Alumnus Ethan Frisch ‘08, co-founder and co-CEO of Burlap & Barrel was guest lecturer for Associate Dean Kevin Foster’s class on “Sustainability of High Value Crops.”
The interdisciplinary class, co-taught by faculty from Earth and Atmospheric Science and Economics and Business, considers the impacts of climate change upon various crops, including coffee, chocolate, olives, wine, and different spices. Frisch brought a selection of spices for the class to taste while he explained the challenges of farmers adapting to new climatic conditions as well as U.S. tariff policies. Burlap & Barrel, which was started in 2016, has delivered more than one million pounds of spices from producers around the world. One of their first products was cumin from Afghanistan where these purchases support women workers.
Many of the students in the class had never tried (or even heard of) some of the spices, such as cardamom or saffron. They enjoyed a selection from the sweetness of royal cinnamon to the tang of black urfa pepper. Thanks to Frisch’s generosity, they all took home a full bottle of one of the spices.
The class trains students about some of the business and economics of the spice trade as well as topics such as agronomy, soil biogeochemistry, water resources and remote sensing techniques — some students even had an opportunity to qualify for drone pilot license.
Colin Powell School communications associate and CCNY BIC alumnus Jose Alvarado, photographing the event, said “Seeing cinnamon ‘for the first time’ was interesting. This is such a cool class, and Ethan’s company mission is very inspiring for students!”
