Our story
The Physical Site
In October 2010 Rhubarb Farm was a weed-tangled field, chest high in brambles. Community Payback teams started hacking back the brambles and have not stopped coming since then.
Work started on site in January 2011 with no buildings and no fencing.
As funding was found we have been able to fence the whole site and erect structures - mostly portakabins - and develop our facilities. As of January 2019 we now have a staff office, mess room, Men in Sheds cabin, chiller, storage container, workshop, tool store, resale shop, double cabin Training Room, three 65 foot polytunnels and five smaller polytunnels, 2 composting toilets, cafe, volunteers' boot room, forest school barn and 2 caravans, as well as a pig sty and hen run with 120 chickens.
The people we support
We call all who come to Rhubarb Farm volunteers - this gives them value and credits the work they do to help the enterprise both socially and economically.
By March 2011 we had a small group of 10 volunteers. By December 2018, we over 100 volunteers on our books.
There is no time limit on any volunteer's stay - they can come to Rhubarb Farm for as long as they need to, because everyone needs different levels of support and time.
Since January 201,1 we have supported over 700 people.
The staff
In January 2011, with an initial grant from Bolsover District Council through the Working Neighbourhoods Fund, we were able to employ a part time Admin/Finance worker, a part time Manager and the Managing Director on a very small salary. Within a month we also employed 3 young employed men through the Future Jobs Fund.
By December 2018, we employed 19 people - Farm Manager, Drug and Alcohol Worker, Volunteer Coordinator, Horticulturalist, 8 support workers, handyman, Business Development Manager, Training Officer, Admin Worker, Bookkeeper, Youth Worker and the Managing Director. Not all are full time. 11 of them started as volunteers at Rhubarb Farm.