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Episode 9 - A Hydrogen and Solar Vegan Food Trailer at the Fringe: How You Can Help Make It Happen + Undertow by Keith Barker
30 Plays2 months ago
Venue 13 is joining forces with Soft Serve Cartel and Renewable Energy Vendors to bring the Edinburgh Fringe's first carbon-conscious vegan food trailer to the festival this August 2026—and we are launching a crowdfunding campaign to make it happen!
Stationed at the foot of the Royal Mile outside Venue 13 (Harry Younger Hall on Lochend Close), this trailblazing project will run for the full Fringe duration from August 7th to 29th. It stands as the Fringe’s first food trailer powered by a hybrid renewable setup: a combination of quiet, emission-free hydrogen fuel cells and solar panels, complete with electrical battery storage to support heavy-duty festival appliances.
In this episode, Ian, Vanesa, and special guest Nico Barcella (founder of Soft Serve Cartel and co-founder of Unity Doner) unpack why this pilot project matters now. While most festival sustainability conversations stop at the lighting rig, food and beverage operations remain incredibly carbon-intensive, historically relying on loud, polluting diesel generators. This trailer serves as an open-source blueprint to prove that vendor cooking can run entirely on clean power at scale.
Inside the Episode:
- The Clean Power Equation: Vanesa discusses her background with Hydrogen Vehicle Systems Ltd (HVS) and how hydrogen perfectly pairs with solar to absorb peak energy loads, drastically reducing both air and noise pollution for the local Lochend Close community.
- Solar in the Arts: Ian shares his history designing solar projects in performance contexts, including a massive 2010 lighting installation at the Coachella Music Festival and bringing off-grid theater to Toronto with Vox Lumen.
- The Food Line-up: Nico talks about the community-driven ethos behind Soft Serve Cartel and his Unity Doner collaboration with Edinburgh's own Considerit. He previews what's cooking on the trailer—including spit-cooked vegan kebabs, oat-based soft serve, and an upcoming bubble tea partnership with Tempo Tea Bar.
- Climate Change Theatre Action: The team concludes the episode with a dramatic reading of Undertow, a brilliant short play about environmental empathy and finding the middle ground by Métis playwright Keith Barker.
Three Ways You Can Help Us Reach Our £6,800 Target:
Share: Pass the announcement along to your favorite foodies, festival-goers, or climate enthusiasts!
Donate: Support the live campaign directly on the Edinburgh Fringe’s crowdfunding platform to help cover council licensing and essential site infrastructure.
Sponsor: Brands and organizations looking to put their name on a historic sustainability milestone can get in to
Recommended
Transcript
Launch of a Sustainable Food Trailer
00:00:12
Speaker
Hello and welcome back to podcast 13. I'm Ian. And I'm Vanessa. And we have a big announcement on this episode. This is episode nine and we're using it to announce something we've been working on for a few months.
00:00:24
Speaker
A fully vegan, fully carbon conscious food trailer to go outside of venue 13 for the Edinburgh Fringe this August, which is going to be powered by a combination of hydrogen fuel cells and solar panels.
00:00:39
Speaker
And as far as we know, this will be the first time the Edinburgh French has had a food trailer like this. So it's a first for Veli13, first for our partners, our SoftServe Cartel and Unity Donor, and the first to our renewable energy sponsors too.
00:00:53
Speaker
We've also launched a crowdfunding campaign, which we've mentioned in the last couple of episodes. This is going to help us make it happen. We'll talk a bit more about it and the details about how you can support that later on in the episode. And we hope you'll stick around for that.
00:01:08
Speaker
And we have a guest.
Discussion on Trailer and Significance with Nico Rochella
00:01:09
Speaker
We have Nico Rochella, founder of Scott SoftServe Cartel and co-founder of Unity Donor, who's joining us to talk about the trailer, and the food, and why this initiative is so close to its heart.
00:01:19
Speaker
So let's dive in.
00:01:27
Speaker
Now, let's start with the basics. What is this trailer? Where will it be? When will it be there? And what will it serve? So this is a fully vegan food trailer. going be parked outside of a Venue 13 at Harry Unger Hall on Lock End Close. We're right there at the foot of the Royal Mile.
00:01:44
Speaker
It's open for the entire Fringe Run at Venue 13. So August 7th until 29th. We'll have shows on for it. it's going to be taking up a couple of parking bays this is how venue 13 has run in the past before where we've had box office and that so we're going back to that model because we've gotten more shows inside so we've got to move the market stuff outside it's going to be powered by a hybrid renewable setup we're working out the fine details but we're working with partners we're going to be using a combination of hydrogen fuel cells
00:02:18
Speaker
to generate some that power combined with solar. And there's going to be some electrical storage that goes along with that to make it work for the appliances to be able to serve ice cream and make the kebabs.
00:02:31
Speaker
We're working with South South Hotel again. They brought in so many great plant-based vendors last year. And in our interview, you'll hear that there's even more that we're going be working with, working on building this vegan festival community.
Sustainable Festival Food Operations Model
00:02:48
Speaker
this is going to hopefully build on ah our success from last year as the first fully vegan multi-venue venue where we were working with a soft serve cartel and sore diana tuskers consider donuts and shore crisps at least one of those will be coming back as part of this year's food offerings and the goal is bigger than just serving food vanessa what would you say we're trying to demonstrate with this project I guess this is a pilot study type project. And we're trying to show the people of Edinburgh and Edinburgh in general that a working public-facing example of festival food serving and can happen when it's running on renewable energy at scale.
00:03:34
Speaker
So this is a proof that us, which are you know a medium-sized 50-seater venue, if we can do this, means that larger venues can do that too at you know at the Fringe Festival and other festivals that are outdoors.
Issues with Diesel Generators at Festivals
00:03:45
Speaker
and So this is a model that's open. We want to share what works and build the blueprints so that other venues can follow. And this is tied directly to venue's 13 wider mission, which is to be fully accessible, inclusive, sustainable and artist-first.
00:04:00
Speaker
Let's talk about why this matters this year, because it is easy to assume that sustainability is already sorted at the big festivals, but it really isn't. Yeah, most large festivals around the UK, many have done really excellent work, but for especially vendors and especially if they're remote, they're relying on either petrol or diesel generators to power things like the stage, to provide power for all the vendors, the food vendors, and some the back of the house too.
00:04:27
Speaker
So the food and beverage operations become a pretty carbon-intensive part of any festival, probably more than people realize because one tries to hide most of that infrastructure as much as possible. And they're pretty noisy. So they also also tend to be moved as far away as possible from like the stage because you want to hear you want to hear what people are saying and what you know and and the music.
00:04:49
Speaker
So vendor power is particularly stubborn because when people are coming especially if they have like their own individual trailers if it's not something that's provided for by a festival they each need their own supply and they're going to do what's economic and works for
Ian's Background in Sustainable Design
00:05:03
Speaker
them. Diesel tends to be cheap.
00:05:05
Speaker
And it's very familiar to work with like the, you know, from small to large generators, they're readily available, but it's something that is both, I'd it's stinky and noisy. So there is technology to replace it, but it sort of needs to be adapted to suit the purpose. We see a lot of things on the small end and a lot of things on the large end for like full sites down to like, you know, camping in that you'll see like solar generators and things like that.
00:05:30
Speaker
And so we're hoping that the will, the funding, and the regulation are going to continue to catch up to this. And we're going to see more people ah adopting things like this.
00:05:42
Speaker
So, you know, when you think about it in terms of like the the wider sector of what we're doing, you know, this is not something that we're doing in isolation. We're not the only people doing this. That's right. and We have other organisations such as Culture for Climate Scotland. Similar bodies have been making the case for years that the Scottish art sector needs to commit to net zero.
00:06:02
Speaker
Across the yeah UK and internationals, we have festival operators, theatres and touring companies. They are signing up to, for example, they agreed the Theatre Green Book standards, Julie's bicycle frameworks and similar commitments.
00:06:15
Speaker
the food side the festival, have lagged behind on on the you know that this production side or this commitment. Now, this trailer that we are and you know trying to put together and make happen is a small attempt to push that conversation forward.
