When Entrepreneurship, Coffee and Community Collide
A fireside chat with Sarina Prabasi, author of
The Coffeehouse Resistance
Join Vibe Coworks and the Kitsap Regional Library for a profoundly inspirational fireside chat with Sarina Prabasi, entrepreneur and author of The Coffeehouse Resistance: Brewing Hope in Desperate Times.
Fueled by coffee (and tea!) and moderated, this is will be a passionate conversation about building community, claiming home and fighting for our dreams.
Copies of Sarina’s book will be available for purchase and signing on-site.
PROGRAM
2:00pm | doors open + coffee and tea
2:15pm | fireside chat, followed by Q+A
3:15pm | coffee, book signings, mix + mingle
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sarina Prabasi is the cofounder of Buunni Coffee in New York City, author of The Coffeehouse Resistance: Brewing Hope in Desperate Times (Green Writers Press, April 2019) and CEO of WaterAid America. She was born in the Netherlands, raised in India, China and Nepal, and spent formative years in the United States and Ethiopia. Following a career leading initiatives in global health, education, water and sanitation, Sarina moved with her husband, Elias, from Addis Ababa to New York City, where they started Buunni Coffee together. Today, Buunni is a thriving business and a hub for community conversation and action. Find her on Twitter @SPrabasi.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Part coming-to-America story, part lyrical memoir, and yet another part activist’s call to action, The Coffeehouse Resistance: Brewing Hope in Desperate Times is timely, funny, and poignant. Writing as a mother, immigrant, new American, coffeehouse owner, and international nonprofit leader, Prabasi’s story weaves between Nepal, Ethiopia, and the United States.
When Prabasi and her husband move from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to New York City with their young daughter in 2011, they start a thriving coffee business, grow their family, and are living their American Dream. After the 2016 election, they are suddenly unsure about their new home.
Reclaiming the tradition of coffeehouses throughout history, their coffeehouses become a hub for local organizing and action. Moving from despair to hope, this story is ultimately about building community, claiming home, and fighting for our dreams.