CaféUrchin is a non-profit Trust, aiming to provide cheap, wholesome vegan, and where possible, organic and fairtrade food and drink to people of all ages at events and fayres in the southeast.

LATEST NEWS:
Find us at the Big Green Gathering, Cheddar, 3-7th June.

Intro

CaféUrchin is operated by a network of around thirty people with a core group of around 8 members. We share similar social and ecological ideals and views, which is brought us together.
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All workers are volunteers and devote their time and efforts for free, working together as a non-profit-making organisation.

All 'profits' & surplus monies raised are donated by the group to a worthy environmental or social cause.

Aims

Beyond just food, the café aims to be an information and social centre where like-minded folk can meet and enjoy lovely food; so we can both raise funds and provide reasonably priced wholesome food.

As a charitable body, we obviously prioritise events that will offer us a reduced or, in some cases free pitch fee, with a percentage donation to the festival or a local project.

Crew

Our crew are very experienced, and individually have been involved with a huge variety of projects and causes, many within our local community, working with Squall, wHEn (Wealden Home Educators Network), SEASoN (South East Alternative Science Network), Brickhurst Trust, Kent High Weald Project, Leaside Wood Recycling Project, and Green Party, to name but a few. (Click on the projects' names to view their websites!)

The Café members have also been involved with countless workshops, individually, and collectively, promoting permaculture, recycling, low-impact dwelling, alternative science, working with under-privileged kids, and home-education kid

The lists are endless, so as you can see we are hugely diverse doing what we do gives us a thirst for life which keeps us relatively sane in an ever confused world it makes us happy (or sadists?)!

This attitude enables us to work well together and look out for one-another as a group with a minimum of problems and hassles and ego-clashes(!).

Set-up

Our main kitchen is in a trailer, we also have lovely tables and benches made from recycled wood, earth ovens, fuel-fed water boilers, wood-burners (if cold and wet) for inside the dining area, and are completely self-sufficient, the only requests we have is to be near a water stand-pipe, for obvious reasons.

Everything is recycled, and all waste is composted, everything in our setup is recycled or reused - from cups, to lanterns, to cookers, to sinks, etc… We dig a proper soakaway for waste water, all our produce is organic wherever possible, fair-trade, etc…

We aim for minimal power consumption, and are pretty-much sustainable in all aspects of the smooth-running of the café. Crew members are trained and we possess the requisite health and hygiene certificates, and the crew includes fully-qualified and extremely experienced chefs.

The caff aims to reduce the need to travel and use locally-produced goods, and minimise use of vehicles in its operation.

Events

Earth Spirit, Tunbridge Wells, Spring 2002

Small intimate festie, very wet and chilly, voted best caff on site in Festival Eye. Provided excellent food, and firewood and straw for the whole site to keep it warm and cosy. Money raised donated to Brickhurst Permaculture Group.

SEASoN Open Day, Pembury Spring 2002

Provided lovely organic food and snacks to over 300 people for SEASoN (SouthEast Alternative Science Network)’s open day, which had lots of workshops, talks, and demonstrations, to do with alternative sciences. Monies raised were donated to SEASoN for further events.

wHEn Kids’ Summer Camp, Kent, Summer 2002
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Small home-educators’ summer camp, with fifty campers, breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks provided for the weekend for small ravenous mouths.

Earth Spirit, Tunbridge Wells, August 2002

Much better weather at this small intimate festy, this time around, all monies raised donated to Brickhurst Farm Permaculture Project.

SEASoN Open Day, Sussex, Summer 2003

Same as the previous event, but this time, some six hundred people attending, monies raised donated to SEASoN.

Simon Jones Benefit Party, Eton Mission, London, Summer 2003

All night fundraiser for Simon Jones (and the Thessoloniki 7), arrested in Thessaloniki, Greece during the WTO protests. Banned poets, DJs, cabaret. Monies raised donated to Solicitors, family visits, etc…

Benefit party, Eton Mission, London, Autumn 2003

All-night benefit party, for the Palestine Refugee Project. With bands, DJs, and cabaret, all monies raised donated to the project.

Leaside Wood Recycling Project, Bromley-by-bow, Winter 2003

Setting-up permanent community centre and caff; all profits from this ongoing project will be used to buy greenspaces in urban areas.

Summary

We are an asset to any event, with our positive and chilled attitude, and relish in seeing people satisfied and smiling, after they’ve paid us a visit. We have a lot to offer, both culinarily and educationally, we are a medium-sized operation, so if you’d like us to be at your event, we’d prefer to be away from the main drags, for example, in a green, or permaculture area, or educational area.

Café Urchin Trust is a Non-profit Charitable Trust Secretary: Störm Poorun Office: c/o 308 New Cross Road, London SE14 6AF