00:06:29
Speaker
Building on May 13th's 2025 milestone as the Fringe's first fully vegan multi-vendor venue and our Veganuary 2025 mention. Ian, can you think of some of the points as to how this affects the people of Edinburgh and why should they back this project?
00:06:45
Speaker
Well, I think anybody who's gone to the theatre in the UK knows, and this is not just people who are there, but people who come and visit, that, ah you know, it's traditional to serve ice cream at the at the interval. That's something that's a very UK traditional thing to do.
00:07:00
Speaker
And there was a study in 2008 that That this is when Julie's Bicycle was just getting into theater as a realm. They were commissioned by the mayor's office of London to look at Western theaters. And people might not know this, but the concessions, so that includes
Vanessa on Hydrogen Energy for Festivals
00:07:17
Speaker
chilling all of that ice cream. And then, you know, any drinks that you get, any snacks that you get, is more energy intensive than all of the stage technology.
00:07:25
Speaker
by like multiple times yeah it's like two to three times the stage technology for all the lights all the video all the sound all of those things that plug in that you see that like create the spectacle of a west end theater production that those are going to be like half or less of what it costs to um or what the impact the environmental impacts are of serving ice cream and serving And a lot of it has to do because it's on all the time.
00:07:54
Speaker
So like, that's something that everybody's sort of interacting with. So when we look at these things and these alternatives to that, we start looking at, you know, how can we change these habits that we just sort of take us for for granted? And we we don't really think about it. I'm sure many people just don't think about that.
00:08:09
Speaker
you know There's a lot of direct impacts as well. We're talking about cleaner air. There was you know the same sort of diesel generators that are used for festival power. And you don't have like a place that you can plug things in or you can't tap into the grid. Or things that are used on film shoots. And there was a study done in Los Angeles around like the number of those that are used for film shoots. And they're like a significant part of the air quality impacts in Los Angeles, which is also known for because of the car production.
00:08:38
Speaker
dependency for having history of not not the cleanest air it's improved a lot and part of that has been because you know they have like idling film trucks and the power that they need at these various places so we're just talking about cleaner air overall if festivals aren't using diesel and this is in edinburgh or any places they're also quieter hydrogen and solar they're silent There's not the constant rumble of a diesel generator. This oftentimes you know is a challenge for when you're doing site planning because you have to put them far away from where people are or definitely where performers are. And in our sort of enclosed area, it sort of becomes a necessity too on the close. We have a lot of people who are living there and they don't want to hear, we don't want to hear a a generator, a motor just going constantly throughout the day.
00:09:25
Speaker
I wanted to make a point on that. It's like, I feel like now people are setting up these organizations and new businesses. And sometimes just the noise pollution gets overlooked or people just like abide by the bare minimum.
00:09:37
Speaker
Whereas like, at 10 years 13, in Loch and Cloth, we have the community around, the like surrounding us that we have to think of as well, because we want to make friends and we want to be there for a long time.
00:09:47
Speaker
Yeah. and And part of that community aspect then, too, is that this then gives us a really unique way to support local food businesses who are looking to adopt a technology.
Past Sustainability Initiatives and Awards
00:09:57
Speaker
As people will hear in our interview with Nico, that, you know, is there's a lot of alignment between the way that we're approaching food and then the way that we're approaching.
00:10:09
Speaker
working on this trailer as well and edinburgh itself is is really not just a festival city but it's a place known for its climate leadership as well so this is adding to that combining two of the things that the city is really well known for climate leadership and the festival environment and showing how those things can work together
00:10:32
Speaker
I want to spend a few minutes on in you know your back history because you have been working on solar in performance contexts for a long time now before this campaign. I want our listeners to understand where this comes from.
00:10:44
Speaker
So for listeners who haven't met you and on the podcast before, can you give us a quick sense of your work outside of the New 13th? So that's kind of, you know, your work in Toronto or other places and then as well as York University, the CSPA and how it all fits together.
00:10:59
Speaker
Yeah, so my day job, as a as it is, is as professor of ecological design for performance at York University in Toronto, not to be confused with the University of York.
00:11:11
Speaker
I've been there and it brought me to Toronto in 2012 because
Notable Solar Projects by Ian
00:11:15
Speaker
that's been a lot of my background. I i actually started thinking I was going to go into architecture. And when I was training for that, it was as like the LEED certification environmental standards were really taking root. and But i I moved over to doing primarily theater design.
00:11:29
Speaker
And so I took a lot of that thinking and just like spending my youth being an environmental activist growing up in Los Angeles and ah sort of applying that to my practice. And then with a partner in 2008, co-founded an organization that still runs today as a nonprofit in Canada called the Center for Sustainable Practice in the Arts of the CSP. PA.
00:11:51
Speaker
And this has allowed me to ah connect research and my producing and design background. And I bring a lot of that to my work on the ground at the Fringe.
00:12:03
Speaker
I see. And if I remember correctly, you initiated the Fringe Sustainable Practice Award back in 2010 co-directed it with Creative Chiron Scotland until 2017. what was the gap that that award was trying to close?
00:12:19
Speaker
After that, so 2010 was my third festival, my third time coming to the festival. And I was thinking a lot about how a lot of people are coming from all over the world. There's a lot of travel involved in it. And we were looking at paper waste and we started organizing sessions with Fringe Central.
00:12:36
Speaker
We had a lot of UK partners and that. And so was really about like, One, our goal was how can we get people to tell us what they're doing? How can we find out what people are doing around the festival and what sort of trends there are in terms of environmental consciousness?
00:12:53
Speaker
And we decided to go with a award because like everybody's looking for ways to highlight what they're doing and for ways to like make noise about their show.
00:13:06
Speaker
And there was an organization called the Ashton Directory that would put together a ah ah list of environmental plays every year at the Fringe. And so was sort of based off of that. We're like, how can we you know use that as a basis for reaching out to people who are already thinking about this and going beyond that and saying, let us know what you're doing.
Nico’s Vegan Ventures and Collaborations
00:13:23
Speaker
It's going to help us find out what people are doing. And also, know, have... long lists and short lists and it allowed people to you know have another thing that they could talk about so it's really good for press we had a you know every year we had a company that had some sort of exemplary effect it also led us to highlight different ways that people are approaching it because they'd be you know there were like looking at some of the the highlights of people that they came across sometimes we did based off of topic there were sometimes it was somebody who was local so puppet state theater and their show the man who planted trees did really well and they run the award uh in one year and they're local edinburgh based very conscious interest in the type of content connecting with youth
00:14:06
Speaker
and that it's a great show they that they do tend to bring it back and do other work at the fringe too so i highly recommend checking them out and and we yeah we also had ah but we've had shows like there was a show from vo dance which is a they're from fiji and they were really sort of like nervous about receiving the award actually because of how far they had to travel they're like how can we claim this But it was really about the environmental impact around what's happening to the the to Fiji around sea level and worsening like cyclones, typhoons, hurricanes, whatever whatever the the local parlance is show was called Are You Stronger than Winston? And it was named after a storm that they were reacting to. So you have that and you know you have people inside theaters and then you had like the handlebars which also we gave a special mention to which they tour around on bike. They tend to do their show at the Botanics or another park space and they're doing completely off-grid touring and presentation of really high quality shake Shakespeare work.
00:15:08
Speaker
too so it's all sort of variety of um of shows we did decide to end it after eight years because we sort of plateaued because so many new people come every year that uh in 2018 we're like oh we're we're just the work's not getting easier for it is this the right way to do change and there was also other groups that were looking to do more like there was another award that came along that we supported that another group was coming up from a different approach ah starting in 2018 obviously a lot of things changed a couple of years after that and so we haven't seen an award come back in and that but we have seen other initiatives like there's some programming that that we're talking about with the folks at the theater green book that they'll be doing during the festival at least for artists at frame central amazing
00:15:57
Speaker
And going back to what you said about, you know, your background in Canada, in Toronto and other projects that you've worked on, tell us about the solar projects you've actually designed, supported or studied. So I know that our listeners would really like to to hear more about one or two specific examples that they can picture.
