About the Cafe
The society’s aim shall be to set up and run a community centre in Cambridge which:
- Is an inclusive, welcoming space governed and defined by its users, which nurtures a supportive, participatory community among members.
- Organises events that foster communication, interaction and exchange between diverse groups across the university and the wider Cambridge community, including students and local residents, youths and adults, and people of different cultures and beliefs.
- Provides an example of a successful social enterprise and inspires, supports and advises social entrepreneurship in the community.
- Encourages collaborative thinking and the exploration of ideas between and beyond disciplinary boundaries.
- Collaborates with existing community groups in Cambridge that can benefit from a regular space for meetings and events and from interaction with other groups and the wider community.
- Runs a not-for-profit, non-alcoholic, volunteer-run café that is affordable and open in the evenings.
- Considers ethical principles in the sources of funding sought, the investment of funds and the food and drink served.
Our full constitution can be viewed here.
History
(Emilia's subjective, personal version)
In my first year in Cambridge I felt a real lack of a space where people met each other, and had conversations beyond drunkenly pretending they could hear each other's jokes above the loud music in the college bar. I went to visit a friend who is studying in Edinburgh, and who was involved with a small, volunteer-run cafe there, called Harlequin. I spent two days hanging out in Harlequin, fell in love with the place, and wished that we had one in Cambridge. Edinburgh is also home to the Forest Cafe, www.theforest.org.uk a space based in the university, run by volunteers, and full of art, music and events.
With this inspiration in the back of my mind I went back to Cambride, made some real friends, and talked about the importance of social space for student activism at the 2006 Camp for Climate Action (www.climatecamp.org.uk), in August 2006. In January 2007, Thomas and I called an open meeting for anyone in Cambridge interested in creating a Community Cafe space. About 20 people turned up to that first meeting, and for the rest of that year, we organised mobile 'cafes' catering at events and publicising the project, and did some research into what we would need to do to set up a permanent cafe. This included a visit to the Basement in Manchester (http://thebasement.clearerchannel.org/new/)
In May Week (a week at the end of June when Cambridge students have finished their exams and revel in decadence of balls and garden parties), Paloma, a Jesus College architecture student invited the Cafe Project to run a Cafe in the Forum, a disused shopping centre behind our current Jesus Lane location which she'd been given permission to open to students for music, cinema, workshops and other events for 4 days.
Following the success of our May Week cafe, the Jesus College Master vaguely gave us permission to continue to use the space in the longer term. However, sadly this was not possible for various legal, planning permission and health and safety reasons.
This rejection was by no means the end of the Cafe Project's story, however. Persistence paid off, and Jesus College has very kindly allowed us to use 22 Jesus lane for the Cafe, until they claim the space back and absorb it into their plan of developing a new hotel. Paloma's arty story has also got a happy ending, and she and Lewis have now opened 'The Shop' as an art studio space where they also run events including film nights and open mics, just down the road, at number 18.
No doubt this story will be continued/revised/added to by other people, as the Cafe evolves and develops a dramatic history...
Cambridge Local Secrets Review:
If you happen to be wandering along Jesus Lane one evening, you could come across a friendly, colourful sign at number 22 saying 'Café Open'.
Opening its doors in May 2008, its aim is to provide an inclusive, welcoming space, which organises events that foster communication and action between local
| A friendly welcoming space that is part left wing anarchist squat, and part primary school |
groups, and between town and gown, in the form of an evening not-for-profit volunteer-run café. It had been planned since May 2007, renting a space owned by Jesus College. Unusually for a mostly student-run venue, no alcohol is served.
Stepping inside its combination of bright yellow walls and the shelves of books, together with the posters and slogans on the walls, give the impression of friendly, welcoming space that is part left wing anarchist squat, and part primary school.
Its stock in trade is tea and cake, which during term time is made in baking workshops. Far from being just the predictable English Breakfast tea, their enviable selection of teas included decaffeinated black, green, roobios, camomile, peppermint, rosemary, raspberry and thyme - all Fair Trade, of course. On our visit, the friendly volunteers who were on hand that evening took pains to explain that everything was Fair Trade. In addition, the only milk they had available was soya milk, demonstrating their efforts to cater for vegetarians. Adding to the homely ambiance, tea is served in china mugs.
Visitors can sit on one of an enchantingly motley collection of chairs and tables, including the prime position stripy armchair near the window. The walls are decorated with poetry and art from various workshops held at the space, and, there are even hand screen printed t-shirts with teapots on them for sale. The range of books on the trolley was also an eclectic mixture, with both The Encyclopaedia of Transport and Alan Garner's Elidor available during our visit.
The volunteers were extremely inclusive, and very keen to hear our input on where the project could lead in the future. More than a café, the Café Project is a community space, where local groups can meet. Over the summer of 2008, evenings include letter-writing for Amnesty International and a session hosted by Transition Towns, who are involved in planning towards a carbon-neutral Cambridge in response to climate change.
On Fridays, the cafe is currently open all day by Naarii, who decorate the cafe and raise money for the Lesbian Association of India. On Sundays, it is used for tango classes. The space has also been used by the Cambridge branch of the CND, and as it grows and develops, is hoped to be used by further groups and activities.
As it is totally staffed by volunteers, it's best to check 'the website before your visit
, as to some extent the cafe opening is dependent on staff availability. And as it's currently in the planning and development stages, expect more changes in the future. In the meantime, forget Starbucks, the Café Project is a unique and friendly place where you'll receive a warm welcome, homemade cake, and the cheapest cuppa in town.