We are fortunate to have bases in beautiful parts of the world. Its important to us that we support the communities with whom we share these special places.
The Haygrove Community Gardens charity was established to offer support to those who would benefit from the therapeutic nature of horticulture, to engage school children on the growing of healthy fruit and veg, and to conserve accessible green space for public enjoyment.
Community gardens also facilitate integration of other local businesses into the community. By forming partnerships with local businesses, we can not only help ensure the gardens’ ongoing success, but also provide a means by which their staff can benefit from using the garden, whilst helping its other visitors.
We are looking to scale up our efforts. We are actively seeking business partners who can help us establish 20 community garden projects, by the end of 2028.
Established in 2013, the garden supports users with a range of physical and mental health challenges. It also hosts school visits through the summer months, engaging children on how their food is grown, conservation, and on the benefits of healthy eating. More recently the garden has expanded its offering, and now includes a Zero Waste Stall, a Talk Community Hub, a Growing Club, and a Cooking Club. Run by Tim Shelley with support from 65 volunteers, it is a hive of activity throughout the year. Going forward, we will also be using the space to offer new activities such as Yoga, and have recently won funding to add an outdoor venue for the performance arts.
Eaton Barn (near Leominster, Herefordshire) is run by registered charity ECHO. The project supports adults with learning disabilities. Participants learn practical horticultural skills (from sowing the seed to harvesting the final product!). They also undertake a variety of indoor and outdoor seasonal activities.
Haygrove Community Gardens partnered with ECHO to help lift the site and support the team in finding alternative funding streams to ensure the long-term future of the project. We have enjoyed volunteering, fund raising, and helping the team win support from other local businesses.
The Ell Brook Community Project is our latest UK venture. Located on the edge of Newent (in Gloucestershire), the project is a free-to-access conservation area which lends itself to educational visits and therapeutic outdoor pursuits.
Recent highlights from 2021:
The Kulah Nathi project is a year-long educational programme for unemployed women in the local township of Charlestown. The programme teaches them how to grow vegetables both in a tunnel and outside, and is broken up into Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum levels of achievement. Once the graduates reach Platinum, they get their own ‘Farm in a Box’ – a small polytunnel equipped with everything they need to start their own growing business.
Still in its fledgling stages the Kulah Nathi project has qualified its first eight Platinum graduates, who have formed a partnership and have now planted their first tunnels on a plot of land located at our Amajuba site. The farm is situated here so they can benefit not only from our mentorship, but also our water supply.
Our goal is to provide similar plots for 40 graduates by 2021. It’s a very exciting project because the results are fast, vegetable-growing knowledge can be taught relatively quickly, and a guest house market already exists for the graduates.
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