00:16:16
Speaker
Yeah, I've got like two shows or two projects that I guess still get a lot of mileage out. So my first opportunity to get to directly work with renewables was for a project for Coachella, the music festival in Southern California in 2010. Part of a team, the part of a group called the Crimson Collective, which is a large scale, looks like an origami crane, but massive.
Community-Driven Vegan Business Model
00:16:40
Speaker
It was made out of truss and textile and I ended up coming onto to it as a lighting designer. And in the lighting team, there are three of us, myself, an electrical engineer and a sort of solar foreman, somebody who installs solar systems. And we worked together to figure out how to light this giant sculpture up so that it could serve as a shade structure that people gather around during the day.
00:17:01
Speaker
And then at night would turn into this lit up sculpture that sort of, you know, was ah was a beacon on and another gathering point on sort of the um the skyline of the the festival as well. And that's been something that I know that a couple of years ago, someone created an augmented reality experience with like popular installations and artwork at Coachella's past. And they included the bird in that one as well. I think it flies away in that one. It could not fly away. We had to design it definitely not to fly away during ah during that time. And then a few years later, i actually got to bring this into the theater where I was working with a company here in Toronto called Zata Ohm.
00:17:43
Speaker
And they a project called Vox Lumen where we did the entire thing off grid. So we worked with a couple of partners, both a local conservation area that had like a solar trailer they bring around for educational purposes. And then a company that made like charging stations that were solar powered for outdoor malls and they deconstructed with some of some of them for us and so we put a solar installation outside the theater in february that show
Vision for Renewable Integration in Food Ventures
00:18:07
Speaker
was the first couple days of march so winter in toronto and they charged batteries out there and then we wheeled them in for the performance and the entire performance was engineered so i didn't i didn't do lights for it i did the set to design but my colleague simon rossiter who's a lighting designer for that
00:18:24
Speaker
We worked really closely together to sort of do a lot of the engineering where, you know, oftentimes we assume how much power we're going to get just by plugging things out the wall. But because we knew we had a limited amount of it and there were some quirks with how much we could use at any given time, we had a a big partnership there. And then those both worked really well. So those are sort of two highlight projects. There's been a lot of other opportunities to talk about how renewables integrate with what we're doing and smaller projects like that. But those are those are ones that oh ah we should put the links into the show notes for that so that people could keep a look at those. I'm pretty proud of those.
00:18:59
Speaker
Yeah, no, absolutely. I think people really like to have a look at that. So from what you're describing, you know, you are quite familiar with the the best and the worst, shall we say, of solar.
00:19:10
Speaker
And if we were to ask you, what is the, you know, the honest version of, you know, how do you really feel that solar would fare at the festival scale? Where does it shine? And where do you feel like it falls a bit short?
00:19:21
Speaker
Well, you know, one of the one of the challenges is that a lot of people don't understand what level of like how much space that you need and how much is generated by what like they're just not used to that. are electrical infrastructure is really invisible to us most the time. And so there's, you know, one of the one of the challenges just that the temptation of tokenism, like putting a single photovoltaic panel out for SolarUp.
00:19:46
Speaker
When we were doing the project at Coachella, lot of people thought it's like, is this powering the entire festival? And those of us who knew, we were like, there is no way. That is absolutely impossible. You do not understand how much power is ah being generated or not here. And so sometimes that can be challenging because people don't understand, like,
00:20:03
Speaker
what we need what's our capacity that we need and how that is because we we don't live with it a lot especially because a lot of our power sources are through fossil fuels and so they're dirty so we want them away from where we're where living you know i think one of the the most common i'd say misconceptions around around solar is that Is that, you know, you can only use it when the sun is shining and when it's working. Now, there's a lot of engineering that goes into also just like the efficiency of it. So Edinburgh tends to be very cloudy. We got a really nice, very sunny August last year.
00:20:43
Speaker
But you sort of have to design around the idea that you're not always going to get that. They still work as long as there's daylight at ah ah ah like out in it. in it But if it's
Crowdfunding Campaign for the Vegan Trailer
00:20:52
Speaker
diffused in that, like the efficiency and the conversion can go down quite a bit. So you sort of have to think about that in a way that it's not always going to be consistent. It's more consistent than asking like your audience to show up and turn a crank or something. But...
00:21:03
Speaker
like the sun's going to be out but how much it is so there's all a lot of redundancy there and then you have to talk about storage so then there's also like batteries and then you have inverters and where can you put these things and weatherproofing and it's not that i mean this is particularly hard we see solar installed in a lot of different places but it's outside of what we're dealing with on a on a normal basis we're looking at the footprint for it and how we store that and how We made that available. That's one of the particular challenges in what we're trying to do with a trailer, right? Because we're not going to be able to directly power an ice cream machine with any, with solar, with any one individual thing. Yeah. This has been, in the renewables, in my experience, has always been the long-age question and debate that, you know, with diesel, we have, you know, the holy grail of the one thing that solves everything. And we are so used to just having that one solution, and you know, at the cost of the noise and the pollution.
00:22:02
Speaker
But, you know, it is a very effective you know fuel that we have become so reliant on because it is effective. But if we're going to go the renewables way, we have to think of, you know, ah combinations And this is where it gets complicated because people, first of all, they're not sure what it looks like, how much space it takes and what is required and which combinations will be efficient as diesel. And then after, you know, there's this whole you know mental workload of like, oh, if I'm going to do all of that, might as well just continue using diesel generators.
00:22:44
Speaker
Yeah, was going to say before you were at VKind Arts and like primarily that, like you were you were doing communications and corporate relations within a hydrogen vehicle sort of HVS, hydrogen vehicle systems, right?
Sustainability in Theaters and Festival Projects
00:22:57
Speaker
And and this this is an unusual background for someone to come into the arts with, right? That's a That's a new thing. And that's that's the other part of this, too. like We're not just talking about like storage in terms of batteries and relay on solar, but um as we've indicated, it's going to have hydrogen in it as well.
00:23:13
Speaker
how How are we tapping into your background in that? How has that come handy in this in this project? Well, my time at the HVS was extremely educational. I've learned a lot about, you know, renewable industries, not just simply hydrogen, but many, many companies that were trying to do so many wonderful things. We did have, and you know, i guess this is still ongoing, but I do feel it's much better now, a ah debate on, you know, sourcing the hydrogens and just general resource availability and you know, how to transport this this fuel from one place to the next. Is it going to be
00:23:49
Speaker
pipes? Is it going to be, you know, ah tanks? You know, where is it going to be stored? I do believe that a lot has advanced since my time at HVS. I do still believe that hydrogen is a fantastic fuel source. and You know, small concentrations can provide many, many hours of energy. So it does give you that, you know,
00:24:07
Speaker
really good, you know, ah bang for your buck type of thing. And it really does balance out the cost of the fuel.
Importance of Sustainable Festival Practices
00:24:14
Speaker
And I do believe that once the you know availability becomes, you know, much more ah accessible, and the the cost of it will definitely continue to to go down.
00:24:22
Speaker
And people will see that the value really relies on switching to hydrogen and a combination of other renewables. You know, it's a waste byproduct is water vapor. It's very quiet. um And this is why is I believe suited to applications like festivals,
00:24:37
Speaker
and you know because it it can handle heavy-duty, long hours, and intermittent demand. But pairing hydrogen and solar is you know the practical answer, potentially with some sort of you know electrical generators or batteries. Solar handles the dates that the daytime baseline, and you know hydrogen carries the the peak loads, maybe the early morning, the starts. And together, I do believe that they will keep the the busy ah August trailer running without diesel.
00:25:05
Speaker
Yeah, and it's an interesting thing because i like you know we will we'll be the first to do this in Edinburgh at the festival in this way. but No doubt there.
00:25:16
Speaker
However, we won't be the first theater to use hydrogen. The Arcola Theater in London was using hydrogen nearly 20 years ago. with um just happened to be that their general manager, Dr. Ben Todd, whose background was in hydrogen development, and they created a whole offshoot called Arcola Energy. Now, when they moved, that I don't think that they brought over the hydrogen generator. It's also funny in their in their space on Arcola, the street. in London that they had to like put special lights on it because people would get excited that we have a hydra that that's a power it's a they had a theater in which they'd power shows with a but it just looked like a small fridge it's like not an exciting device to look at so they put like spinny lights on it so because everybody wanted to come see it.
