THE accounts from the 2024 Otley Coffee Festival have been tallied and the successful event has, once again, been able to give money to its chosen charities.

The Otley Coffee Culture Finance Director, Stuart Jobbins, and the Festival Director, Richard Hughes, were delighted to be able to hand over the money to representatives from the charities supported: Ian Agnew from Farmers’ Voice Radio and Sharon Edwards-Smith from the Otley Oxfam shop.

Farmers' Voice Radio was chosen again as the main festival charity as it enables farming communities, including many coffee farmers, to access and share the knowledge they need to succeed. Radio is the most affordable and accessible media in developing countries: it is trusted, inclusive and has a rapid, wide reach. Ian Agnew, from the Lorna Young Foundation, which runs Farmers’ Voice Radio, is also a Director of Dark Woods Coffee – great supporters of the festival – and came over specially from Marsden, near Huddersfield, to receive the cheque.

The Oxfam shop is a great addition to Otley and helps relief and development work worldwide. Oxfam was one of the first charities to highlight the importance of ethical coffee and so the Otley Festival has been pleased to have an Oxfam stall at the biannual event.

Richard Hughes said: “The festival has now run successfully in both 2022 and 2024, showcasing Yorkshire’s great coffee roasters, local creative makers, and flying the flag for responsible consumer choices. It’s appropriate, therefore, that Farmers’ Voice and Oxfam received support from our small surplus on the event.”

More details about Otley Coffee Culture are available at otleycoffeeculture.co.uk.