The Banana of Guadeloupe & Martinique will organize its own “KM 97” event at the Tour de France on Thursday, July 1st 2021. “KM 97” is a charitable and solidarity operation, and a wink to its departments of origins: Guadeloupe (971) and Martinique (972).
The first edition was held last year at stage 14 (Clermont-Ferrand-Lyon), in the municipality of Châtelneuf. It helped collect more than 8,500 Bananas of Guadeloupe & Martinique for the Food Banks. This year’s edition will benefit the Restos du Coeur charity.
“Solidarity is a strong value for the Banana of Guadeloupe & Martinique, even more so in these times of crisis. The event will allow us to continue our partnership with the Restos du Coeur, a charitable organization we’ve been supporting for several years,” explains Pierre Monteux, director of the Union of Banana producers of Guadeloupe and Martinique (UGPBAN).
Like last year, the challenge will be to collect the largest number of bananas for the association by different means:
Via an Instagram live stream. David Voinson, rising stand-up comedian, will present the KM 97 live: each view = 1 banana offered
On the town hall square, a photo event for the inhabitants of the municipality: each photo = 1 banana offered to each cyclist who passes the KM 97 in Ecueillé = 100 bananas offered
All the Bananas of Guadeloupe & Martinique collected will be offered to the Restos du Coeur charity of Indre-et-Loire.
For the Tour de France, Ecueillé puts the banana on the map
• The carnival group Ethnic’97 will entertain the public on the town hall square of Ecueillé, before and after the passage of the cyclists.
• 60 banana trees will be displayed in town.
• All the local children will be invited to participate in the “KM 97” event by taking part in an activity around biodiversity. Elementary and secondary school students will also be introduced to the history and culture of the French banana, thanks to educational materials (Le Petit Quotidien cards created with publisher Play Bac for elementary school children and a game booklet for secondary school children).
For the occasion, Jean-Christophe Michelet, twice world champion of Confituriers 2019 and native of Châteauroux, will create a special jam from bananas of Guadeloupe & Martinique, with no added sugar.
The municipality of Ecueillé and its inhabitants were very positive about honoring the Banana of Guadeloupe & Martinique, getting involved in making it a successful event.
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