00:26:00
Speaker
Is this something to see? Yeah, so there's something to see. again guy in the way It's a bit like they the ATM machine that, you know, when it's about to give you your money, it makes the noise so that you know, but the noise is not real, but it it makes the noise so
Call to Action for Campaign Support
00:26:14
Speaker
that you feel like, oh something's happening.
00:26:16
Speaker
Right. But it's all those indications there. show i think that it's i think it's like, you know, I'm talking about doing Solar at a festival in 2010. Before that, there being a theater with hydrogen already powering a show. These are well-established technologies. And it's sort of like obscene to me that these are not things that have been already done. that That we are the first. We shouldn't be the first to do it.
00:26:38
Speaker
But I'm happy that we are the first do
00:26:46
Speaker
And I'm happy too. So here's the practical bit. We have a live crowdfunding campaign hosted on the Edinburgh Fringe's own crowdfunding platform. Now the target here is to get £6,800. And what that money covers, you may ask. So plainly, we are looking for, you know, the fees to cover the parking basis pages where we're going to put the trailer.
00:27:07
Speaker
ah We have a few licenses that we need from the City of Edinburgh Council. and These licenses are required to operate, maybe, you know, a bit of ah logistics, porta cabins, basic infrastructure to set the trailer up ah safely for August.
00:27:20
Speaker
And what is already secure in kind? Now, we do have our renewable energy equipment from the energy partners. We have marketing and PR from VKind Arts. We have the pitch location and, you know, all the backing from Venue 13 that they can possibly give us. And you also have the CrowdFinder link, which we're going to add to the description on the podcast.
00:27:39
Speaker
There are three ways that if you would like to help us, and we'd love it if you did, that you can do that. One is to donate. Obviously, it's a crowdfunding campaign. any amount that you can spare from one pound to, well, if you want to go the full thing, you just want to say that we're
Collaboration in Vegan Business for Sustainability
00:27:54
Speaker
going sponsor it. We'll be happy with you.
00:27:56
Speaker
make it a lot easier there's a number of awards there as well to keep track of what we're doing over the course of the summer but yes donate any amount on that crowdfunder page every contribution gets us closer to being able to make this happen in august if you do want to partner or you want to go beyond what's there if you're a business a brand an organization that wants to attach your name to the first carbon conscious vegan food trailer powered by RenewableMG at the Edinburgh Fringe, please get in touch. There are sponsorship opportunities as well beyond the crowdfunding itself.
00:28:29
Speaker
And so we've got that within the campaign and we can put stuff on the trailer itself, shoot us ah an email, primarily get in touch with Vanessa. She is able to help set up all of those. And if you can't do that, if you're like, okay, you've just made it harder to do for it by saying like, i sponsor, what what else can I do?
00:28:47
Speaker
Tell people, share it, post a link, tag a friend who loves vegan food, tag a friend who works at festivals, tag a friend who cares about climate, tag a friend who is into renewables, tag a friend who is a climate skeptic, doesn't know if vegan food can be delicious and doesn't like dare them to come and support us and see what we're doing. as well.
00:29:09
Speaker
So friends and foes alike, tell them to come check us out so that they can see what happens when you put all these things together. But Vanessa, what happens if we hit that target though?
00:29:22
Speaker
If we hit this target, you know, this happens. We do have the vegan trailer. You know, if we go past it, that oh my God, I can't even, I can't even think. If we if hit this target, I will be, first of all, I'll be extremely happy.
00:29:34
Speaker
And then if we have, you know, if we're going to be swimming in money here, ah we're going to do more. We're going to do more in the sustainability aspect. We're going to put the money to towards proper documentation. Maybe we can do a documentary. We can release that publicly. So other than you can copy what we did. We can actually even look into further opportunities to how we're going to adapt the market. And market 13 at venue 13 for sustainable options
Future Community-Driven Vegan Projects
00:29:58
Speaker
in the future. And we're going to just ah throw a big party and give everyone free food, really.
00:30:03
Speaker
I feel like in in our conversation with Nico, there's an indication there. I wouldn't be surprised if we're going have a bit of an opening celebration anyway. So also just like follow our social media, just so you know when you can get a deal on delicious kebabs, delicious.
00:30:18
Speaker
You will have heard that we're looking at bubble tea and of course the ice cream for that. Like we've always got deals and they're always giving away samples for the ice cream too. So like, can we just like lurk near lock in close in August?
00:30:29
Speaker
You can least get samples of it, of that there as well.
00:30:39
Speaker
And now our guest, Nico Bartela, who runs Soft Serve Cartel, which a lot of you will know from ah the iconic Dole pineapple twist, not to be confused with any other Dole-based pineapple frozen dessert for legal reasons, and oat-based vanilla soft serve.
00:30:57
Speaker
He is also a founder of Unity Donner, which just opened a residency at Considerate Donuts in Edinburgh, serving spit-cooked vegan kebabs. He will be the face of the trailer outside the New 13 this August.
00:31:10
Speaker
Welcome, Nico. Hi, guys. I'm really, really glad to be here with you. So glad that you're here with us today. Nico, so just to get into it, SoftServeCatel started two years ago, roughly, is that correct? Can you take us back to where the idea came from and what you've learned about Edinburgh's vegan scene since you started?
00:31:29
Speaker
Roughly, it'll be two years in August since the sort of concept began. And to take you back to then, essentially, i had been vegan for a number of years and I attended my first sort of big vegan market.
00:31:45
Speaker
And I was looking around at how busy it was and how the vegan community responded to all of these small businesses in one place. Quite quickly, my opportunistic mindset had me looking around to see what do they have and what, more importantly, don't they have.
00:32:06
Speaker
Source search straight away, it didn't exist. I quickly done some research and found out why it didn't exist in these events. and it's you know There's a lot of logistics to it. The the machines are heavy and they're not easy to source and things like that.
00:32:22
Speaker
But... never want to shy away from a challenge I decided to go for it so essentially it it was born through a bit of opportunistic mindset but also just looking at how the vegan community responds to small businesses and so with the ice cream for me, it was adding a bit of nostalgia into these markets. You know, vanilla soft serve ice cream with raspberry sauce, certainly in Britain, has always been a huge thing for people of all ages. So,
00:32:54
Speaker
I went to my first market with my my business partner, Ben, and the response was incredible. we We really couldn't believe what the response was in that that first day.
00:33:05
Speaker
And since then, the idea has just grown and grown to the point that in Edinburgh in particular, we have such an amazing following no matter where we go. We have new people every time. So yeah the the vegan community in Edinburgh in particular are a very close knit community so for any small business it's a good way to get a foot in the door Absolutely. You guys yeah were pioneers. And now, you know, like you said, you keep on innovating and innovating.
00:33:36
Speaker
And we just can't wait to see, you know, what's the next thing. And speaking of the next thing, the Unity Donor Considuate Collaboration, that's that's pretty unique. A bivan, vegan kebab, you know, cooked in a spit, you know, as opposed to just something that's been like pre-shaved, pre-packaged.
00:33:50
Speaker
Tell us about how that idea came together. Were you in collaboration already with ah with Unity Diner? They're London-based, aren't they? Basically, my ethos is always collaborate. I think, in particular, on small businesses, it's very difficult to keep your head above water. So if we can all lean on each other a little bit, then it should certainly make things easier for us all.
00:34:14
Speaker
So part of my business model with SoftServe Cartel is offering other small vegan businesses the opportunity to sell their ice cream. We provide a machine as well as the stock. And we work on a commission basis. So Unity Diner were the first customer of that service. Somehow I found myself with a first customer 500 miles away from where I live. But again, just back to that whole not backing down from a challenge, I headed down to London, and met with the owners of Unity Diner, and we hit it off quite well. the The truth is that Unity Diner...
