It has been an incredibly busy few months at The Paddock. I've always intended to write a blog about what we do and keep it going regularly. In reality this has never happened! There is always something to do, something that appears more important than taking some time to sit down and write about what we do. However, it's important to make time for the things we enjoy, writing being one of the many things I enjoy to do so I do plan to make more time for it! It's also important to take the time to reflect, and I find writing is a great way to do this, and boy do we have quite a lot to reflect on!
When I returned home from New Zealand in 2013 with the idea for turning The Paddock into something more than just our family's smallholding, never in my wildest dreams did I imagine we would be where we are now! It's been an incredible roller coaster journey and I do hope to be able to share some of it with you all more regularly. One of the ways I should be able to do this in the near future, is by freeing up some time in the running of The Paddock, when my partner, Mike, comes to run the business with me. We've always been family run, as you know, but from February 2019, we are taking a huge leap of faith and Mike is leaving his job as a Civil Engineer to come and run The Paddock with me. This is a massive step, and not one we have taken lightly, but for many reasons, most importantly of all being able to have the lifestyle together that we have always wanted, we feel now is the right time!
This is an exciting but also daunting challenge, but it's finally giving us the capacity to realise a dream I have had for well over a year now - to be able to incorporate a completely plastic free pantry of organic dried goods into our Farm Shop and Delivery Service. The Paddock has always had minimal packaging and a zero waste ethos at it's heart, but it has taken almost 7 years to realise the full potential of the dream I had back in New Zealand. Inspired by how well they were already looking after their natural environment, through farming, organic food, and conservation, I knew this is something we could be doing back home in Northumberland. This was long before #zerowaste was a popular term.
The growth in the organic market, and new wave of zero waste shops popping up all over the UK is fantastic. To think, people thought I was mad 7 years ago when I was talking about the business I wanted to create. It takes time to build a range of products that you can 100% say you feel confident in - in terms of ethics, production methods, transportation methods, there are so many factors to consider in creating a vision such as this, but I am feeling hugely humbled lately to say we are almost there.
The last step on the ladder for us now to complete that vision of a more sustainable and eco friendly way of producing, sourcing and buying our food is to implement our plastic free pantry. By working with our existing customers, and our Paddock Community, we have been able to raise the money to kick our pantry off! The extra time and help provided by Mike coming to help out full time is making this new venture a very exciting one which I can't wait to share with you all!
We've raised more than the initial budget planned to start The Pantry, which means we can now look to start it with a bigger range. This is something we have been working really hard on behind the scenes over the last year or so and it will be fantastic to finally see it in action. So, watch this space, save those containers, and spread the word. We were the first in Gateshead to bring you a refill system for your eco friendly household cleaning products, and soon to be the first to bring you your loose, unpackaged, plastic free dried goods!
Non of this would have been possible without the support from our amazing customers, and the belief you all have in us and everything we are about. A massive thank you from us, can't wait to see you all soon at the refill station!
#zerowaste #plasticfree #gateshead #northumberland #newcastle #northeast #refillnortheast #reduce #reuse #recycle #zerowasteliving #greenerliving
