Vicars take mobile coffee shop to rural communities

Vicars Becky Dyball and Diane Kutar said the Coffee Ark brings rural communities together

Two vicars have started a new project in a bid to help improve the wellbeing of rural communities and individuals in a county.

Reverend Canon Becky Dyball and Reverend Diane Kutar, who are part of the Church of England's Yaxley Deanery, launched the Coffee Ark last November.

The Ark is a mobile coffee bar, nicknamed Daisy, that has been built in a converted Land Rover Defender.

Customers and service users have said that the Coffee Ark has enabled them to get outside and meet new people.

"We [move] weekly [to new] locations, rural villages that don't have facilities and new communities that are springing up in the area," said Ms Dyball.

"Our key aim is to boost mental health, encouraging those robust conversations where to say, 'I'm not alright' is alright," she added.

The Coffee Ark visits rural locations that do not have many facilities

The vicars took inspiration for their mobile coffee shop from one of their forebears, the Revd George Broke. In the late 1800s he created the Fenland Ark, a boat that took his church to isolated locations where he also delivered resources to meet the needs of the remote communities.

"We are doing the same but we have updated the branding, the vehicle and introduced coffee," said Ms Dyball.

"The funding has come from various sources, including individuals, many who have been impacted with mental health issues.

"They have said: 'I want to make a difference to my community, I believe in this and want to make it happen.'

"We have done fundraising and applied for grants. There is a need and we want to meet that need.

"It's a community interest company and would not have been possible without help of volunteers. Businesses locally have come forward to sponsor our fuel, pay for the upkeep of Daisy and safely store her."

Kari Jones says the Coffee Ark has provided a great place to meet other residents from her village

Kari Jones, 56, who lives in the village of Glatton, between Huntingdon and Peterborough, said: "I have met so many new friends through visits to the Ark, it parks up every Tuesday outside the village hall and always attracts a crowd.

"I have bumped into residents that I didn't even know lived here. It gets me out of the house, I have been here for 26 years and we don't have a lot going on in the community, so it is a real blessing."

The Land Rover Defender that houses the Coffee Ark was previously a Ministry Of Defence vehicle from 1981.

It has had numerous owners over the years, but was converted into a mobile coffee shop in 2016 by the Cambridge company The Rural Coffee Project.