00:34:55
Speaker
fund an animal sanctuary and it's a big a big dream of mine so we very quickly got off the ground became sort of what would call now friends and since then we've been thinking of ways to you know bring new things to the vegan community what can we do to help the sanctuary and so on and so Unity Diner launched the league and kebab for the first time earlier on in 2025 and we had a chat about it because we know it's the type of product that will do well at festivals and markets and things like that because it's very unusual to see.
00:35:35
Speaker
So similar to the ice cream, how that started, we just decided, well, I'm already traveling around the UK selling ice cream. Can I also do it with kebabs?
00:35:46
Speaker
So that that's how they became the kind of Unity Diner and becoming Unity Donner collaboration happened. And then again, because I travel around so much, i have the pleasure of meeting the different vegan businesses around the yeah UK. So consider that it where people who I'd met at different markets, again, we chatted, we shared a lot in common as do, you know, most small vegan businesses. So when I visited their shop for the first time,
00:36:15
Speaker
I could see that there's two kitchen spaces and because they are a bakery, then I knew that the shop is only essentially used half of the day. So I put forward an idea which involved me taking over, you know, one of the kitchens in the unit and allowing us to essentially offer a savoury option to complement the suites. I speak a lot on this subject because I think it's really important that, like I was saying earlier,
00:36:45
Speaker
If we can support each other, then we can all help guarantee each other's futures and consider it have been there since, you know, roughly 2018, 2017. And I want to see that continue.
00:36:59
Speaker
I want to see that, you know, go on to the future. So if I can be part of something that allows them to bring in some extra revenue, whilst also allowing me to build upon my businesses, then it just made complete sense. I can see, yeah, I can see that in that answer you've given us quite a lot that maybe our listeners haven't taken into consideration before. When I met you, i do remember you've always been quite involved in animal well-being and supporting animal sanctuaries.
00:37:27
Speaker
and I've always admired that of you. I thought this was such a a strong... identification sort of someone that's like vegan through and through, you know, just for the animals.
00:37:37
Speaker
And you've covered quite a lot there of my what was going to be my next question about, do you know, what does the community involved in the community project from Considering looks like to you? And I believe you're just telling us this is something about, again, immersing yourself in that community, sharing what you can do with what they can do and making sure that they are, you know, they're continuing there are for longer.
00:37:59
Speaker
what What I'm good at doing is spotting opportunities and things that you know other people maybe don't see or they pass by on it. For instance, within Considerate, it's not somewhere I'm not there on a week-to-week basis.
00:38:12
Speaker
What I've went in there and done is taken my idea... put it in action and now there's extra local people who are get jobs, consider it have additional revenue coming in, the vegan community have a new product that they can go and try and enjoy.
00:38:30
Speaker
So for me, there's a sort of multifaceted up approach here and one of them is how do you help the business community? So, for instance, you know, within the non-vegan community, yeah there are a lot of businesses which work together in order to get the best prices and things and so on and so forth.
00:38:51
Speaker
Within the vegan community, business community, we're all... on such a small level and we all operate mainly on a lifestyle choice as opposed to you know chasing money through business so what you find with vegan businesses quite often is that their opening hours are shorter than you know what we're used to and yeah that's true yeah that's true yeah They're more inclined to take days off. They're more inclined to shut if there's terrible weather and things like that. So, and I think all of these things are decisions that we would like businesses to make, right? We we want people to look after each other and ensure staff are, you know, happy and so on and so forth.
00:39:35
Speaker
It's hard to do that when you're constantly chasing money, right? So for me, for instance, with the ice cream, it was about giving an ice cream machine, which allows them to bring revenue in without spending money, and that they bring revenue in to share that with me. So the same kind of idea, just operating in a different way with the kebabs and that.
00:39:58
Speaker
we're given a commission a commission to consider it which means that without doing any extra work they're able to get some extra cash and the truth of the matter is that's the main thing for me i think the whole concept of popping up in other people's businesses will will always be there and always have a chance to work um i think what's super important is that people who are established vegan businesses remain.
00:40:27
Speaker
So from the business angle, it's about making sure anyone that's currently open as a vegan business stays open. As we all, anyone who eats vegan, anyone who's in search of vegan food, and we are all so excited when new products come out.
00:40:44
Speaker
So from that side of it, again, there's a little bit of, well, I'm getting the chance to go around the UK and try these things I'm really quite happy and excited that I'm able to now start offering to other people so community, community, community 100% Well, I mean, that that's worked ah really well for us in collaboration last year. So I know that we were excited for but to to figure out what we're going to do for Venue 13 this year, but we're adding in this twist to it, right? No no pun intended.
00:41:20
Speaker
Around also looking at like the renewable angle for it. A little bit related to like these principles of... like How about if we power it through hydrogen and solar? When when that idea came up, what was your first reaction? but What made you eventually say yes?
00:41:36
Speaker
This is asaic satan as as bringing vegan ventures. I'm vegan for the animals, but I'm also, I recognize that it's not necessarily today's thinking. It's anyone who's vegan today is maybe a little bit ahead of what is happening in the world, whether that's purposely or just accidentally, but that's the way I see it. And I think the same with renewable. and I was driving an electric car in 2014 before anyone wanted to drive electric cars. And it's same now that that idea for me of future-truthing what we're doing and
00:42:16
Speaker
reducing the harm in the things that we're doing because I think the important thing to remember is we all have a responsibility to ourselves and to the people around about to ensure that today's choices are better than yesterday's and I think renewable energy is the you know that's such a a good line because it's it affects everything there's you know there's nothing that we do that doesn't involve some form of energy So the simple idea of powering my food and dessert businesses with renewable energy, that's just exciting to me. and I know other people might find that dull or boring, but for me, i see that as being the future.
00:43:00
Speaker
I see that as same way as bringing vegan food to Venue 13 last year during the Fringe and stuff like that. This is it the same for me. This is us solidifying that we are the future and everyone else will just be catching up with us.
00:43:17
Speaker
So, yeah, that any any thoughts that I put or consideration, that it was more so trying to contain my excitement because i genuinely think it's a brilliant concept and a brilliant project that we're sort of getting into now yeah with all these exciting parts what do you what do you think is might still get in people's way of this like you've you've mentioned in some of the press coverage that the donor is like almost identical to like a regular kebab and and just really could even be better right and i think that we're seeing a lot of progress there too so it's like people are getting over lot of stigmas around how they think about plant-based options and that they're they're not going to be as satisfying for that but um you know aside from that but like are there other barriers that you see to people like willing to to try these things i operate a lot on good customer service i think the years that spent working in restaurants and takeaway shops and things like that you know very very much customer facing roles
00:44:18
Speaker
I think that's a big part of it. I think when people walk in somewhere and they're met with vegan auctions, for instance, or a vegan restaurant... You know, the they've never experienced it before, so they don't know the questions to ask.
00:44:33
Speaker
They don't know necessarily what things taste like and they don't want to spend their money straight away on something they don't know. So, for instance, that was a big reason why when we launched Unity Donner in Edinburgh, we'd done a full day of, you know, giving kebabs out for free. We went into the Meadows and we were giving out samples.
00:44:54
Speaker
had got local sort of activists and stuff to come in to go out and do some footage and record some content because I think just like the renewable thing, all of it is just that...
00:45:08
Speaker
a sort of education process and that's not always education of the brain it can be education of the taste buds for me that's why doing all of this really excites me because like last year at venue 13 working out to give out ice cream giving out samples doing things like that it's very much the same idea because although this is a business absolutely you know introducing people to the the vegan food by way of come and try this come and have a chat with us. No one here is going to be, you know, giving you a hard time or forcing anything anything on you.
00:45:44
Speaker
the The food, the vibes, the overall sort of ethos of our company, like I say, is it's about people, essentially. We say community, but that that is just people. So whether that's vegans, non-vegans or whatever, for me, it's super exciting showing people what i believe is the future.
00:46:04
Speaker
The thing that comes to mind for me is that like, there are so many things, especially when we were also working with Sora last year, right? Where it's just like the, there's a point at which you just don't think about whether or not like that it's vegan or not.
