For those who wander why I’m in Nicaragua and what exactly I’m doing, here is a small explanation. I came here supported by UTZ Certified. UTZ is a not-for-profit international organization based in Amsterdam that stands for making sustainable farming the norm. You would recognize the certification by the small UTZ logo on coffee, tea or chocolate packing. Why Nicaragua you might think? A lot coffee consumed in the Netherlands and the rest of the world comes from Latin America. During this trip I met many farmers and other people who are involved in the process of producing coffee. The sustainable coffee farming has a big influence on these communities. It gives farmers more control over their own life and the decisions they make. They are well informed about their rights and it protects their natural resources. During this trip I realized how responsible consuming influences the lives of entire families and communities. So far it has been very touching. Thank you for following this journey with me.

 ’‘What are you doing?“

”..Candy..“

“He was found on the side of the road. Now he is like family to us.”

“We were fed up with making meaningless TV programs so we both decided to quit our jobs. We came up with the idea to travel the world in 365 days and to meet a stranger a day. Every day we shoot a small clip and ask that stranger for their story. I call it ‘the pursuit of humanity’ but Carl thinks that sounds a bit dicky. So far we have traveled to more then 20 countries and shot over 200 docobites.”
“What has been biggest struggle so far?”
“When you have been filming all day long and you post that clip online and it goes completely unnoticed. We don’t like to complain about it because this is the best thing that has ever happened to us but it can be pretty tough sometimes.
’‘What have learned from this journey so far?”
“That whatever your passion or dream is, life doesn’t become easier when you choose to pursue those dreams. In fact it becomes harder because suddenly you do something you actually care about. But In the same time everything you do does become fuller of meaning”

I met Carl and Epiphany about a week ago they stopped by Amsterdam for their project 365 docobites. As an independent blogger/photographer I know how hard it can be to survive sometimes. They shot this clip of me while I was working and I can only say that they did an amazing job. Thank you both so much!

Here is the link of the docobite they made about Humans of Amsterdam:
http://365docobites.com/post/100011927312/humans-of-amsterdam-if-we-are-strangers-its

“About 5 years ago my neighbour ran into my kitchen screaming that something had happened to her son. I didn’t understand what was going on so I followed her to the barn. When I entered the barn, her 13 year old son had hanged himself to a rope. From that moment everything slowed down. I felt like it was surreal and time had stopped. The sound of her scream is something that will be stuck in my memory for the rest of my life. When the ambulance arrived everything went terribly fast. When they took him away from her, I didn’t leave her side and helped arranging the funeral. After the funeral my world fell apart. Every time I came home and entered my door I was afraid I would find my own son hanging on a rope. At some point my fears started to control my mind. My son noticed my fears. I remember this one night my son came up to me and said. ‘Mum, don’t worry. I’m a fighter, I will never give up.’ ”

“When I traveled through Thailand I got completely blown away by the performance of a young woman who was dancing with fire. I had always felt like an artist but I never really had my way to express myself. After my journey I gave up my job as a flight attendant to become a hula-hoop fire dancer.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEUi-UcOAhA&feature=youtu.be