Ask the Roaster - Esther & Eva from Manumit
How was the Roastery founded, what was the inspiration?
The roastery was founded in June 2017 out of a charity called Red Community. Red Community works with survivors of human trafficking and noticed that when these people were getting their ‘leave to remain’ and able to start working again, they weren’t holding down jobs for more than a week, due to the trauma they had been through, a 9-5 job was just too much for them. they needed a safe environment to begin working again, building up their confidence, honing their skills and helping them to enjoy working again.
So that’s what we sought to do with Manumit! Using coffee as employment and therapy to help the survivors earn money and get back on their feet. We also seek to have slavery free coffee from crop to cup, ensuring that we know where our coffee is grown and have a transparent supply chain, employing survivors of trafficking to roast the coffee, through to giving all of our profits back into anti-slavery projects. We also offer SCA certified barista training to survivors of trafficking & partner with local cafes to help them find sensitive employment.
What's your favourite part about working at the Roastery?
What can I say, it’s the best place I can work, I have great colleagues, a good and bonkers boss, we can have as many coffees as we want, I always looking forward to coming to work and have a smile on my face, I couldn’t imagine my life without manumit. I love the routine of going to work in the week, it’s given me so much more confidence, experience before I used to be nervous about roasting, but now I do my own research at home & I tell Esther how to do it! My dream job is to become head roaster and train other people. working in the coffee industry has completely changed my life.’.
What's your proudest accomplishment?
Our proudest accomplishment is how we have seen the roasters' lives change throughout the time they are working for us.
When one roaster joined Manumit, she was really nervous and scared of people. Over the 8 months she worked for us, her confidence grew and she started to enjoy being around people again, she announced that she wanted to pursue a career in HR and so we walked alongside her and supported her as she went through the processes of applying for jobs to begin her career in HR. She got a job for a large corporation in Cardiff in customer service, with the opportunity to move into HR, something she didn’t think would have been possible a year ago! Helping people to restore their enjoyment in working & pride in making money for themselves and encouraging them to dream big has been so special. There are countless stories like this with our roasters. Coffee is life-changing!
What three words best describe your Roastery?
Safe - Inclusive - Caffeinated!
What’s your favourite place to enjoy a coffee, and what coffee would that be?
Eva: Costa Coffee- cappuccino. with choccy sprinkles ofc.
Esther: On my day off in my bed having a lie-in! A chemex filter coffee - natural, single origin. Yum..
Finally, what Dog & Hat combination would you choose?
Sharpei in a ginger wig
