Ballymun has long been a neglected area in Dublin. However, the area is recently experiencing a revival, particularly with the transformation of the Ballymun Boiler House into an award winning sustainability initiative.
The Centre has won the Green NGO of the Year Award at the Green Awards and the Green Construction Award in association with Dublin County Council.
The Centre is home to an eco-café, interactive exhibitions where people of all ages can learn about our impact on the environment and the importance of sustainability, and a retail space selling sustainable and environmentally conscious produce. The Centre also provides the community with practical skills workshops, upcycling furniture and bicycles, and staff training and upskilling.
A Shared Vision
When creating this space, the team was focused on sharing the Centre with like-minded people with a shared vision of an equitable and sustainable future. So, they tendered for a socially conscious café to become part of the Centre.
The Green Kitchen won out as the resident café, creating dishes from produce grown in their community gardens around Dublin. The Green Kitchen is a member of Walk. Walk is a charity that provides training and increased employment options for people with disabilities.
In keeping with the ethos of equity and sustainability, the Rediscovery Centre team asked the Green Kitchen to source Fairtrade Certified coffee only. Mathew Algie stepped in as the coffee supplier and also provided the café with a coffee machine and grinder free of charge!
Matthew Algie is a Scottish company with a growing presence in the Irish market. The team are coffee aficionados and have a spectacular coffee lab in Dublin 1, decked out with all of the latest coffee technologies for barista training courses.
Matthew Algie has a longstanding history with Fairtrade, buying from the same cooperative in Honduras for the past 17 years! You may remember Omar, from the Capucas Cooperative who was our guest farmer for Fairtrade Fortnight 2016? He is the grandson of the farmer Matthew Algie began sourcing from 17 years ago. Omar is now the managing director of the Capucas Cooperative in Honduras.
Get Here Quick!
The Rediscovery Centre and café are open Monday to Saturday from 9-5pm – hop on the no. 4 or 13 buses from the city centre and you’re there in 20 minutes.
There really is no excuse for you not to visit this innovative space – if not for the workshops, Fairtrade coffee, and locally grown food – come to buy a new lamp or table made by local craftspeople from sustainable materials.
The space is also available to host conferences and team building events. Contact Grainne Lambert for more information, grainne@rediscoverycentre.ie.