00:46:20
Speaker
Right. That it like, doesn't have to be a modifier for it. It's just food. It's just really good food. And it's amazing food that we've been able to host before. So it's like having a little food festival for the month for it. I know that we end up eating really well during the festival.
00:46:33
Speaker
I ate so much pasta last year. and had so much ice cream. It just like, do I need to eat more ice cream today? One of the things that's exciting to us is that like, even before we were partnering, like I know Vanessa and I were both friends of Consider It.
00:46:49
Speaker
ah And we just happened to like, I think like a little over a year ago, we were both in London. we ended up going to like the Unity Diner Sunday Roast because it was just like, oh, we should check that out. So it's like, and it was amazing.
00:47:03
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. It's exciting to see, like, things that we already love coming together like this. Like, totally in that that community vibe as well. But you've also said that this could be a blueprint for other businesses. Like, what does success look like for SoftSurf Cartel, for the trailer, for Unity Donner? You know, you've started to put the ice cream machines in other businesses, as you're saying. Like, what does what is what does that blueprint look like? And what do you hope that that you get to? and ah at the end of that third year the work that I've been putting in for the last couple of years in soft serve cartel is it's starting to really show now because for instance in the last week I've had three different vegan restaurants reach out to me to ask if I thought
00:47:51
Speaker
be up for collaborating with them because they've seen the work that I've done with Unity Diner and they've seen my recent collab with Plan Chigee's down in Bristol and I guess it's like any business you know i I knew that at the beginning it was always about that it's about networking it's about building those relationships and friendships and then people will start they will start coming to you as opposed to you having to go to them so for SoftServe Cartel Honestly, if we want to talk sky's the limit kind of thing, I would use nothing more than to see full vegan soft serve in places like Greg's, McDosie,
00:48:30
Speaker
places like that and you have to be careful with the mcdonald's one because then you're going to get a reputation for your machines not working so as far as i'm concerned there is there is going to be a point there's a line in the sand at some point in the next few years where places like mcdonald's and things like that will start to recognize and see that at their scale they'll be able to produce vegan ice cream cheaper. I'm already becoming known as they the vegan ice cream person in the UK, hence why people are reaching out to me.
00:49:03
Speaker
So if I can keep on that and I can build upon that to the point where I get maybe some high profile people talking about me or, you know, whatever whatever it may be, I think there's a great opportunity that these bigger, you know, huge multinationals will a that there'll be an opportunity somewhere and that's just about me keeping the hustle up you know it's it's just about the like these moments having in these chats with with you guys it's about doing that as much as I can with as many people as I can so that when people think vegan ice cream they're vegan ice cream they think Nico from Soft Serve Cartel
00:49:43
Speaker
So for the ice cream, that would be my my kind of end goal. The truth is, travelling to festivals and markets and things takes its toll, not not just on me, but also on vehicles and you know the fuel and stuff that's required. So sustainably are about sustainability going forward i really wouldn't want to be driving about in a van across country to sell ice cream and that's why i won't if you're in leeds take an ice cream machine off off me if you're in london taking ice cream you know and that way i'm not actively having to go about and do these things that but all these towns and cities already have the option um
00:50:24
Speaker
So for SofServeCartell, that would be the kind of long-term goal is to be able to secure a big contract for ah that has multiple outlets and and go from there kind of thing.
00:50:38
Speaker
With Unity Donner, I think very much that there's an opportunity. It's slightly different because it's a bit more complex than the ice cream, but the same idea. I kind of want to just show people that,
00:50:54
Speaker
what but what what I'm doing is showing people that it exists if you know what mean so just because you own a restaurant in Glasgow doesn't mean that you necessarily know that you can now get vegan kebabs on a spit right and then maybe they don't know what type of equipment they need what they don't know you know how to do it so I see that as a potential route for Unity Donor as as well as maybe opening a couple of sort of small, like dark kitchen, satellite kitchen type ideas. Oh, that's nice.
00:51:29
Speaker
Yeah. I think what we've done in Considerate is it can be done elsewhere. It's just about having having the right mindset. So when i when I talk to people,
00:51:43
Speaker
about it the it's hard for them to understand that I'm not necessarily just looking for money off of them so with the ice cream for instance I give them an ice cream machine for free and I give them stock for free and I take commission the hardest part is getting people to believe that I'm not you know up to something untoward they're like you know no one gives things away for free and I'm like well it's not really for free it's just that I'm not making you pay anything up front and then I'm going to take money down the line yes I see I see that like that can come across in a company but like you said though a lot of vegan people do this because of the lifestyle and there is not something like people usually will think about like if you think about it now every person that buys one of the kebabs
00:52:32
Speaker
They will be, in a way, supporting these animal sanctuaries that Unity supports. And I think that's fantastic. So, you know, you might say, i you know, you are going to give it for free. You're getting money down the line.
00:52:45
Speaker
But at the same time, you you do want to operate in that good faith. yeah, I can't think of a better way than building a relationship than showing people that they can trust me and then they're then like, oh, okay, now need to be kind to this person, know, it becomes a mutual thing because I put the first foot forward instead of expecting them and I think,
00:53:10
Speaker
So again, like essentially what I'm doing is sales, right? But it's just different sales. So most people have a really bad idea of a salesperson because a salesperson comes in and says, give me some money and then I'll give you a product.
00:53:24
Speaker
I'm going in and saying, I'll give you a product, then you can give me some money. And you know that's a hard thing. Once that's in action, it's a hard thing for the other person to then you know, mistreat me or take advantage of my business or, you know, they always feel a connection with me and that's why I'm, you know, I'm doing my best to keep the momentum going with this because I am, I'm creating a connection between so many different vegan businesses around the UK now that
00:53:58
Speaker
There's so many opportunities and so many things that I've got planned are in the pipeline that's not just food relief. Are there new things that are that are coming up? Like, this is this is plenty. you've got the But do you have... I can't imagine you don't have ideas about what you want to do next. Are there anything new coming up with SoftServe Cartel? New residencies coming up? The one the one that we're just... So I just set up Plant Your Gies down in Bristol and they'll launching the ice cream this week.
00:54:28
Speaker
which is a very exciting collaboration. It's getting an incredible response on social media. but One of the owners of Plantry Gies, he used to work at Unity Diner.
00:54:39
Speaker
So he knows the the head chef in Unity Diner. And because of my collaboration there, he was chatting to the guy from Plantry Gies. Plantry Gies then reached out to me. And and that that's quite a big deal because they're a very...
00:54:55
Speaker
very very popular restaurant at the moment like they're doing some you should check out their menu online some of this stuff is it looks phenomenal I mean Bristol don't get me wrong there is a quite a big collection of vegan places in in Bristol which was a shock to me I didn't again I'm learning these things about different towns and cities as I go to them you know it's it's not like I hold a a vast knowledge of vegan establishments around the yeah uk it just so happens that when i travel to a certain town or city for events or markets and then go online to the classic happy cow app ah and and you know find out what restaurants are there and then i think to myself oh could i pop in there for some lunch and see if they want an ice cream machine yeah that's a good idea
00:55:46
Speaker
so but ah You know, that one of the best things about it all is I've now got, you know, I've saw a Diana in Edinburgh's got my ice cream.
00:55:57
Speaker
There's a place in Leeds called Big Scoffs, place in Wales called the Eating Gorilla. Now we've got Plantry Gies and we'll be back in Unity Diner for the summer again. and it's such a pleasure on knowing that I can go to all these places around the UK and go and get food.
00:56:12
Speaker
You know? Yeah. It's like coming up as a celebrity. People are like, oh, Nico, you want something to eat? And I'm like, yes. I do. So behind everything you've ever done, i want to do it.
00:56:24
Speaker
Yeah. For your adoring fans that will be following you to each of these locations who might happen to be in Edinburgh in the month August, who hopefully will come find us, unlock in close with the trailer. what What can somebody expect with the trailer? What do you want people to know about that? You're going to have the kebab and soft serve.
00:56:44
Speaker
Are there other surprises or things? You don't have to give away any surprises, no spoilers. But what should somebody know about ah the the trailer we'll have outside the venue this year?
