We have a dream…
We are women that are tired.
We are tired of seeing our kin feeling like they need a man to do practical tasks like putting up a shelf or raising a bike saddle or tiling a bathroom.
We want to build a beautiful space where we can run workshops in DIY, essential skills, and some fun stuff, taught by women, for women & young people*, that instills a sense of confidence and empowerment.
We want to run essential home skill workshops for young people in our community that sets them up with the skills for independent living, with particular focus on those that may not have adults to show them such as those experienced with the care system.
We want people to leave our DIY workshops knowing how to change a tyre, or fix up the bike in the shed, or build a cupboard in that strange odd shaped place in the house without assuming you know the names of tools and different types of screws and we want you to come back for a BBQ or outdoor cinema night further down the line.
We want it to be fun and inclusive and for there to be tea and cake. Lots and lots of cake.
We don’t want people to have to commit to a two year city and guilds but instead run relaxed half day and full day courses at affordable prices.
We won’t make a profit. Instead we’ll reinvest the income from our workshops to fund places that will be offered for free to women & young people on benefits**.
We have formed a not for profit community interest company, we have signed a five year lease on a derelict barn that currently has a broken roof, no windows, no water and still has the old sheep dip running across the middle.
We so far have exactly £51.42 in start up capital.
We are either mad or maverick, we don’t know which yet.
We aren’t sure if we can pull this off.
We’ll give it our best shot.
But we do know for sure that we are going to need our community to pull together around us and help us at every step if we are going to succeed.
*the menfolk are welcome too, we aren’t shutting you out and we will share our cake, but no mansplaining ok?
**we hate the word benefits, we racked our brains for another one but couldn’t. But just know that we won’t ask for sob stories or expenditure sheets or anything of the like and there will be absolutely no distinction whatsoever between paying and non paying spaces. Nor will anyone get favourtism, it’s all equal in the fight for the victoria sponge.
How you can help us.
We are right at the start of journey and we need sooooo much help if we are going to pull this off.
Here’s some of the ways you can help us get off the ground;
Please could follow our socials so that we can beg you to share posts for crowdfunders/donations or ask for volunteer help with the build or admin tasks?
Our facebook is: @fromnorthendfarm
Our insta is: @fromnorthendfarm
Do you have a business or work for a company that might offer donations, grants or volunteer days? Or maybe you are married to the CEO of Travis Perkins, DeWalt or Wickes and you could persuade them to give us some building materials and tools or face your wrath? Please email Lou at lou@fromnorthendfarm.co.uk if you do.
Do you have any of the things we are currently looking for? You can find our current list of things we need below.
If you are in a position to help us out financially so that we can buy materials and cover our running costs please please consider contributing to our crowdfunder which will get set up asap.
We are currently desperately seeking the following:
A smallish portacabin or shipping container that we can use for dry storage whilst we do the barn renovations (and a hand getting it here although we might be able to sort this out)
two sets of UPVC french doors
any lovely electricians or plumbers that might come over and check over our current electrics situation and tell us what we need to do and try and get our water reconnected (we have taps in the barn and the stand pipe outside but the taps don’t turn and the water don’t come)
plywood or OSB sheets