How Travel has evolved and So should We
the Rise in “Fourth Wave” Mindset
The “waves of coffee” describes the stages of the industry as it evolved; popularised by Trish Rothgeb (formerly Skeie) in 2002 when she claimed the term “third wave”. Coffee culture is now up to its fourth wave; each wave building and not existing if not for its last respective wave. Here are the waves of coffee simplified and explained:
First Wave is purely a commodity when consumption and popularity is in its peak growth. Examples include instant coffee brands like Folgers and Nescafe.
Second Wave is when a culture develops around consumption. Starbucks is a great example as well as the growth of cafes and the social protocol of “grabbing a coffee.”
Trish R. Skeie said it best: “The third wave, in many ways, a reaction. It is just as much a reply to bad coffee as it is a movement toward good coffee.” Examples being speciality cafes emphasising quality and origin of beans.
Fourth Wave is driven by sustainability and responsible sourcing. Coffee connoisseurs are generally in direct contact with their coffee growers and the well-being of their growers is just as important as the quality and origin of the beans. A local example is Saffron Coffee Roasters of Laos.
Evolution of Travel
The waves terminology is not limited to the coffee industry, and it can actually be applied to just about any consumable including travel.
It is all about mindset; when applied to travel, these are the waves:
First Wave of travelling can be considered travelling purely for a job. As the world economies developed post-WWII, expats moved across the world.
Second Wave of travelling is to check boxes and destinations. This gave rise to travel blogs and travel influencers.
Third Wave of travelling are those who are seeking an authentic experience and connecting with locals. These travellers are those who engage with local guides for a better more involved travel experience.
Fourth Wave of travelling is putting the wellbeing of locals and the environment at the forefront. These travellers are those who travel to places and with companies who are responsible and directly improves the lives of those local people who would otherwise not have any source of income except for farming and fishing.
Fourth Wave mentality, when applied to anything, creates a better world for all.
In a round-about way, we are going back to the future. We have learned that bigger, faster, easier is not actually better.
And that the simple ways of just a couple generations back, had it right. It was not by choice, but it was sustainable, and quality was always more important than quantity. It is wild to think that in the 70s, most clothes were tailor-made to individuals, people would buy direct from their local farmer and only eat what was seasonally available. When convenience became the most important factor, we lost sight of what is truly important and what the true cost of any consumable is: the true cost always being paid through destruction of the environment in one way or another. We have take enough from Mother Earth and now, in this age of growing good will, we need to prioritise her health and her well-being.
As we move away from:
buying from the nearest grocery store and towards supporting local organic non-gmo growers for our food
buying fast fashion and from large chains towards supporting small business owners for our clothes and goodies;
commercial soaps and detergents towards non-toxic and natural ingredients for cleaning our homes and our bodies;
We should be doing the same for travel. When we travel, we need to:
Forge the path to future destinations and go where no one you know has been or heard of
Choose to travel slowly and deeply to understand other cultures and heritage
Always choose to support locally-owned businesses over major corporations
Chickenfeet Travels has made it easy
Simply put, Chickenfeet Travels operates with the fourth wave mentality. We are making it easy for our guests to choose different off the beaten path destinations, connect them with the guides we work with who have pioneered conscious travel in their region, and for our guests to fly back home with stories to tell.
Our adventures in touristy places like Bali, we choose to bring our guests to the north and west to experience how Bali was decades ago.
Our adventures in destinations with a trash problem, like Mt. Rinjani, we help the local community with sustainable solutions and hope to get back to a clean mountain
Our adventures in dive destinations, we work with responsible operators who support local customs and those who make a significant effort to protect the marine environment
Our adventures in off-beat destinations, we work with guides and drivers who work with local communities through inspired leadership to provide a better experience for guests and economic empowerment through simple wealth distribution
For our guests looking for a fully customised holiday, our wealth of knowledge and experience will be able to guide and direct them to an adventure perfectly designed for their unique travel style and interests.
Fourth wave travel and fourth wave work
We saw a glimpse of the fourth wave of work life balance forced upon us during the pandemic.
Employers had to adapt and had no choice but to trust that employees would continue to work diligently, despite being away from the office. We are hopeful that employers will continue to place importance on employee sanity and creativity by working remotely from anywhere around the world. There is no reason that we can’t spend a month surfing in Bali, or doing yoga twice a day, or exploring foreign cities for a month while remote working. If those people are out there, we are ready to support them fully; as long as they handle their 9-5, we can sprinkle daily and weekend adventures as much as their hearts desire.
When employers treat employees with respect and trust rather than helicopter parenting them at work, employees are always seen to perform better, and the overall productivity of companies always rises.
