Community Hub at Carmarthens First Zero Waste Shop

Aim

It’s time for The Green Scoops next step - a community hub cafe! A place to learn, grow, socialise and connect with an aim to reduce waste.

Intro!

We want to open a Zero Waste, sustainable and community focused Hub in our Zero Waste Shop! Where we’ll be hosting workshops & community groups, promoting wellness, environmental consciousness and  providing a service to our community through a Pay-It-Forward Scheme. A Pay-It Forward Scheme is when you pay for a meal and/or drink that then gets reserves for someone who may be struggling to pay for it themselves. 

We’re doing this by raising £16,500 to renovate the kitchen and pay for equipment and seating. Check out the Membership opportunities and the rewards for your donations! 

How It Started

My name is Jessica Peck, the founder of The Green Scoop. It started with a documentary, which turned into shampoo bars, then bamboo cups and then a discovery. I happened upon a Zero Waste Shop one day and was inspired to open my own. It took months of research, planning and some nail biting moments but we got there. 

The Green Scoop opened on the 4th of May and there was an incredible turn out for it. So many people came in to show their support and since then things have only got better. Carmarthen was more than ready for it and I’m so happy I was able to bring you this alternative option to your weekly shop. It brings me so much joy to see you enjoying the shopping experience, bringing in your containers and getting mesmerised by the abundance of options we have here. Now, I feel we’re ready for The Green Scoops next step. 

So what are we planning?

We’re planning to open a community space inside the shop itself! 

We want to develop The Green Scoop into a not for profit Social Enterprise and with the boost these funds will give us, we’ll be able to do just that. Raising these funds through the community will help us keep our prices as affordable as possible.

We want The Green Scoop to be a place for the entire community to socialise, create, connect and learn new skills. A community hub for events, group meetings, creative and waste-less workshops, study groups and just for get togethers. Carmarthen already has some wonderfully awesome independent coffee shops and small businesses, so we’re aiming to be different - we want to be a place for ideas to flourish, creativity to flow and connections to be made. With aims to work with other local businesses to make Big positive changes to how we handle waste in Carmarthen. 

We want a “Pay it Forward” scheme so people who are less off will be able to get a bite to eat and something to drink. This works when you pay for a meal and/or a drink - then the receipt goes on the wall to be collected and used by anyone who needs them. 

What’s more, we’ll also be keeping to the aims of our shop. Reducing our waste, encouraging refills, saying no to single use plastics and putting the importance of ethics into everything we do. Any “wonky” fruit and veg we get can be put to use in the kitchen, we’ll be providing vegan and vegetarian options for food, we’ll take our used coffee grounds to compost and we always have a decanter for tap water to refill your water bottles to take away or have in-house with ice and some fancy fruit. 

And thats not all! As with the shop, we’ll be reclaiming and repurposing as much as we can. Think - scaffolding board tables and old farm house chairs. Chairs made comfy by cushions made with recycled fabrics and repurposed glass bottles for wildflowers on the tables. 

We’re a plastic free, refill shop with a lot of potential and a big environmental message. We want to inspire people to make small changes to their everyday life, take control of their own carbon footprint and encourage a more sustainable and ethical lifestyle for all - whether you’re just ditching the straw or switching out those disposables for reusables. 

We want to provide you with the knowledge and means to make these changes whilst making it fun! 

Volunteering and Membership Opportunities 

As a Social Enterprise, we want to give back to our amazing community as much as we can. We will be offering memberships to our amazing supporters. Thats 10% off on everything in the shop and the cafe with priority booking for any of the workshops you’d like to take part in and 5% off them! 

As a Member you’ll also be able to have the opportunity to join the Community Hub meetings to have your say on what we have on and what we should do. 

We’ll also be looking for volunteers to help us at the shop and cafe, the ultimate community involvement! 

What’s the money for?

For this to happen, we need your help. As you may know, this building used to be a bank, so its not equipped for catering. The kitchen is in dire need of updating - at the moment, we only have a sink to wash our scoops in and a small cupboard with rickety shelves. 

What will the money be spent on?

We will spend the money on kitchen appliances - such as a stove, fridge and freezer, coffee making equipment, new flooring in the kitchen and seating area, all the chairs and tables we need and the extra stock needed. Plus the cost for works such as electricity and plumbing.

The Goal

£16,500 is the target we need to hit to make this happen, if we don't reach it - we don't get a penny. 

By pledging you’ll be the person who brings this to life. You’ll be supporting environmental change and sustainability in Carmarthen by helping us build the central hub. 

You’ll be the amazing human being that can say “I pledged,”, it makes this just as much yours as it is mine. And with so many great rewards up for grabs, why not? 

Thank you for your support! 

This project successfully funded on 26th September 2019