Sustainable Coffee Bay

Sustainable Coffee Bay is a registered non-profit organisation serving Coffee Bay and the surrounding Tshezi villages since 2011. The organisation was set up by staff at Coffee Shack Backpackers to manage the increasing workload of their community projects including high school scholarships, local schools support and bursary opportunities.
The vision of Sustainable Coffee Bay is to inspire excellence in rural communities, leading to higher expectations, improved lives and increased opportunities. Our mission is to increase access to, and quality of education, skills and employment by working with our community on projects that create higher expectations and improve lives. We strive to inspire others by being role models of excellence.

Our projects are community-led and are divided into three channels; Early Childhood Development (ECD), Education and Youth Development and Rural Assistance.

 

Please list links to your Website and Social Media Platforms here:

www.sustainablecoffeebay.org.za
Facebook

 

Describe in detail what your Organisation does:

 

• Sustainable Coffee Bay has focus areas; Early Childhood Development (ECD), Education & Youth and Rural Assistance. Within ECD we operate and manage a 60 capacity pre-school for 3-6 year olds and hold various quarterly workshops including Teacher Support and Parent Education. We also collaborate with other organisations to bring the ‘Wellness Wagon’ mobile health clinic to the local pre and junior schools regularly and have plans in the future for Parent and Baby groups. Within Education & Youth we offer shocloarships for local students to complete the last three years of high school. We also work in partnership with other colleges to offer bursaries to study hospitality or conservation. Our Rural Assistance programme focusses on suporting former mine workers access their pension funds and realise their humand rights, with plans in the pipeline for community workshops covering human rights and offering basic paralegal services.

 

How long has your Organisation been operational?

 

• Established June 2011

 

In your opinion, what has been the most challenging aspect of running your Organisation?

 

• Staff capacity and financial sustainability.

 

Describe your Nonprofit Journey in three words:

 

• Rewarding

 

Do you collaborate with other Causes? If yes, would you like to mention them?

 

• Yes, Sustainable Coffee Bay is a member of the Wild Coast NGO Forum, a collection of organisations working in the area facing similar challenges. We meet one or two times a year to share ideas and challenges, network and support each other.

 

If you had one Organisation wish, what would it be?

 

• In an ideal world, it would be that we longer need to exist as an organisation as the problems we’re adressing are no longer there.

 

In your opinion, which skills do Nonprofits in your Country lack?

 

• Computer skills and affordable access to technology.

 

Looking back at your Cause Journey, what advice would you give a newbie Organisation?

 

• Never give up even when it seems impossible and never stop advocating for the people you serve. It is all worth it.

 

If you could change one thing about the Nonprofit Landscape, what would it be?

 

• That the continual process of ensuring legal compliance as a non-profit was easier to access information on, was more streamlined, and a simpler process.

 

Which Cause achievement are you most proud of? Feel free to elaborate on why and include any links

 

• Sustainable Coffee Bay’s pre-school Ikhaya Labantwana Montessori Early Learning Centre and our founding Principal won South African ECD Centre and Pricipal of the year respectively at the national awards in 2014.http://www.sustainablecoffeebay.org.za/ikhaya-labantwana-montessori-attend-sa-ecd-awards/

 

Last question, if your friends had to describe your Organisation in three words, which would they use?

 

• Helping the people.