In June 2026 we attended the Kessel Festival in Stuttgart for the third time. Visitors could donate the deposit on their drink cups to support our work. Despite the unusual heat, the support was tremendous: thanks to these donations, 500 new trees will now be planted in the tropics!
The highest June temperatures ever recorded in Baden-Württemberg and the cancellation of the second day of the Kessel Festival showed that the impacts of climate change have already reached Stuttgart.
What Fairventures Worldwide’s partner organizations in Uganda and Indonesia have been experiencing for years – heat stress, changing rainfall patterns, and increasingly extreme weather – is now becoming increasingly noticeable in Europe as well.
Cup Deposits Plant Trees – Three Cup Deposits Fund One Tree
Equipped with collection bins and signs, our mobile teams collected more than 1,200 reusable cups with refundable deposits. Never before has it been so clear how important trees and cooling are for people.
The refundable deposit from just three drink cups, that is €6, is enough to plant a tree and support its long-term growth, including training and support for local people.
This year’s donations will support the next planting season in Uganda. There, the seedlings will be planted together with smallholder farmers as part of sustainable agroforestry systems. In tropical regions, trees grow much faster than in Central Europe, allowing them to store carbon sooner, stabilize the soil, and strengthen local ecosystems.
When Small Contributions Make a Big Difference
For years, the Kessel Festival has been committed to sustainability, including the use of green electricity, reusable materials, and the Übermorgenmarkt, a platform for forward-looking ideas.
Whether in pouring rain or extreme heat, since 2024 our amazing volunteers have helped collect more than 11,000 reusable cups at the Kessel Festival. A huge thank you for your incredible support! Thanks to this initiative, enough donations were raised to support the planting of around 2,200 trees. The corresponding seedlings were planted during the planting season following each Kessel Festival.
“We received a lot of positive feedback. Many visitors appreciated that we were there on site, especially at this time – for a good cause and for the climate. The heat once again made it very clear why we need to take action,” says Anja Chrzanowska, Partnerships Manager at Fairventures Worldwide.
By the way: Anja spoke with Stadtkind Stuttgart about why the Kessel Festival is one of her highlights and which small changes she has integrated into her everyday life to make it more sustainable. You can find the article (paywall) here: