Friday 23 July 2010

We Was Robbed

As the title suggests at yesterday's weigh-in of the Thurrock Potato Growing Challenge, victory was snatched from the Thurrock Learning Shop by TRUP. The 105-day competition reached the winning-line at the Second Generation headquarters located in the modernist landscape of the formed Bata Shoe Factory site in East Tilbury.

For Team TLS it had been a long journey and began with planting the seed potatoes back in early April in a compost including Brixham seaweed and chicken manure. Hopes were high due to the sunny location at the rear of The Old Post Office, the regular vitamin boost in the form of the tomato feed and Debbie's weekly pep-talks. Before long the growbag was being top-dressed and despite ignoring the moon-phase planting plan, the green-shoots appeared to be mapping Baroness Vadera's New Year prophecy.

The results of the competition were;

1st Place - TRUP - 7 kilos
2nd Place - Thurrock Learning Shop - 6 kilos
3rd Place - Thurrock Council Waste Team - 2.25 kilos

Of course, with a yield of such considerable weight produced by TRUP, allegations of compost spiking were levelled and the vague whiff of the 1988 Summer Olympics 100m looked set to descend amongst competitors. Standing strong however, Judge Lettie McKie of the Royal Opera House declared fair-play and allegations of clandestine Furazabol-abuse were dismissed.

The photograph above shows our 2nd-placed newly harvested potatoes after the competition - a great crop from the original 5 seed potatoes and a great way to introduce "growing your own" at work; at the TLS we now have chives, parsley, basil and next year we plan to have a whole lot more. As for the potatoes, this weekend sees them beginning the second part of their journey as they transform (in Debbie's garage) into Casa Correo's inaugural bottles of wine.

Thursday 8 July 2010

Capacity Building for Social Entrepreneurs

Social Enterprise (SE) is the largest growing business model across Europe and with membership including John Lewis and Cafedirect, it is clear to see why. With this type of business, the profits from trading are reinvested within the organisation to further achieve its social aims or diverted towards a good cause.

Clearly, to be a good social entrepreneur you've to be passionate about what you do but you've also to have a handle on the business side of things and more importantly have the vision to plan the future. This strategic level is vital, especially with social enterprises as it ensures that the venture is sustainable.

Not every Social Entrepreneur comes from a corporate background and not every social enterprise Trustee has had experience of making the types of decisions that will affect an organisation's acitivity for years to come. To meet these challenges, the Thurrock Learning Shop is offering a free "Capacity Building for Social Enterprises and their Trustees" workshop on Friday 16th July. It an ideal opportunity for anybody involved with SE to start thinking about the future, to take stock of the present and to learn from the past. Delivered by Andy Brady, Director of Social Enterprise East of England it's also an opportunity to meet with other Social Entrepreneurs and share experiences. For more information, please contact Richard on 07500 802 311 or email r.a.snell@uel.ac.uk