Wales Co-operative Centre
Canolfan Cwdweithredol Cymru

Developing a Welsh Social Enterprise Consortium to buy Coffee Direct from Africa

The School of City & Regional Planning at Cardiff University has been exploring the possibility of developing direct relationships with coffee producers in Africa and potentially South America.

The aim of the project is to get together as many social enterprise cafes working in Wales and use our combined buying power to approach coffee producers in the third world.

The programme would have the following advantages:

• It would greatly benefit producers in Africa as we would source fair trade coffee which has been processed on the continent and which allows producers to get the best possible price
• It would allow all those social enterprises involved to obtain their coffee at a price that would be greatly competitive
• It would be an interesting and innovative approach; and allow each café to develop a unique selling point and marketing campaign explaining the approach we are taking

We would also like to explore the possibility of establishing a cultural exchange with the country we develop the relationship with. This would allow staff of enterprises here and young people working in the coffee industry in the third world to share experience and visits allowing them to develop their knowledge and skills.

If you are interested in joining in on this exciting venture, please complete the following on-line form by the 3rd of February 2012.