When I was asked to join The Lucy Foundation Board of Trustees, the one thing I knew about the Foundation was that it aims to do good through coffee.
Having called Wellington home for over a year now, I love coffee! In fact, the first thing I noticed when I moved here were the vast amount of coffee shops and roasteries – the apartment I moved into is basically on top of one!
Being a wheelchair user, going for coffee, and enjoying it, involves some planning.
First, I need to be able to get into the place easily. Second, there needs to be enough space inside to move to and from the counter and seating areas easily. Third, the staff need to be willing to accommodate my mode of transport without making a huge deal of things. And last but not least, of course, the coffee needs to be good!
One place which ticks all of these boxes and hence, one of my favourite cafes in Wellington is Flight Coffee Hangar. I love all the different mixes of beans available and the card explaining the flavours that comes with them. The cold brew, particularly the iced mocha, is great too. And when it comes to food, there’s plenty of tasty options to accompany a coffee, from homemade brioche to bagels to burgers.
Importantly, I find the Hangar easy to get in and out of and to move around in, and I’ve always found the service to be very good. Staff are quick to move chairs so I can park my own, without making me feel like I am in the way, and fulfil extra requests (like straws) no questions asked.
I have also been lucky enough to drink some great coffee while traveling. Most recently, I went to South Africa where Truth Coffee in Cape Town was a particular stand-out. The taste, service and cafe layout were all top-notch. In fact, Truth was recently rated as the “best coffee shop in the world” by the Telegraph!
While I obviously enjoy the taste of coffee and the feeling of being in a nice cafe, I enjoy the social aspect of it most; not much beats catching up with a friend over a well-made latte. Doing so also makes me think about where my coffee comes from; who farms it, roasts it, grinds it, makes it – and what their lives are like.
This is part of the reason I am so excited to be a trustee of The Lucy Foundation.
I love the focus on diversity, inclusion, empowerment and human rights through sustainable trade.
I am looking forward to contributing my skills and experience in human rights while also learning about what I can do to ensure diversity and inclusion is seen as a positive thing for business – over a cup of coffee of course.
Erin Gough is a Human Rights Specialist at New Zealand Human Rights Commission in Wellington, New Zealand. She has a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.), Human Rights Laws, from the University of Canterbury and is also on The Lucy Foundation Board of Trustees.
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