Tea Saloon

THE CONTEXT OF YOUR INITIATIVE

Cafés are a shared space and the idea of this project was to stregnthen the links between people doing civic service from Unis-Cité with people from Emmaus as well as customers and donors.

The café is a space to talk about our values, struggles and initatives whilst enjoying spending some time together. Showing that by re-using objects we can create pleasant, tasteful spaces for exchanges and meetings.

Showing that exchange and togetherness are important in our sales areas: taking the time to talk to one another is key. Tiffen, Julie, Marion and Vidura are the ‘spring chickens’ of Emmaus Toulouse!

They are involved in various awareness-raising initiatives alongside the association MediaTerre and have been with us since October. This civic service group from Unis-Cité has helped us form new relationships. They firstly got involved in our sorting and sales activities and then the idea came to set up a social area at our Labarthe-sur-Lèze site.

Near the entrance to the sales area a few palettes, spare wood and imagination were all that was required to create a café, our tea ‘Saloon’. Home-made cakes, organic juice and sustainable tea and coffee help make this a real place of exchange.

Tony, Paulo and Christian, companions in Labarthe-sur-Lèze, helped build this space using the materials collected by the community. The second life given to these objects is rather unique. Concerts, story-telling and social events are organised to bring people together to talk about Emmaus’ work, with a cup or a plate of local produce in hand of course.

Inspired by Westerns with its wooden furniture this tea salon really does make you think of a saloon, if you don’t believe us come and see it for yourselves…

THE ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT AS PART OF YOUR INITIATIVE

Creating the Tea Saloon, a space for exchange…

WHO IS INVOLVED FROM OUR GROUP?

3 companions, 3 employees, 4 people doing civic service and many more!

WHICH PARTNERS ARE YOU WORKING WITH ON THIS INITIATIVE?

FUTURE PROSPECTS

The arrival of a team of young people doing civic service has helped create new bonds and new discussions, the saloon is a new and different setting for exchange in our community. For some of our companions the café represented an opportunity to use their know-how and their skills to create a social space and to do so using objects collected by our community. This café is another way of promoting our re-use activities in an environmentally-friendly setting.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO ADD ANY INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR INITIATIVE?

WHAT ARE YOUR PROSPECTS?