00:56:54
Speaker
so We've already got a few things booked in for Unity Donor for the trailer. Now, the good thing with the trailer is this is where it's obviously a bit different than restaurants, right? When when you open a restaurant or you open ah a shop, your traditional shop, once you choose your lane,
00:57:15
Speaker
you're in that lane. And if you change that lane, people start to question your business, right? Because if you open an Italian restaurant, then the next week it's Chinese, and then the next week it's Mexican.
00:57:27
Speaker
People don't like that. they They want, you know, continuity. They want, you know, they want to know what to expect. With the trailer, the good thing is that it never has to be one thing.
00:57:39
Speaker
so So there might be events this summer where it's United or... And then there might be some events, for instance, where it's Soft Serve Cartel and the Happy Fish, because Cedar won't as chips and ice cream.
00:57:53
Speaker
But I also happen to be working on something else with a company called Tempo Tea Bar, who were the first bubble tea shop in Scotland. and You're going to hold they're goingnna have to hold Vanessa back, right?
00:58:05
Speaker
I think this year she had her first bubble tea one of the trips to Toronto when we were presenting work here. And it has been a bit of a fiend since. sir I am obsessed. Obsessed with bubble tea. It's just taking over my life. Okay, well, that's good to know then. So, well, basically, as you guys will know, but the people listening won't know,
00:58:27
Speaker
I also have a day job where I work for a charity and I was out at an event for the charity one day and I met another guy. Again, just you know networking like I do for SoftServe Cartel.
00:58:41
Speaker
This day I happen to be doing a different job. And I met a guy who turns out he owned Temple Tea Bar, who was, as I say, the first bubble tea in Scotland.
00:58:51
Speaker
And then we got chatting and it turns out he's got a van where the back of it's converted to a snack van, etc. And they've they've not used it for quite some time. So he's like, would you like to collab and we can maybe do bubble tea and ice cream? And I was like, yes, we'll go.
00:59:10
Speaker
ah Unlike other people who are, you know, like I say, when I say do you want a free ice cream, they get skeptical. When somebody says do you want a van, I say yes, I don't fight twice.
00:59:21
Speaker
We've currently got that van in the garage getting some work done and then the hope is we will get that into some different events and things like that. For me, it's just an absolute It's something special that all of us are sitting down and coming together and making these things happen that if it wasn't for each of us, none of it would happen. And it just so happens that I'm the person that's maybe putting the ideas together, but everybody else is there supporting the idea. And that's just as important, if not more important, because an idea without execution is nothing.
00:59:57
Speaker
That's true. No, that's actually a very beautiful. Your collaboration is the mother of success, essentially. So thanks to everyone, you know, building that trust is everything's happening. So as we as we sort of we'll We'll give you some of your time because it sounds like you might have a few more collaborations, some ice cream machines to give away. i don't want to stand in your way of doing that.
01:00:18
Speaker
But if people want to follow along with these developments, we know that we can find you on Instagram at softservecartel. Are there other places that people should be looking for you? We'll put all these links and everybody that you mentioned and anything that you might want to make sure that we highlight into the show notes and things like that. But ah is that the best way for people to follow you or there are there yeah under mean other channels? We do have you know things like TikTok and YouTube and things like that. But Instagram is the place where we get most traction.
01:00:49
Speaker
Wonderful. And we're going to ask our listeners to make sure to get a fantastic donor at Considerate. So that'll be very exciting for one. I actually haven't had one yet, so I'm really looking forward to mine.
01:01:01
Speaker
But thank you, Nico. Honestly, thank you for, you know, for the food, for the time, for the chat, for the laughs. And they thank you for backing this trailer with us. um We have been May 13 fans of SoftServe Cartel now for a while, and we're glad to be doing this together with you.
01:01:17
Speaker
thank you guys i'm i'm thrilled to be part of this with you guys like i said when we met last year and none of us really knew exactly what we're doing or or how we we're going to do it i knew that it was the beginning of the future again it's just like the sustainable energy and the vegan thing i've got a knack for seeing what the the future could hold and i knew that talking with you guys was going to lead to something special and i think this year all this sustainable energy, hydrogen, food vans, you know, amazing artists and performers and everything all being part of the one thing.
01:01:52
Speaker
I couldn't think of anything more exciting. ah genuinely I'm genuinely very, very thankful to be involved. Plus, we had such good weather last year. I think we we picked a good year for launch.
01:02:03
Speaker
yeah We had an excellent, excellent weather last year and this is what really was the driver when we're thinking about the renewable energy aspect. and You know, the potential to look into solar, you know, with As we've mentioned earlier in the in this podcast about Ian's experience with solar, my experience with hydrogen, I genuinely do believe that we can put something together here. And we've got so many more announcements coming up about, you know, the vendors are going to get involved, the the renewable vendors are going to get involved. And we're very excited to start sharing as much as we can as everything comes together and with the crowdfunding campaign as well.
01:02:42
Speaker
So thanks again for joining us today, Nico, and recording with us. And I'm really excited for what happens next. Thank you very much. Thanks for the invite. i appreciate it.
01:02:57
Speaker
As always, though, we are going to include within this, our episode here, a reading from the Climate Change Theatre Action and one that we think ties into a number of these topics as well.
01:03:12
Speaker
These short plays continue to be really important, and really close to our hearts. They bring together voices from around the world, responding creatively to the climate crisis. This week, we're going to be reading a play called Undertow by Berger, who's someone that I'm pleased that I can say is, ah as a friend, is is a citizen of the Meti Nation of Ontario, Canada.
01:03:34
Speaker
He is a playwright, actor, and director from Northwestern Ontario. He was formerly the artistic director at Native Earth Performing Arts. He's ah currently director of the Forrester-Bernstein New Play Development Program at the Stratford Festival in Stratford, Ontario.
01:03:48
Speaker
His awards include a Dora Mavermore Award, the Carol Bolt Award, SAT SAT Award, and a Yukon Arts Award. Thief was a finalist for the Governor General's Award in 2018.
01:04:02
Speaker
His plays are published through Playwrights Canadian Press. In his note introducing Undertow, He says that Undertow emerged from numerous discussions with people around diverse political perspectives, reflecting his concern about the prevailing lack of empathy or understanding for differing viewpoints.
01:04:24
Speaker
In a political world determined to polarize us, he attempted to write something that is closer to a real conversation, emphasizing not the dichotomy of right versus wrong, but rather the hopeful idea of right versus right, the art of finding a middle ground.
01:04:40
Speaker
I'll also say that, conveniently, this play involves both mentions of delicious vegan cheese and electric vehicles specifically. So it seemed like an appropriate one for this.
01:04:53
Speaker
There are two characters here. They're siblings. One is Grey, and the other is Ember. Vanessa, you have a preference? Grey or Ember? don't a preference.
01:05:05
Speaker
Okay, I'll go for Gray, and we'll also read the stage directions, and Vanessa will be playing Ember in this one. Gray is outside on the balcony. It is fall. There is a nip of cold in the air. Ember enters.
01:05:19
Speaker
Mom sent you out to apologize? No. It's okay if she did. Not everything is about you, bud. I came out to get some fresh air. Dude, your house is way too small to be hosting this many people.
01:05:32
Speaker
You say that every year. And yet here we are. You're just bitter that you had to spend 200 bucks on gas to get here. Why'd you gotta be like that? Hey, I wasn't the one yelling at the dinner table.
01:05:45
Speaker
You started Then don't ask me what I think about your truck. I was talking about the color, not your opinion on the tailpipe emissions. How many trees do you think you'll have to plant to offset the CO2?
01:05:57
Speaker
Do you ask that question to all of your lawyer buddies who drive SUVs to work? I try to lead by example. I ride my bike. So you don't. I say to them what I say to you.
01:06:09
Speaker
Little changes go a long way. Well, here's a little change I'd like to see. Stop telling everyone you're vegan. Every second word of your mouth is vegan days, vegan that. Yes, we know because you never shut up about it. It's embarrassing.
01:06:24
Speaker
Auntie Bev asked me what being a vegan means, and Rosy wanted to know if I still eat cheese, so had to explain it to them. ah Again. You don't eat cheese? Dude, how many times? I don't give track of what you eat Actually, I found a really nice fermented cashew cheese you need to try.
