Fair trade cafe, MIntaru

      Fair trade cafe, MIntaru

I would like to introduce you to a café in Sapporo called Mintaru. This name came from the Ainu language, which means square or a place where people gather. Goods being sold in this shop are what people bought with fair prices from developing countries,fair trade. They sell a variety of foods from around the world such as Nepal curry.

The shop owner went to several Asian and African countries when she was a high school and university student. At that time, the poverty that spread in front of her made her think about if there was something she could do for poverty. Then she started to think about that seriously. As a result, she opened her own café in Sapporo. She thought she would be able to help producers suffering from poverty if she bought products from developing countries at a fair price.

She still goes to some developing countries in Asia and buys products in person, not in an online store because she wants to tell a lot of the stories behind the products that are sold in the shop.

Also, there is a space where you can hold an event or a workshop. These activities take place every day. This is another reason she wanted to open the café. You don’t have to pay any money to use the venue. Many people have made presentations or speeches there. For example, there was a student who wanted to talk about their experiences in other countries, and a woman who wanted to talk about her experience of giving birth at home.

There are only four tables there, so you tend to sit down with strangers. This creates an environment where everybody is talked to and gets along, even if you went there by yourself.

She wants you to come there freely and with an open mind so what you experience there encourages you to try something new.