Pontefract Castle has been awarded £10,000 after winning the national Seeds of Change programme, delivered by the Association for Cultural Enterprises.
The funding will support the development of From Grounds to Goods, a project that will create retail products inspired by Pontefract Castle using used coffee grounds from the castle's café. The creations will be made with the support of staff, volunteers and local artist Jane Howroyd.
How the idea began
The project originated from a member of the castle team who began experimenting with ways to reuse coffee grounds from the recently transformed Keep Café. Initial trials resulted in the creation of seed 'cannonballs', demonstrating the potential to turn a waste product into a unique heritage-inspired retail offer.
What comes next
The project will be delivered over the next 12 months, with new products expected to be on offer as development and testing progresses. These will include natural pigments and dyes as well as scaling up production of the existing cannonball seed bombs.
The funding will enable the team to generate future retail income which can be re-invested to improve the castle site for visitors.