The official purposes of Earth in Common (EiC), a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SC044220), can be
summarised as to encourage and support the people and organisations of Leith to grow food vegetables, and
flowers for pollinating insects, in urban spaces, in order to improve health and wellbeing, community cohesion
and the environment. However, EiC brings together a diverse group of enthusiastic staff, freelancers, volunteers
and members/supporters who are tackling an array of social and environmental issues at local, national and
international levels, and so it has broader activities and interests than suggested by its current official
purposes.
The charity was appointed by the City of Edinburgh Council to manage, with and for the local community, two acres at
the northwest corner of Leith Links Park. Now known as Leith Community Croft (LCC), our pioneering and model
‘urban croft’ offers cross-cutting solutions to social and environmental problems through a suite of integrated
projects. It accommodates a community growing project with >100 participants. The growing project is distinct
from allotments and benefits agrobiodiversity (see tinyurl.com/croftabdiv).
LCC is also the site of our tree nursery, market garden, composting facilities, our Hingabootery (shed-based café,
with a serving hatch), our Market on the Croft (to be re-launched in 2023), and our lovely new building (largely
funded by the Scottish Government’s Regeneration Capital Grant Fund), with a well-equipped kitchen, flexible
meeting/training/dining spaces and office space. This building constitutes a multipurpose community hub at the
core of LCC.
To learn more about EiC, candidates are advised to familiarise themselves with the organisation’s history and current
projects and campaigns by visiting its website (earth-in-common.org). More information is also
provided in the Job Description.
Summary of the job
- Appointees will work as a team with other Croft Café Co-ordinators, with a main focus on preparing and serving simple but high quality food and drink. They will also sell fruit and vegetables (many from our market garden on Leith Community Croft) from our farm shop area of the same building. Barista and/or kitchen experience would be preferable, but we can provide training to the right candidates. An understanding of food safety standards is essential as well as a proactive attitude, a sense of urgency and ability to pinpoint priorities and act on them.
- The appointees will also perform all necessary ancillary work (food preparation, cleaning, stocktaking, till operation, ordering supplies, etc.). Opening hours are currently 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday to Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday (subject to change during spring and summer), but there will be some meeting, preparation and cleaning time outside these hours, and possibly occasional catering at events. Candidates must be able to work weekends and early mornings.
- As well as ensuring the smooth running of all aspects of Earth in Common’s café and farm shop operations, they will assist with other aspects of running Leith Community Croft, as required. This may include, for example, waste management, litter-picking and assisting with market garden work.
- Croft Café Co-ordinators are expected to be flexible, use their initiative, and help each other as necessary, turning their hands to whatever needs to be done to further Earth in Common’s services and reputation. This includes contributing ideas to the development of café and farm shop operations to make them more biosphere- and customer-friendly and to improve profitability.
- Croft Café Co-ordinators are important public-facing representatives of Leith Community Croft and Earth in Common, and are expected to abide by the charity’s Code of Conduct, offer efficient and friendly service, also engage with people who don’t necessarily use the café, and be able to inform members of the public about the charity’s history, values, long-term vision and ongoing projects and services and direct them to Earth in Common contact points and colleagues as appropriate.
- While no guarantees can be given, it is hoped that the charity’s finances will allow contracts to be extended, assuming appointees have performed well.