Coffee with a Conscience

In a perfect world, every child has access to education, food and a home. But we are not living an imaginary existence. In parts of South Africa alone, there are children who sleep on an empty stomach, who do not go to school and if they do, they lack necessary resources such as textbooks, school shoes, tables or stationary.

By: Letlhogonolo Ndhlovu

Roast Re:Public is an online coffee shop that sells ground or whole grain coffee from Tanzania, Guatemala and Indonesia. Fifty percent of their proceeds go to children in Limpopo so that they can also be equally educated. “We wanted to address poverty in a sustainable way and throwing money does not help. Education was definitely the way to go. This way we empower the children so that they get to make their own decisions,” said Leandri, one of the co-founders of Roast Re:Public.

Leandri started Roast Re:Public in July 2013 with her business partners Jaco and Matt. According to Leandri, Jaco was working at a coffee shop and realised how much money can be made out of coffee. “We realized that there was more than enough money to make a living out of selling good coffee and to give away,” exclaimed Leandri.

Leandri is a warm soul from Menlo Park, Pretoria who loves children. She is currently studying for her masters in Chemistry at the University of Pretoria. As a traveller, she spent most her time volunteering at children ministries, “I don’t like to see children in pain,” she said. So, together with World Vision International, Roast Re:Public identifies schools in Limpopo in need of resources.

We realized that there was more than enough money to make a living out of selling good coffee and to give away…

How Roast Re:Public works:

It is really easy, by buying a bag of either ground or whole grain coffee a month, you keep a child in Limpopo fed, clothed and in school. Roast Re:Public sells on a debit order system and they’ve really made it fun!

Go to www.roastrepublic.co.za and fill in a citizen form online, yes a citizen form to be part of the Roast Re:Public that strives for positive change.  A bag of 250g is R70 and a kilogram is R250, reasonably priced right?

You decide where you would like to collect your coffee by reading up on the nearest distribution points in your area. Distribution points in Pretoria are:

• Silver Oaks International Private School in Hazelwood
• +27 Cafe’ in Hatfield
• St. Albans College
• Ginger & Fig in Brooklyn
• St Mary’s College

Or you can nominate distribution points closer to your area which can either be schools, churches, coffee shops or any place of business.

Roast Re:Public on the move:

Leandri, Jaco and Matt are pushing boundaries for a new way of doing business. Their coffee shop is online and sells at markets like the Capital Urban Market in Pretoria.  They will also be part of a big market in Johannesburg called the Kamers vol geskenke.

Roast Re:Public would like to start buying coffee grains directly from farmers, cutting out the middle man and creating more jobs.  They are a hard working bunch with really good intentions. Leandri mentioned a quote from the bible that is so important, she said, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”

Consider drinking Roast Re: Public coffee with a conscience and keep a child in school.

Find Roast Re:Public on Facebook, Twitter and on www.roastrepublic.co.za to learn more of how you can make sustainable change from simply enjoying a cup coffee.