Husky Events x Farmers' Voice Radio Charity Partnership
- Hannah Clark
- 4 days ago
- 4 min read
Those of you who follow Farmers’ Voice Radio’s socials will know that we have been having a brilliant time at coffee festivals around the UK and Ireland over the last couple of years. As a small charity that works to empower smallholder farmers and strengthen the resilience of rural communities in some of the world’s poorest countries, these festivals have been so important to increase the profile of Farmers’ Voice Radio and build understanding of our work within the coffee sector.
The festivals have helped us raise much needed funds and have resulted in partnerships with coffee companies, such as Bell Lane Coffee and Dark Woods Coffee, that last way beyond the weekend. The festival raffles we have run have been incredible, thanks to the generous donations from exhibitors. In addition, we have promoted our recent Farmers’ Voice Radio Academy for coffee cooperatives in Latin America, and companies have connected their sourcing partners to the free training opportunity, which raises the voices of their smallholder suppliers and strengthens their supply chains.
The organiser behind Dublin, Brighton and Manchester coffee festivals is the company Husky Events, and we are honoured to be their charity partner. The partnership is clearly very beneficial to Farmers’ Voice Radio; however, we wanted to hear from Husky Events what it means to them, in their words. Here is a short interview with Husky’s Director, Oli Crawley.
Can you tell us about the Farmers’ Voice Radio (FVR) partnership with Dublin, Brighton and Manchester Coffee Festivals?
Husky Events organises a wide range of events across the UK and Ireland, including Dublin, Brighton and Manchester Coffee Festivals. 2026 will be the third year we have been lucky enough to have FVR as our charity partner across our festivals, and we have only seen our partnership grow from strength to strength.
The festivals themselves enable FVR to raise valuable support through fundraising, as well as building relationships with local businesses, with projects such as the FVR/Darkwoods Coffee ‘Panama La Huella’ project, with all proceeds of this coffee sold at Manchester Coffee Festival going straight to FVR. We greatly value the significant work that FVR do and enjoy working with their team at every event.
Why did you choose FVR as the charity partner? How does it fit within your business aims and objectives?
Firstly, on a business level, the work FVR do on the ground to help support and spread vital information across the coffee growing regions made it a project we felt we had to support. This project is so important in the preservation and growth of the coffee sector globally, that we knew it would touch and engage with every exhibitor and visitor that attends our festivals.
Then, on a personal level, as a team, we always like to work with those that we see eye-to-eye with. With the FVR team, we have had a great rapport and enjoy working with everyone involved, and this only helps create a harmonious working relationship between our teams.
What was our contribution to the coffee festivals? How did it work for you?
We’ve loved having FVR involved in our festivals for a number of years now and really embrace the work they do and want to see this partnership grow over the coming years. From fundraising at our festivals, to giving expert talks and hosting panel discussions across our Dublin, Brighton and Manchester Coffee Festivals, we are thankful to work with a great team like FVR and the expertise they bring to each event.
Why do you think the work of FVR is important to the speciality coffee sector specifically?
The work FVR does to help improve the livelihoods of farming communities across the world is invaluable. From helping tackle challenges like gender equality, youth empowerment and environmental conservation, to the spread of key knowledge and information, that allows farmers to make more effective decisions. Their role at the heart of farming communities not only helps those working in these estates, but also creates a more productive, sustainable and resilient agricultural output, which benefits everyone working within the specialty coffee sector.
To have the FVR team be a key cog in our festivals, only helps broaden our understanding and comprehension of the key issues facing these communities and how we can help support and assist in overcoming these challenges.
What are your thoughts or recommendations for a successful business/charity partnership?
With any event we run, we aim to have mutually-beneficial, long-term collaboration, which is built on shared values. We’re thankful that with FVR we have this, and we are able to see the positive impact this partnership has on the communities that benefit from FVR’s work. With clear transparency and communication, we hope to ensure a sustainable, adaptable relationship that leads to long-term success for FVR and the farming communities they empower.
What are your hopes for the future for the coffee festivals that you host?
In the coming months and years, we want to continue to support and promote the specialty coffee communities across the UK and Ireland. When we first started the Brighton Coffee Festival back in 2019, our sole intention was to give the local coffee industry a hub to come together, to promote themselves but, mainly, to build the community and encourage it to thrive.
With so many talented individuals, the idea was to give them all a focal point to showcase their abilities to the wider public and, hopefully, make the coffee sector more approachable to the everyday enthusiast. With our current lineup of coffee festivals across the UK and Ireland, our challenge now is not only to showcase each city’s community, but also to help it grow and flourish.
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