Seva Cafe, Ahmedabad

tulsi

Seva Cafe in Ahmedabad, in Shoppers Plaza, opposite the municipal market on C.G. Road, is a great place to hang out and have a vegetarian meal with friends. There is no bill presented at the end. Your meal has already been paid for by a former guest at the cafe. You pay what you feel like in a pretty envelope given to you by a volunteer. The kitchen staff and the volunteers are all very helpful and friendly and the food is an eclectic mix of Indian and western dishes. There is usually a dessert on the menu as well. Organic food is served on Friday nights.
Seva Cafe opens at 7.30 p.m. and remains open till 11.00 p.m. It is closed Monday nights. Anyone is welcome to volunteer at Seva Cafe. Call them up at (079)32954140 for further details and speak to Sandeep Vaghela or Bhaskar Rao.
Seva Cafe is a project of Manav Sadhna and they are opening a tea and coffee shop in their main office building on the grounds of the Gandhi Ashram on Ashram Road. The tea shop is being managed by Shyam ji. Call him up at (079)27491518 for further details. They will be serving tea, coffee and snacks in a verandah overlooking the Sabarmati River from Monday onwards. All are welcome to walk in and enjoy the tea and coffee.
They are exploring the possibility of serving organic meals more frequently at Seva Cafe. So if you are a foodie, and on a shoestring budget, just check out Seva Cafe . Enjoy! Tulsi

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camelgirl

Sounds like a very interesting and novel concept.

I wonder how it will work, long term if too many people just give a token amount. Will it sustain itself & make some money for the charity? I personally don't like such a vague way of paying for a purchase. Too much guilt involved Is it depending on foreign tourists? What if local people who don't have much money decide to hang out & only put a few rupees in the envelope?

The more I write my questions, the more I know I wouldn't go there. Free should be free with no strings attached. You can't run a charity or a business giving out free food, so obviously you are expected to pay. It strikes me as manipulative & it definitely makes me uncomfortable!

I cannot find the charity listed in the U.S. (it says it's registered in the U.S.) under the name Manav Sadhna. However, there is a much older charity called Seva which is registered in the U.S. & India & does primarily blindess prevention in India & Nepal.

I'm not questioning the validity of the charity, I just wondered about it's U.S. connection.

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Kanehanahou

It is approaching it's 4th anniversary, Camelgirl, and it's doing nicely. Because of its nature, it's limited to about 50 guests each evening, though weekends usually bring 60-70 or more. Many of these are regular customers.

I've been with Manav Sadhna for close to 7 months now, with the intent to stay much longer. I was with Be The Cause in Lost Angeles that, because of its relationship with Manav Sadhna, also has a Seva Cafe in Long Beach, CA. Another is opening in the UK soon, I understand.

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camelgirl

Be The Cause isn't listed as a U.S. Charity either Sorry, I just don't support organizations that aren't registered in a way that I can see just how the money is spent. I'm not suggesting anything is wrong with either of your organizations, it's just my basic standard for deciding who to give my hard earned cash to

Unfortunately, there are dozens of charities which only use a very small percentage for their actual donated money on projects. Here is a list of just 10: http://www.charitynavigator.org/inde...il&li stid=20

trooooon

Sounds quite interesting, but I', sure they have a right of admission thingy and don't let people who look like they can't afford it in!

Who said its a charity anyway? Just sounds like a novel concept which would appeal to a few and be a usp for the restaurant!

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camelgirl

The first post says it's run by a charity.

Seva Cafe is a project of Manav Sadhna

It says there are no charges for the food. You just put a donation in an envelope for the next guest. The previous guest apparently "paid" for you.

Yes, very interesting & novel. My original questions still stand!

trooooon

i still don't see it, Manav Sadhna could be anything! Why a charity?

They've obviously found a way to run it if they've been at it for 4 years!! I think the restricted entry and the pretty envelop are the trick! An eclectic mix of indian and western dishes does sound most avoidable i must admit

camelgirl

No, it's not "anything" it's a charity. And I still think it's a very strange way to raise money!

http://www.manavsadhna.org/index.php...d=12&Itemid=26

Kanehanahou

Which part of the OP says they use it to raise money? And they haven't asked you for any, in any event, and if you sleep better just shoving cash out to a listed organization, then lovely.

Time for me to leave here, this place is just a tad too weird for me....

camelgirl

Talking to myself here, but so what! Just another question that won't be answered! Why would a charity open a restaurant & give food away for free to people who can afford to go to a restaurant?

I'm just not getting the whole point of this cafe, and so far, no one has answered my very simple questions.

Just hostile reactions. Maybe because they have no idea either but that makes them feel confused about it, and when people feel confused, they get really pissed off at the person asking the questions they can't answer

People who devote their time & sometimes money to tax exempt organizations/charities that have no accountability to the people who donate the money really crack me up. Very common. Their choice. I've got a lifelong friend that did that for her whole adult life, giving away so much of her money to the charismatic head of a real but poorly run organization that she had to declare bankruptcy--and she still gave all her money to them afterward still believing after 30 years that she's done such a great thing helping poor people through this organization that has virtually nothing to show for it. Her life journey--her choice.

Me, I go with accountability before I give away my money! I want to make sure some charismatic leader or CEO isn't taking all of it & that the food is actually going to the hungry & the tigers are really being protected with rangers equipped with rifles against poachers! I read every annual report of every organization I donate to & if too much goes to "administration" I'm done "shoving cash out to" them!

Well, I'm done talking to myself, adios!

trooooon

ok
Ans1. what if no one pays . . . they obviously figured that one out if they're running, besides i thing its a friends tell friends place, where everyone's too embarrassed not to over pay!!
Ans2. why free food . . . its a usp, simple as that, they probably get cheap land and volunteer labour based on their ideals, which also romanticises people into paying too much (this is obviously elitist restricted entry at the door place, in fact i want to see a facade image!)

Why you think you're talking to yourself i can't figure!!

camelgirl

Well, I guess I'm not, so thanks! The person who responded who works for the organization 7 months just got all huffy & left! He was too to deal with my questions!

And I think you probably are right about how it works--you call it romanticising & I called it manipulating by guilt to get people to pay.

So, what's a "usp" I can't figure that out.

Thanks for not making me talk to myself

kutch

Camel Girl, USP means unique selling preposition!!!

Infact, though i am from Gujarat, i didn't know about this place. When next in Ahmedabad will pay a visit. The concept is there from before too, but it is generally done from a house or for people whom you know. Its called honour payments. You honour the food or items that you consume or take as per your discretion. There would be a percentage who may or can pay less than what may be due and at the same time there would be another percentage who support the cause and generously fatten the envelop. Anyway, since it is running for 4 years that in itself proves that the concept is acceptable and feasible.

Someone said that in Japan if you purchase something and if you are returned the balance money you don't count, as it would hurt the other person that you don't trust him or her.

So here too it seems to be going on on Trust and good Faith!!!

camelgirl

Thanks! But now I don't know what a Unique Selling Preposition is I don't think we have that term in the U.S.

I see on Wikipedia that it's Unique Selling PROPOSITION, which is a unique selling point & it was an idea invented in the 1940s http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unique_selling_proposition

Yes, I agree this place has a USP

traveller_from_hyd

"Annalakshmi" has this USP also ... http://annalakshmi.com.au/

But when they came to Hyderabad, they did not use the "pay as you like" concept ... they priced their lunch at 150/- + taxes ... got initial rave reviews but after the novelty wore off, soon to close down, sell their business and go back.