Treehouse Café

Hello Everyone,

First and foremost, I would like to say a big thank you to all of you for turning up on Tuesday, and sharing some brilliant thoughts and ideas. There is hope yet!

Minutes are in the process of being written up and will be emailed round as soon as they are ready. To summarise very very briefly:

• Treehouse in it’s current form is not sustainable and cannot continue.
• The key elements that came out of the visioning part of Tuesday’s meeting were that we would like a place where a fairtrade/ethically sourced cafe, a non-violent social centre and a community space/resource could all happen. At this moment in time, everything is open for discussion.
• There is currently around £7000 worth of debt which needs to be cleared before anything new can realistically take place

For the next three weeks there will be a meeting from 6:30-8pm at the Treehouse cafe in order to make plans. I am happy to facilitate these if people wish me to do so. The dates for the meetings will be:

Tuesday 27th April 6:30-8pm
Tuesday 4th May 6:30-8pm
Tuesday 11th May 6:30-8pm

A wiki will soon be set up to enable better communication between us all, so even if you can’t make the next few meetings but would like to be involved in the future of this project, please keep in touch. If you would like to contact the Work Group then email us on workgroup@treehousecafe.org

Looking forwards to seeing you soon!

So, you may have heard on the grapevine that the Treehouse isn’t in the best financial situation. And you’d be right to hear that, it isn’t! But after seeking some advice and a long discussion, we’ve decided to open up on a completely volunteer basis, serving coffee and cake from Monday 19th. A great place to study, have meetings, read the paper, catch up with friends – we’d love to fill your face with a latte and something sweet!

Though better than we thought, this is only a short term solution that will give us a bit of breathing space.

At 6pm on Tuesday 20th April there will be a public meeting, held at Treehouse, for anyone with a vested interest in the cafe, the curious, those who want to get more involved… everyone! The Treehouse needs a radical change in thinking and organisation to be sustainable. It needs more people and commitment, and in the short term, some serious fun fundraising needs to happen. It needs recognising and using as an alternative social space, not just a cafe. It needs cake. Though there are plenty of options, exactly how this happens is pretty much open to any suggestions. Don’t leave it to others – now is the time to get involved, next month might be too late!

Saving the Treehouse is important. Its history is rooted in the original Fair Trade Cafe. As in, the first fair trade cafe in the whole wide world. Supporting local refugees, alternative mental health groups, providing locally sourced, organic and fair trade food and drink, volunteer work experience and employment opportunities, supporting campaign groups, and being just a relaxing and friendly alternative to Starbucks! Bradford cannot lose this space.

Please pass this on to any of your contacts or lists who feel might be interested; we want to publicise these changes and opportunities to get involved to the widest possible audience. Sorry if you get this email more than once!

Thanks,

The Treehouse Team.

Hi everyone,
Just a quick note to say that the cafe will be closed from today until we re-open on Monday 12th April.
We’ve got one of our famous Sunday Lunches on the 11th.
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=104437299595178&ref=mf
Lots of other things going on too though, so check the website and look out for updates!

Cheers,
Cafe Collective
http://www.treehousecafe.org/