About Tembo Family Brunch
In the year 2024, after 5 years of life of the first project together (Tembo Family Club), the idea of creating a new concept of space. A place to share moments with the family, enjoying delicious food and a children's play area.The children can have fun, while the adults are distracted and share chats, experiences and laughter, quietly and without worries.
The story of the two partners began years ago when they met and gradually developed a friendship after working together on Kay's educational project.
It wasn't until they travelled to Uganda to help build an orphanage and a school for children that they came across the word Tembo.
As another volunteer explained to them, Tembo is Swahili for elephant and that was what they wanted for their family space, to create a community that was like a herd of elephants.
Did you know that all the elephants in the same herd work together to care for the young and show love and affection for each other? In fact, if you see them intertwining their trunks, they are kissing and cuddling.
They saw that Tembo was a perfect fit for their family space in Barcelona (Tembo Family Club) because they believe that surrounding yourself with caring and supportive people makes life easier and allows you to evolve as an individual in a positive way.
In the year 2024, after 5 years of life of the first project together, the idea of creating a new concept of space arises. A place to share moments with the family, enjoying delicious food and a children's play area, allowing children to have fun, while adults are distracted and share talks, experiences and laughter, quietly and without worries.
And of course, one story always hides another. In Tembo's case, there are two.
CELIA
Catalan and globetrotter.
"If you surround yourself with people who make you feel calm and comfortable, it encourages you to have a positive attitude towards life."Celia focused on the education sector from the very beginning. She studied Early Childhood Education and Psychology and later obtained the degrees of instructor and director of free time.
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Celia's passion for adventure and fun, led her to work in different directions and projects; in different school canteens; being the "babysitter" of the children of different families and of the Soho house Barcelona club; working as an educator in alternative parenting projects; and during a stage of her life, she lived and worked in hotels, where she combined work with the experience of living and living sharing moments with families and people from all over the world.
All these experiences made her realise that "you never know what or who is going to push you on to the next adventure" as she says.
Her desire to continue learning took her to London to perfect her command of English, and on her return home, she met Kay, during the period when she worked as an early childhood educator and was her eldest son's role model.
Do you know why Celia likes working with children? "Every day is an adventure, the children always manage to surprise me".
Shhhh, don't tell anyone, but in his spare time he loves... doing puzzles and attending magic and circus shows. Oh yes, and travelling to explore new places, discover other ways of life and try delicious food (her favourite at the moment is Indian food).
KAY
Originally from the United Kingdom and Barcelona by adoption.
"Taking the time to be kind is easy".And Kay has had many opportunities to put this into practice during her professional career, in which she has always worked with children.
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After studying performing arts, she went on to teach drama and dance to children.
This sparked her interest in education and led her to train as an English teacher and as a teacher of cognitive and sensory stimulation for babies. It was in Australia where, as a teacher and later as an educator in a children's boarding school, she experienced the importance of caring for children with love and respect,
She also qualified as a children's entertainer, believing that education requires strategies to attract children's attention and entertain them.
Eventually, her path brought her to Barcelona where she became a mother of her second child, and an entrepreneur.
She realised that reconciling family and work as a mother in a new country, far from family support, was hard, and that there were many families in the same situation.
Thus, a few years passed in which he organised multilingual summer camps, English playgroups and set up a multilingual agency prior to the foundation of the children's and family space, before Tembo.
If you ask Kay why she enjoys working with children, she will reply: "I like to think that I leave a positive imprint on them that will help them throughout their lives".
Shall I tell you a secret?
Kay loves a Sunday roast with lots of vegetables (and if she can enjoy it by the fireplace, even more so).
One of his favourite pastimes is rainy days, when he can curl up on the sofa with his children and watch a movie while eating popcorn.
About Tembo Family Club
Tembo Family Club was founded in 2019 in Barcelona. For six years, until June 2025, it was a family-friendly space located in the heart of Barcelona.
It was designed to support families' work-life balance by offering a variety of educational and recreational services in a highly flexible manner, adapting children's attendance schedules to their families' needs.
Throughout the center's history, it offered a variety of services: coworking for families; "Daycare," an alternative to preschool for children ages 10 months to 3 years; "Tembo Tribe," a group for children ages 3 to 5; summer camps during school holidays; sleepovers; and children's events and parties.
Through these various services, the center was fortunate and privileged to welcome a large number of Catalan families, as well as many foreign ones, who were passing through Barcelona for work and/or vacation.
Thanks to its approach based on values such as respect, equality, sustainability, bilingual education (English and Spanish), and promoting a multicultural and personalized environment, thousands of children have participated in its project over the past six years at the Barcelona center.
Tembo has been able to watch them grow, laugh, learn and enjoy.
In May 2025, after 6 years Tembo Family Club physically closed its doors after six years of adventures, learning and unforgettable moments,
But this is not an end, it's a new beginning!
Nos sentimos deeply grateful and proud of everything we built together: a strong, diverse and respectful community, which grew with each family that trusted us.
Thank you for your support, for letting us support you in raising your children, and for making Tembo much more than a children's space: a true tribe and a great community.
With the closure of its facilities, Tembo is not disappearing, it is simply evolving.
We continue to move forward with new projects filled with the same energy, enthusiasm, and commitment that have driven us since day one.
You can check out the current services on this website, and come visit us at “Tembo Family Brunch” in Sant Cugat.
Kay & Celia
