9-1-11

 

The crew at Counter Culture Coffee Chicago recently welcomed 5,000 or so wiggly new co-workers to their location in the form of worms to compost coffee grounds. "Counter Culture Coffee Chicago's venture into vermiculture represents not only a tangible way to achieve real sustainability in the life cycle of our coffee," says Counter Culture Chicago's Josh Dugue, "but also a way for us to connect with and support the gardeners and farmers of greater Chicago, as well as provide an introduction to organic soil building in our training center."

 

Having teamed with Amber from The Urban Worm Girl for on-site logistics, Josh and colleague Rich Futrell are working to finding a local, urban agriculture project to use the nutrient-rich compost generated by the worms.

 

"In the end, it's very simple," adds Josh, "Coffee is an agricultural jewel that flies under most people's radar. Many consume it and never really consider the amount of care and toil the farmers put into providing us with an excellent product. Vermiculture gives us an easy way to take the coffee conversation back to the farm and the importance of organic agriculture."

 

Read the full story in the Our Footprint portion of our Sustainability coverage and view our Vermiculture at Counter Culture Coffee Chicago slideshow on flickr.

 

Thanks,
Nathan