Once arriving in the Netherlands with very little sleep, we got right into our tours with a canal cruise around Amsterdam. We learned about how they regulate the water levels or move water through them using the lock and dam system. As we moved through the canals we got to see the many house boats that line them, so many of which had a truly impressive amount of plants on board and set along the deck. While these house boats used to be an affordable option for housing on the water several decades ago, they can now be sold for millions, in addition to fees that need to be paid to park along the canals.
After the canal tour we split into groups that switched between a walking tour and visiting a sustainable chocolate store while also getting to experience some classic dutch weather with some light rain that followed us around. The walking tour was full of interesting local history from an Amsterdam native which led to the chocolate store which was established with the help of a city initiative to bring businesses into certain areas of the city to make them more appealing.
The chocolate sold in the store is sourced from many small farms all over the world, that the owners have built relationships with. One of the most important ways the chocolate is ensured to be sustainable is to not grow it in a mono-culture, which can be a detriment to the trees as they grow best with some shade. By planting cacao among larger trees, farmers can grow food for themselves, ensure they don’t solely need to depend on cacao, and maintain the integrity of the soil to a greater degree. The chocolate bars themselves are sourced from small manufactures as well, such as local chocolate makers based in the Netherlands. Some of the chocolate bars not only utilized chocolate from smaller farms, but also were manufactured into bars in the same location, which is a rarity for the majority of the industry, but with this process, the country the cacao is sourced from experiences greater economic benefits from selling the end chocolate product.
The next day we got up to explore more of the city on our own and toured a workshop developing ways to produce denim clothes in a much more sustainable way that traditional manufacturing methods including utilizing ozone instead of bleach, innovating on stone washes and utilizing lazer engraving.
