Meals can be a radical community driven act of kindness. It’s not just about food it’s about feeding people who are often excluded from comfort, dignity, and access. It’s about reclaiming “hospitality” from the capitalist grind of Berlin café culture and returning it to the hands of the people. From the Black Panthers meal programs back in the 70s. To how Black people reshifted Thanksgiving. Food is rooted in care, nourishment, and building memories.

I cook from the memory of what my mother, grandmother and father fed me. My father was one of the first person’s I cooked for and I would say that Noxi is responsible for many of the physical lessons in cooking that I now have. Growing up on those Sunday jerk chicken, rice and peas and cornbread meals is a childhood memory I’d never forget. My mother’s curry goat or oxtail with rice and peas meals was nothing to sneeze at either!

It’s those memories of happiness from flavorful meals that are important to me and why I want to make sure the community stays fed and happy. I want for as long as the cafe exists, that there are memories created which we implanted. And the stories of eating through this space by Black migrant women are ones that will spread across Berlin.
The doors are open at the cafe for co-working, chit chatting and random acts of kindness. Our in person meals and coffee are by suggested donation starting from 10 euro any day that we are open. Aloti farms has been so generous to make veggies available to us so we can have them included in these sliding scale meals. Some of our coffee is donated by Cafe Libertad and suggested donation is from 2.5 euro.

The cafe has t-shirts on sale that support The BSWC starting from 10 euro and will soon house books for in-house reading and purchase that focuses on or written directly by Black Sex Workers. You can sit in and watch a movie playing daily or just lie down and take a nap. Just as long as the clicking and clanging of pots in the back don’t disturb you, along with the incense and sage that is burned regularly.

During the December months enjoy ackee and saltfish (Jamaica’s national dish) along with Jamaican cocoa tea and feel free to stop in anytime, I can always use the company since right now I am managing the cafe and the day-to-day tasks alone. This includes fulfilling Uber eats orders. If you need a strong drink, just across the street is co-working space Cocoon ran by three friends who moonlight as cafe owners but are entertainers themselves. If you want to have more access to the space to run meetings, small events or sneak in late night cram for an exam because your WG buddies are getting on your nerves. Consider becoming a member and committing to a rate for 3-6 months. More info will be available when you come in or by visiting the bswc.org website.