Bearwood Community Bakery
Bearwood Community Bakery: A Social Enterprise Baking 2020 - 2024
Every Monday and Wednesday, our bakery was filled with the welcoming smell of freshly baked bread and the laughter of friendship.
The bakery was a social enterprise project which not only set out to bake and sell delicious bread, but also to provide sanctuary-seeking women with:
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Training and skill development - Level 2 Food Hygiene Certificates and experience of working in a professional kitchen
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Opportunity to meet new people and tackle isolation that many new arrivals struggle with
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A space to practice their English skills
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Confidence and a boost in self-esteem in being able to learn something new
Our bakers were tutored by Albert and their children are cared for by social entrepreneur Naomi St Juste in her Popup Creche and all this is paid for by the proceeds made from their bread!
How it began:
During the summer of 2021 we set up, practiced, and sold our first loaves. Over three weeks, 10 participants learnt the ropes while their children played at our bespoke bakery summer playscheme funded by the Holidays and Activities Fund.
The idea was a participant-led social enterprise that offers opportunities for those in our community currently not able to work due to immigration status or other reasons.
Team
Sozan Hussain, Albert Smith, Ekhlass Ibrahim, Safa, Assma, Samira, Hana Salim, Zana Llanallari.
Funders & Partners
With thanks to SCVO, The National Lottery Community Fund, Smethwick CAN, Mothership and the Dorothy Parkes Centre.
Where are we now (2025)?
In 2023, we (Bearwood Community Hub) lost our venue at St Mary's Church, and relocated most of our activities to new sites. The bakery remained at St Mary's Church for a short period of time, but the project became unsustainable here due to limited access and isolation of our bakers from the rest of our projects.
Since then we have been searching for opportunities to bring back the bakery in some shape or form. Our bakers had a myriad of ideas of how the enterprise could change or develop to respond to these new challenges. Which has led us to creating a 6-week International Cooking Course!
Join 6 of our bakers at Dottie's Kitchen (at the Dorothy Parkes Centre) on Mondays between September and November 2025 to make delicious recipes from our bakers home-countries.
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2 hr
Pay what you feel