Ubuntu coffee kombi - share the love

Fundraiser UPDATE!!!

We come to you all-smiles to let you know that so far this little fundraiser has tallied R11 800 and has gifted caffeine joy to many hard working souls passing through the Langa taxi terminal and beyond.

As previously explained each ticket bought a surprise cup of UBUNTU coffee for a fellow Capetonian, often citizens who were returning to work ahead of the rest of us to perform desperately needed services during lockdown. Unathi really enjoyed gifting cups of caffeinated goodness to security officers working late shifts through the last throes of last winter.

And none of this would have been possible without YOU!

It has been so wonderful to feel the love for this little project and we want to express our deepest gratitude to everyone who donated.

Of course the OTHER main aim of the fundraiser was to help realise Unathi's dream of a mobile coffee cart... and, well folks, we've saved the best bit for last.

Please meet the dreamiest vintage Kombi waiting for her final renovation at Erf81. She’s pretty in pink, a little la Vie en Rose, and it’s all thanks to you.

That’s right! We bought a Kombi, all of us together, Ubuntu style! Thank you, thank you, thank you thank you!!!!

Now we move onto phase 2: turning this pastel princess into a fully-caffeinated koffee kweeeeen ..... using as much upcycled material as possible and employing a skilled craftsman. With the economy as it is every little bit is important.

We know its been a long 2 years of covid-life and the fatigue is real, but we want to gently ask for your help. Not a lot, only what you can comfortably spare... what you'd pay for a cup of coffee and a tempting carbohydrate say.

We'll take those donations, however small, and we'll turn them into the most beautiful coffee cart around- something to inspire neighbourhoods from Langa to Llandudno!

In the words of Barack Obama, "acts of sacrifice and decency without regard to what's in it for you create a ripple effect. Ones that lift up families and communities, that spread opportunity."

Help us spread opportunity.

Original post:

The COVID-19 pandemic has seen different suburbs across the city band together under the banner of Cape Town Together and redefined what it means to be neighbourly. Now is the time when the spirit of Ubuntu needs to shine brightest.

Many South Africans have struggled through lockdown, those with small businesses especially so. Now that the economy is getting going again we have the opportunity to help create the world we want to see, and what would that world be without… COFFEE!

For many of us it is a sacred ritual, that moment of comfort and contemplation.

For many it is the thing we have missed most during lockdown.

What if you could, in the spirit of Ubuntu, gift that experience to a resident of the oldest township in South Africa and in doing so help support two small business entrepreneurs.

Unathi Dyantyi is a resident at Erf81, an old military base turned permaculture farm near Cape Town CBD. He prides himself on being the first barista to serve artisanal coffee at affordable prices and has been running for two years trading at markets, festivals and most notably at the Langa taxi terminal.

His business, Uhuru Coffee, had to close due to the COVID-19 pandemic which dealt him, among millions of other South Africans, a devastating blow.

Unathi is determined, however, to rebuild his business and to share his passion for coffee with his fellow South Africans.

He is unable to re-open in the gallery space he was renting, which unfortunately had to remain closed, but he has a permit to have a stall at the taxi rank.

This means his stall is exposed to harsh weather conditions, which will continue for months to come due to our notoriusly wet winters. If the rain or the wind is too strong he can’t open. And every day he has to carry his precious and sensitive coffee machinery into and out of store rooms.

The solution would be a mobile, weather-proof coffee cart. This would protect Unathi, his equipment and his customers from the harsh weather and bring the joy that only coffee can bring to patrons of the Langa taxi terminal.

It will also allow him to move around the community and find other areas where people would benefit from having a coffee cart around.

In Cape Town we often take for granted that good coffee is within a stone’s throw from anywhere we find ourselves- wouldn’t it be lovely if the same could be said of all neighbourhoods?

The opportunity here is to assist a young entrepreneur raise the capabilities of his business, create a professional image and spread the coffee culture with members of the Langa community and beyond. His hope is to inspire future coffee professionals with his work and to bring a smile to people through his delicious beverages.

A fellow resident at Erf81, Llewellyn Alberts, an artist and designer of environments with extensive expertise in carpentry and metalwork, can assist with making the coffee cart with a special focus on using whatever scrap material is lying around the farm (three cheers for upcycling!). This would also provide much needed income for Llewellyn during this time.

And so friends, here is the big ask!… make a donation and gift someone in Langa a free ‘Ubuntu coffee’ as they return to work …and oh, also help two entrepreneurs in these uncertain times. Win-win-win-win? That’s a LOT of wins.

How many cups of coffee with friends have you missed during lockdown? How about putting that would-have-been-payment into a R40 Ubuntu coffee and make someone in Langa’s day! Go on ;) it’ll make you feel good.

We estimate it'll take around 950 donated Ubuntu coffees to make the coffee cart a reality so please share widely and spread the love!

Ps. We’ll update the campaign with the smiles of happy, caffeinated faces so you can see the joy being shared through your acts of kindness. And of course of the finished coffee cart in action!!

#ubuntucoffee #solidaritycoffee #getsouthafricabacktowork #randomactsofkindness