Sometimes you can over complicate things. Sometimes we’re in a rush to try and understand something as quick as possible, and in our haste, we can end up just skimming the surface, moving on, and not really appreciating the nuances. And this is kind of how it felt when we went to visit the people who run Grounded Community. That trying to simplify and distill what they do into a quick easy sentence is kinda futile.
We’ve supported this charity in the past with our Planet Saving Coffee, and continue to supply them with used coffee sacks and chaff from the roaster (the papery skins from coffee beans.)
If you’re not familiar with Grounded Community, the only real way to answer what it is they do, is to list some of their initiatives. They have a garden space behind St. Clements church in Boscombe, which is a meeting point for many, many volunteers. Here they hold all kinds of workshops, community mornings, and events. A place for people to come and find purpose, have access to outside space, and find respite. There’s chickens, a whole heap of different fruit and veg growing, all grown in a no dig, permaculture method. Whether it’s people suffering from addiction, refugees, or people who are vulnerable or lonely, it’s difficult to put into words what a sanctuary this space is.
There’s also a nursery nearby where small plants are brought on, and beekeeping workshops are held around a couple of hives. But they have more hives too, up on the roof of the Sovereign Centre where there are eight hives, generating local honey which is sold to help fund their work. There’s also an incredibly cool composting station up here too, through a machine that processes food waste, wood chippings, and some of our chaff to make compost better than anything we’ve seen on offer in a garden centre. Oh, and if you go through a few little doors, you’ll find a micro-greens project taking shape up in a lofty space near the atrium windows of the Sovereign Centre too. Micro-greens they hope to sell to local restaurants and cafes.
As well as all this, there’s the Pantry they operate too, which supplies families and anyone in need with essential food. And all this, is just a very brief overview of some of their reach. It’s staggering. It’s impressive. And most importantly, it’s much needed.
Bad Hand Coffees' very beginnings were in Boscombe, and it’s an area we hold close. A community that we want to continue to support and Grounded Community are very much doing the real, honest, hard work out there. Their impact can, and should be measured in many different ways. From the people they help provide purpose to, to the safe environment they foster for anyone in need of it, to the very fabric of what it means to be part of a community - a word that’s become overused, but under-appreciated. After spending a day with the people at Grounded, what we love, is that there’s no hierarchy. It doesn’t feel like a ‘service’ is being given, but more that a community is being built, and grown from the ground up.
As of today, we’ll be donating all our tips online to Grounded Community. So when you buy your coffee, you can leave as little or as much as you like and we will get it to them to help fund essential costs that keep that place (all those places) running.
Want to help in other ways?
These guys are in desperate need of volunteer drivers to collect surplus food from supermarkets and cafes. They also need more donations of fresh food, tins, all kinds of stuff. If you operate a food business or shop, and want to help with surplus food donations, that would be a huge help too.
If you want to help in any of the ways above, please drop them an email HERE
Like we said, it’s difficult to summarise, but it’s very powerful to see how this group of people are developing such a needed part of our local society. You might not be able to summarise what this amazing charity does in one line, but we’d argue that you don’t need to. The results speak for themselves. If you want to back a project, something that’s long established and making a difference every single day, this is it.