Hi from The Stable Company,

                                                We are a community interest company in Cheltenham working mainly with the unemployed, people recovering from health issues, local community groups and people of any age with learning and physical difficulties, we have been going for two and a half years and have a base of 60 volunteers and 175 customers who enjoy our services, the main part of our project is to grow pack and deliver veg boxes to local people, many are elderly or disabled, we also add in eggs, jam, honey, etc. We also pack and deliver pet products and go out into the community to tidy up gardens for the elderly and disabled aswell as  helping  people grow their own veg with practical help and advice. 

We would like to ask if you might support us in an extension to this project, we are hoping to move to a new site on the edge of Cheltenham, which has 3 acres of land, building and a large poly tunnel and turn it into a mini farm, with raised growing beds , a animal corner with hens, ducks, rabbits, goats, sheep etc. we will also include a large wildlife garden.  We will also set up a recycling project to have a positive impact on the environment. The idea is to provide a growing activity that is open to all inc. people in wheel chairs, and the use the site to provide not just improve people’s life skills but we will offer courses in animal husbandry, crop husbandry and wildlife conservation and customer service.. Part of this project will see us working with local job centres so we can take extra work placements with the aim of not just boosting the confidence of local unemployed people but with the practical aim of helping them get a reference to help them back into employment. We will also set us a demonstration area were local people can pop in and learn how to grow!!

 If this is something you might help us with at your next round of funding that would be great, and I would be more than happy to meet up and show you the site … We are also hoping we might find some companies who might want to sponsor some parts of the project,

I would like to add that I offer a back ground in farming, 5 years agricultural college, 2 years agricultural instructor, had my own farm then sold up and spent 23 years with Homebase Ltd as a store and project manager. And our team has many skills we will use to expand our work. 

There is more about us on our web site www.thestablecompany.org and if you want to know more I would be more than happy to meet up and explain in more detail our hopes and aims.

Kind regards

Mike Hopkins

Project Director