Laugh, I have fun here because it’s all about talking to people about coffee, as I walk through the door, it’s all about coffee tasting. I see people who are inquisitive about the types of coffees we have, the teas and all. I just have fun with all of it. It’s the people I meet here that bring entertainment and spice to my life.What do you find as a major form of entertainment here in Abuja?
Coffee promotes entertainment. We have over 56 types of coffee here and People who are lovers of it come, they go on different rounds of testing, coffee and jazz unplug series, we engage with each other while the artists who mostly don’t have the multi naira contracts perform because we have a lot of talent in this country. We promote a lot of artists, book readings, video shoots, pictures and all. There is a lot of entertainment with coffee here.Why the term let’s have a chat over a cup of coffee?
We live in a technological age where everyone is always on their phones, coffee inspires conversation. When you get involved with coffee, its beyond just drinking it, you do a lot of coffee tasting, you smell it and learn to engage your senses to get the best one that suits your buds. Here we have staff who do a lot of Altai art where they design stuff on top of the coffee with different forms of designs, all this takes skills. All these are the fun and entertainment people have when it comes to Coffee. It’s called the coffee experience.Let’s talk about you
Am from Sicily, married to an Igbo man here in Nigeria with two kids. Been in Nigeria for over 20 years and I love the culture. It has made me the woman I am today. Nigeria has taught me patience, endurance, and gratitude. I was fortunate to have lived on almost every continent of the world, but Nigeria is different so I settled in and for me it’s all about making change in Nigeria and giving back to the youths especially those who work for me.
Talking about morality, as a mother and a woman who has traveled far and also tasted the Nigerian soil, what advice do you have for the youths particularly the ladies?
It is all about self-worth, a lady needs to know that she is worth something, she is somebody and she is worth more than selling her body for survival. I know it’s easier said than done but what I think is that, youths need to be more proactive and find ways to get into a door and never to take no for an answer. It is more valuable than putting yourself out there, I don’t believe a woman enjoys sleeping with 10 men a day. A woman needs to realize that she is valuable.
Any plans for youths?
I believe Nigeria is about youth empowerment and that the road is on. We are working on the Women Coffee Association and with the passion it will drive us to success. With the International Coffee Festival coming up next year which I have planned. We have put up different platforms where we want women to be farmers where we teach women how to be coffee farmers and we will teach them how to farm coffee, process, and produce. The money that we make from it, we will build schools in their community.
Final word