Historic trade route re-opened to deliver groceries by sailboat

The Vermont Sail Freight Project is aiming to re-open a trade route between New York and Vermont in order to deliver local, non-perishable foods to those living along its path — without the need for oil.

The Slow Food movement has for a while now been hoping to provide an alternative to fast food, which can sacrifice quality and social responsibility for speedy delivery and profit. The Vermont Sail Freight Project is now aiming to re-open a trade route between Vermont and New York in order to deliver local, non-perishable foods to those living along its path — without the need for oil.

Led by Erik Andrus, the scheme was successfully funded through a Kickstarter campaign earlier in the year, which raised enough money to begin building the vessel. The 39-foot barge will be capable of carrying 15 tonnes of canned and pickled food, rice, flour and root vegetables over the 300-mile journey, which will stop at various seafronts along the way. Although the project does away with many of the trappings of modern goods delivery, customers wanting to purchase from the boat will be able to track its route on the VSFP website using GPS, as well as keep up with its travels through social media and email newsletters. The barge completed its first voyage on October 27th, and the video below shows the boat in action:

Much like the ‘fair transport’ Gru Grococo chocolate bar — which is also transported by engine-less ship — the Vermont Sail Freight Project is taking the idea to a larger scale, hoping to prove that non-perishable food doesn’t need to be transported at rapid speeds using oil and contributing carbon emissions into the environment. Could you help get this initiative off the ground?

Spotted by Murray Orange, written by Springwise