Duopo is a charitable association inspired by the concept of “caffè sospeso”. The caffè sospeso was born in the popular cafes of Naples, Italy.
Its mechanism is simple: the payment of a supplement on the price of a coffee makes it possible to offer another coffee to a person in need. Thus, the caffè sospeso weaves a bond of solidarity between two people: the first who pays a supplement to the price of his coffee while consuming only one, and a second, in need, who sees himself benefiting from a free coffee thanks to this supplement.
Duopo (coming from the words ‘two’ and ‘collective’ in Esperanto) proposes to (re)create this bond of solidarity in Belgium by establishing itself as an intermediary between the different actors and to strengthen it by ensuring that the principles of caffè sospeso is respected.
Concretely, we allow the consumer in a bar or restaurant to offer a moment of warmth and comfort with a hot drink to people in precariousness by making the link between establishments and associations. Actively participating in a solidarity action can then become part of daily habits.
To do this, Duopo wants to act in a simple, direct and completely transparent way. Any establishment can label its products as participating in the Duopo project. Thus, the customer will be able to easily identify the products having a direct impact on the precariousness of people in need. Instead of costing double like the usual caffè sospeso, the supplement is simply equal to the cost price of a coffee distributed by the associations and is thus much more affordable.
The caffè sospeso movement has spread to all continents and is met with great enthusiasm among consumers, but at the same time has faced several criticisms. In particular on the fact that the managers of the said cafes collect a second coffee which is not necessarily given back, or at least with a fairly random coffee exchange system. Many are left on hold and follow-up is complex.
Duopo website
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