Our First Outing: Brewcycle at Green Roots, Global Voices

On Sunday 26th July, Brewcycle packed up our (admittedly slightly wonky) pull-up banner, a table dressed in coffee bean sacks, and a full bucket of worm tea, and headed to Alexandra Park for the Green Roots, Global Voices Showcase. It was our very first time out as a stand-alone stand, and — rain, wind, and all — we had an absolute blast.

Manchester City Councillor Ati Zafar learns about Brewcycle

Let's talk about the weather first, because it insisted on being part of the story. It rained. It was breezy enough that our parasol made a genuine bid for freedom at one point, gallantly wrestled back into place by Lewis. Nothing says "grassroots project" quite like holding down your gazebo with one hand while explaining vermicomposting with the other.

But honestly, none of that mattered much once people started stopping by. We had a steady stream of curious visitors wanting to know exactly what "the weird worm compost people" were all about — and we loved explaining it. The short version: we collect coffee grounds and cardboard that would otherwise go to waste, feed it to some very hardworking worms, and turn it into compost and liquid feed that plants genuinely seem to enjoy. The slightly longer version involves probation-supervised trainees doing the collecting and tending, which tends to raise a few eyebrows in a good way — people are often surprised, then quite won over.

Speaking of which, we gave out samples of fresh worm tea to anyone whose houseplants looked like they could use a pick-me-up. Judging by the number of people who came back for a second cup (for the plants, not themselves — worm tea is a houseplant treat, not a beverage), it went down well.

Attendees helped themselves to free fresh worm tea for their houseplants!

We also had the pleasure of chatting to a couple of Manchester City Councillors, who stopped by, asked good questions, and left having voiced their support for what we're doing — always nice to hear, and a good reminder that this kind of small, practical project has a real audience among people thinking about the city's future. It felt like a proper example of what's sometimes called the "everyday economy" — the ordinary, local, often-overlooked activity (waste, food, small logistics, small jobs) that keeps communities ticking along, and which GMCA's FEIF fund is increasingly interested in backing.

A real highlight was sharing the day with our partners Chorlton Bikes, who do the actual legwork (or should we say pedal-work) of collecting our coffee waste and who are also central to how we're hoping to turn work placements into genuine green jobs down the line. It was good to stand together and talk about the project as the joined-up thing it actually is, rather than just the worm bit.

And we need to give a special thanks to our friends at Cafe Bembe. They not only organised and hosted this event, they donate their coffee grounds to our hungry worms.

All in all: wet socks, a nearly-airborne parasol, several new plant-tea converts, and a genuinely lovely day meeting other local presenters and curious park-goers. This won't be our last outing — we're planning to get the Brewcycle stand out to more events like this over the coming months, so if you spot the coffee sacks and the worm tea bucket somewhere near you, come and say hello.

Brewcycle turns coffee and cardboard waste into compost and green job opportunities, in partnership with Chorlton Bikes and supported by GMCA's FEIF fund.