01:06:40
Speaker
Stop. Those words don't make any sense to me. Plant-based alternatives are the way of the future. yeah a sad future. Hey, I love a good cheese, but I hate factory farming and the impacts it has on the environment, so I gave it up.
01:06:54
Speaker
You fly for work. Isn't that bad for planet? I choose my airlines carefully, and I fly far less than I ever did. Wow, you have an answer for everything. Dude, I think about these things all the time. There's not a day that goes by. Stop it. Stop talking, please. I came out here to get away from people.
01:07:14
Speaker
I'm going to say one more thing, and then I'll drop it. There are 7 billion people on this planet, and if everyone looked at their choices, considered their footprint, and understood what small actions make a difference... Why can't you just be normal?
01:07:26
Speaker
I was talking about the environment, not normal. I have neither the time nor the crayons to explain this to you. You have a one-year-old and another baby on the way. so You know what? Forget it.
01:07:39
Speaker
No, I'd like you to finish. You're getting mad. It's too late for that. Spit it out. Here's what I don't understand. Even if you don't believe in climate change or you think it's a hoax, why not do the little things scientists are asking us to do?
01:07:52
Speaker
In case you're wrong. What if they're wrong? Not the point. Small actions will make the world a better place regardless. Don't you want to make better choices for your kids? You don't know the first thing about my choices.
01:08:04
Speaker
You refuse to own a recycling bin. Not true. You don't even have one in your house. It's more complicated than that. And what about the composter I bought you a year ago? It's still sitting in your garage.
01:08:16
Speaker
Well, yeah, but... You roll your eyes at the mention of renewable energy. Because it pisses me off. And you talk about being a meat eater like it's a badge of honor with your guns and your hunting rights. No, no, no.
01:08:29
Speaker
And when the world is shifting to electrophicals, you go down by the biggest truck you can find. Because I need The only reason you ride your bike to the office is because it's 20 minutes from your condo. I need my truck to you know to go to job site because I keep all of my tools in it. I might not be perfect, but at least I don't go around lecturing people about things I don't understand.
01:08:48
Speaker
no you just scream terrible things at them at the dinner table in front of their family. You're right. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. I shouldn't have made fun of your truck. i like the grey. It's a good choice.
01:08:59
Speaker
Thanks. It's electric. What? Why don't you... Because I'm exhausted. The baby's not sleeping, so we're not sleeping. I was excited to show it to you, but then you started lecturing me and it pissed me off.
01:09:12
Speaker
You're so stubborn. Okay, dear judgy pants. I wasn't judging you. And just so you know, I'm proud to be a hunter because I like to know where my meat comes from. i don't want to buy something on white cider form, you know, full of hormones that's been fed GMO corn its whole life. What about tofu?
01:09:31
Speaker
Hey, if it was in a forest and I could shoot it, then sure. But again, you're buying something factory farm made with potential GMO soy and who knows what else. That's fair. And the reason I don't own a recycle bin is because the Taiwan Extend curbside pickup is outside the city limits, and the only recycling depot is over 45 minutes away.
01:09:50
Speaker
Maybe I can help. What, on your bike? Whoa. And yes, it's true I haven't set up the composter yet, and that's because when the baby arrived, our lives descend into chaos.
01:10:01
Speaker
Right. And the only reason I roll my eyes at renewable energy is because it's way too expensive. I wanted to get solar panners for the shop, but I can't afford it. I'm sorry. i was judging you on things I didn't know about.
01:10:14
Speaker
You were, but I was also. i'm I'm the worst. Listen, I'm going to say this once. You repeat this and I will murder you in your sleep. I read the articles you sent. I look at the web websites you tell me to look. I even listened to that podcast you sent me. That stuff can be annoying.
01:10:31
Speaker
Like, really annoying. But I kind of like it too. You do? I just wish you'd acknowledge that these things are more complicated than black and white sometimes. I know. I will. I promise. Okay.
01:10:44
Speaker
You're really going to like that cashew cheese. Red Tupperware? You tried it? Damn. It is good. I told you. yeah. Of course you did.
01:10:55
Speaker
Let's get back in there. I gotta tell Mom to fix this. I knew that she sent you out here. They exit together. of play. I'm really curious to know what you thought about that one, Vanessa, because I realized in reading it that the you ended up playing something that i was so the opposite of you, effectively. Yeah.
01:11:13
Speaker
That is absolutely fine. When I was in college, i was part of a debate group. And we had to do this with debate to pass. it was It was really important that we you know that you you you made a good argument.
01:11:28
Speaker
And I had to defend SeaWorld. I had to defend SeaWorld and everyone knew I was vegan and that's why they gave me SeaWorld to defend. And it was the hardest thing in the world to do because i I, you know, I i don't, I'm in my favor of animal captivity for entertainment or any other the reason. And it was just so hard to to defend this organization. So when I had to play the the hunter just now, it was like, oh, here we are again. I'm i'm in college defending SeaWorld.
01:11:57
Speaker
You'd be great for that. Thank you very much. So here we are at the end of another episode. Big thanks to Nico for joining us. Are you going to be able to check out the yeah the Unity Donner Residency at Considerate?
01:12:10
Speaker
I am considering that, yes. I'm considering it to go to Considerate to check that. so you done Ha, ha, ha. Yes, if you've enjoyed this episode and you want this trailer to happen in August, please do go to crownfunding.edinburgh.com. We're going to send the link there below and chip in whatever you can.
01:12:27
Speaker
The funny thing there is that, and if people recall back to the interview, Nico mentioned that they have like this unused kitchen space, which is why they did the Considerate part. And I remember that before Considerate was Considerate, it was, and I feel like, oh my God, Chip's there once, but it was my favorite named chip shop, even though I feel like, like I said, I've been there once, which was the Codfather. I just thought that that was like, rony and appropriate for it, but. I think we need to create another crowdfunding campaign, Ian. I believe that pun shops, shops with puns for names, are dying out.
01:13:00
Speaker
Because my favorite shop in Torque Ross, the Thailander, is no longer. And I'm so sad. Yeah. We should talk, though. Our venue is just venue. butterre just We're just venue.
01:13:14
Speaker
Keep it in simple. We're just venue. Maybe we need to create a pun. Yes. Well, so if you donate enough to our crowdfunding campaign, we can be part of the, we're going to end up with like Bodie McBoatface. We're going to be Venue McVenue.
01:13:28
Speaker
Oh my goodness. All right. I think we'll stay with Venue 13 for now. So regardless of that, please do consider donating, sponsoring, sharing. All three of those help with the crowdfunding campaign.
01:13:40
Speaker
What do we say now? Thank you for listening. Yes. We'll see you next time. Thanks for listening.
01:13:50
Speaker
Thanks for listening to this week's episode. If you enjoyed the conversation, make sure to hit subscribe. That's also how you're going to find out more about our progress with our crowdfunding campaign and the trailer. So just like that and other updates, you'll never miss them.
01:14:04
Speaker
You can find us wherever you get podcasts. We'd love it if you could leave a review wherever that happens. You can tell we are just defining that niche right there. So make sure that you help us out there.
01:14:16
Speaker
It's very competitive. If you've got thoughts, questions... or ideas for future episodes we're going to be talking a lot to the artists that are going to be presenting so you're going to hear us at a more regular clip moving forward as we move forward to august ah we're going to talk to everybody before we get there so you can hear a bit about those shows and we can share information those do go on sale on may 6th we'll see if this episode gets out ahead of that time we're going to aim for it if not it will go out that week and you'll start hearing lots of information about the great program that we have at venue 13 but if you want to talk to us about the podcast you can reach us at podcast at venue 13.com for any of those topics you can reach us all across social media at venue 13 that's the number 13 at venue 13 fringe
01:15:05
Speaker
Our back episodes and transcripts for all the episodes can be found on our website at venue13.com slash podcast, or just go to it and click on podcast. The music that you heard through the episode is by Dusty Dex, which we licensed through Epidemic Sound. And this week's CCTA reading was Undertow by Keith Barker.