A catch up with the crew from Koha

Koha Coffee was one of Campus Co-Lab's first projects and successes. They have long since left the nest and been operating as their own entity on the campus as a MAWSA club. Started by Massey Wellington's Chaplaincy to help connect and be connected with students, it has help their service grow as well as adding a key element to the student experience on Massey's Wellington Campus. 

We caught up with Lynley, one of the Chaplains helping to run Koha Coffee, to see how they are going since they branched out on their own and how being affiliated as club is going. 

Whats going well?
The Chaplaincy service has increased — Koha Coffee has allowed the Chaplaincy service to reach more people in numerous ways. From their weekly worship and breakfast consisting of an abundance of  both bagels and coffee, to their one on ones to help individuals cope a little more with stress of uni or in their daily lives. 
Managing expenses & funds — Because Koha Coffee is a club they have access to club grants which give them their money to buy in tea and coffee, as well as anything else they need (their latest purchase were items to create a DIY sandwich chalk board). This allows them to expand, but also do it within their capacity. They also get koha (pay as much as you can) in exchange for the beverages and their service, this gives them a little bit of  money to cover most of their operation costs. 
Location — Currently Koha Coffee is set up in the co-lab space, lvl 2 above Tussock Cafe. This gives them access to many of their key facilities that they need such as the fridge, running water, the dishwasher and areas for people to drink their tea or coffee. 
Frequency of service — Koha Coffee operates only during the semester on a Wednesday & Thursday. For their current size and location this work very efficiently. They have realised their peak times each day are from 11am - 1pm. Running from 10am - 2pm allows them time to set up and pack down. These times are also good for how their volunteers currently run. 

Will they stay in the space?
Part of the initial intention of Koha Coffee is that it could travel around the campus acting as a pop-up. They have successfully attended a couple of Clubs days outside Tussock & in The Pyramid. But traveling around the campus is hindered by the need of runners to get items such as milk or take dirty dishes back to the dishwasher or they have to use disposable coffee cups. Needing runners and people to run the cart means Koha Coffee needs a solid team of volunteers. Something they are working towards, but aren't quite there with yet. For the foreseeable future they will be staying in the space for the two days a week, during term time.

Next steps for Koha Coffee

• Drive for new students
• Attend and advertise at Clubs and Giveaway Day
• Try out Koha Coffee in the Library during study break & exams