Sail cargo and the acceptance of uncertainty

Since loading in Porto on to the Fairtransport ship Nordlys at beginning of May, our first sail cargo shipment of olive oil and wine has become well travelled. First to the west coast of France where it was joined by the finest sea salt, fleur de sel, from Noirmoutier. Then on to Blankenberge in Belgium where the Nordlys was due for a sail festival; now back to the South West and Torquay where the cargo has been unloaded and transferred for delivery to Newhaven. From Newhaven we’re still hopeful of finding a vessel and captain to help us complete, for the very first time, a full sail powered journey all the way from Porto to London. Until our own barge, the Raybel, is restored we will be using these shared links and ambitions to bring sail freight into the city.

To us, this pace and uncertainty is all part of the sail cargo story, marking a contrast to the values of convenience, ever-availability and fixed discipline that characterise modern logistics chains. It returns us to an understanding of how working within the patterns of wind and weather, and - ultimately - within the limits of our natural world, can sometimes mean an acceptance of uncertainty, of a need for adaptability, even of inconvenience. We like to get customers involved in following the journey of the products they have bought and will enjoy. In that way, we make the port arrival – when it finally comes – an event and a celebration.

Once here we will be distributing the olive oil and wine through links we’ve established over the last few weeks with Kings Cross Food Assembly, OrganicLea and – our very first customer - Global Generation, an educational charity that works in Kings Cross and Rotherhithe. One of Global Generation’s projects is the wonderful Skip Garden on the Kings Cross development site – and that’s where we’ve made our first olive oil sale. The Skip Garden is using the olive oil in their café, and at a ‘Sail Cargo Supper’ that we’re fixing for August.

Much sooner – this coming week-end – we’re delighted  the Skip Garden is also including our sail freighted olive oil in a ‘sensory banquet’ they are helping to prepare for the British Library’s ‘Under Her Eye – Women and Climate Change’ event being staged by arts organisation Invisible Dust. The banquet is being created by artist Gayle Chong Kwan, around the theme of a ‘crossroads’ in our food and lifestyle choices – a perfect stage for the sail cargo adventure.