first went on a tour with one of the owners and were given insight into how the Netherlands contributes towards sustainability and an interesting predicament it put itself in. The city which fishes some 15,000 bikes out of the canals a year using a special boat and crane had apparently dug too much near the canal walls. As a result, the canal walls began to fall inward and crumble leading to the need for a multimillion-dollar project and the need for metal enclosed beds of dirt which are decorated with flours to hide the issue from tourists.

In the store of Cacao and Spice we were able to try numerous kinds of chocolate, ranging from dark chocolate to milk chocolate. These chocolates were from Rwanda, South America and even Amsterdam, we even had the opportunity to have a piece of a Carolina reaper chocolate bar which is both a first and last for me. We discussed the sustainability and issues with the harvesting of cacao, what seemed most interesting to me was the waste that the process created. The cacao fruit with a sweet fleshy inside and husk like exterior was disposed of after the cacao beans are extracted. One of the owners stated that farmers could gain 30% more profits if they chose to use the rest of the fruit. The pulp can be used in drinks as well as cacao butter, the outer shell of the cacao bean is being used as a type of leather as well. Tasting chocolate like this gave me an appreciation for the biodiversity that each of these cacao trees were surrounded by as I tasted fruits, nuts and more in all different types of chocolates that did not have a monoculture. Sadly, chocolate such as this are much more expensive in the United States. Additionally, the owner spoke about the dangers of some nonprofits and how not all sustainable efforts that are advocated for are truly the best. This green washing (as we called it in marketing class) deceptively leads us to believe that this is the best way to help. Instead in both sustainability and closing the profit gap for those nations like Africa that produce the most cacao, it is best to support this business. These small businesses will invest in their people, their people their country and they slowly build up their own communities. The concept behind Cacao and Spice is delivering quality chocolate that is from a legitimate source into delicious chocolate that can be targeted at both chocolate lovers and those looking for a step above fair trade.

Afterwards we had plenty of free time which we spent walking around the rest of Amsterdam. Stopping by a few stores and into a few giftshops, we also explored the streets more and walked past all of the crowded plazas. Tomorrow, we have an early wake up to go and see the flower auction which will be very interesting.