It’s due time that we update you on what Kalsada has been up to. Since our initial project and website launch back in April, we’ve continued to establish partnerships and solidify our plans for the Philippines. The biz dev team has been busy behind the scenes fleshing out our project scope and we are excited to announce the next phase of our journey, including fiscal sponsorship support from Angels for Angels, a Washington State-based nonprofit dedicated to nurturing local social entrepreneurs.
And the big news: I will be leaving for the Philippines at the end of the month to conduct on-the-ground research and continue to build strong local partnerships. In January, I will finally get to meet Lacy in person as she will be joining me in the Philippines. This is when the fun coffee tasting and roasting happens! We also plan to have established formal relationships with farmers at this time. This next phase for us in the Philippines is all about assessing the needs of coffee consumers and producers, knowledge that we realized we sorely needed as we tried to plan an Indiegogo campaign this past summer. After we complete our research, we’ll be in the strongest position possible for really launching our Indiegogo campaign next year.
To kick off this next chapter for Kalsada, we’re inviting all our Seattle-based supporters to join us on Saturday, October 19 for our launch party 2.0, a fundraiser to support our first few months of research and partnership-building in the Philippines. Details will be announced here on the blog tomorrow.
And if you currently live in Paris, there will be a launch party at a later date. We’ll update you when the date is finalized!