As Simon Youill writes in the Art of With ‘A cup of tea is the most collaborative tool that we have’. No surprise then that ALISS meetings often take place over a cuppa, in cafes or around kitchen tables. The idea of the ALISS Engine was pretty much sketched out on the back of a cafe napkin.
So we were delighted when we noticed the development of the Edinburgh Community Cafe network – a growing band of cafes around the city providing social spaces to meet, good healthy food and whose profits go back to a community. We’ve tried a few and we’re on a mission to visit many more…
The Cafe network was one of the projects featured in the Edinburgh Food and Health Training hub showcase yesterday. The Hub provides training and information across the city, working with organisations to deliver cooking classes to young carers, older people and others.
There’s more to this than a bowl of hearty soup though. When we asked people to map local assets a few weeks back many of them cited cafes and organisations that meet in them.
Quite apart from promoting healthy diets they’re hubs of community information, providing chances for people to volunteer and learn new skills. These can all play a part in self management. So, we’re wondering what lovely things we could do once we have the cafe details in ALISS along with events happening in them, how to get there, what to see if you walk from one to another….
Take a look at their map and see if there’s a cafe near you.
