This idea takes its inspiration from Jesus famous words; “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger” (John 6:35). The call of Jesus is to hear the cries for love of those living at the margins of our society and to move forward in friendship and in perseverant love. Our vision is to seek to destroy common stigmas and open up spaces for all of us to be fully human even in the midst of our somewhat divided and disjointed communities. We seek to empower the disadvantaged and those being marginalised and bring together those with local policy makers, business and civic leaders and those seemingly without a voice. All this may be achieved through the simple yet profound process of making, baking and breaking of bread together. Our sight isn’t focused on someone’s outward appearance, or even on what we may or may not have in common with that person, but on the person’s unique personhood. We seek to build lasting friendships amongst strangers, greater empathy, integration and collaboration between diverse ethnic groups, and create meaningful and innovative human connection through bread. We would seek to secure a sourdough social bakery plus prominent community hub, preferably located in Shirley High Street or Shirley Road, Southampton.
Our vision extends through and beyond bread-making to creating an enduring model for re-constructing and re-evaluating what it means to live together in harmonious communities. We seek to re-envision what it means to cultivate, create, and ultimately transform 21st century local/global culture through the liberating and delightful process of making, baking and breaking bread together.
Both the sourdough social bakery and the local/global community hub would become a U.K. franchise of the Bread Houses Network. The global vision since the Bread House inception in 2009 was to plant seeds of hope around the world for community cultural centres to understand the potential (and flavour!) of creatively mixing art with food as one of the most effective and transformative ways to bring communities together and to approach in a holistic manner the issue of community sustainable development.
The sourdough social bakery will provide for the making, baking and breaking of sourdough breads of the world. The bakery would be primarily staffed by those seemingly without realistic prospect of achieving meaningful employment, and those marginalised by society working being paid at the living wage rate under the direction of a professional community baker.
It should be noted that this would possibly become the first ‘full-blown’ Social Enterprise Bread House of its type in the UK, although there are other social enterprise bread-based initiatives such as those found in London, Oxford, Cambridge, and at St. Andrews using different models and social-outreach approaches.
The sourdough social bakery will provide healthy and nourishing sour-dough bread and pastry recipes from around the world, sourced through the international Bread Houses Network. Wherever possible we would utilise locally sourced, high quality ingredients. It is also proposed that 80% of any profits from the bakery will be reinvested directly into the social enterprise business to cover staff and overhead running costs and 20% of freshly baked breads donated free of charge to local charities supporting those on very low incomes, disadvantaged or homeless in the city.
The local/global Community Hub will provide paid and free community programmes and bread therapies. Led by fully trained facilitators and therapy specialists, this hub would creatively involve mixed groups such as refugees, those with disabilities plus business and civic leaders and others from diverse backgrounds all making, baking and breaking sourdough breads together. Likewise children, students and older people with dementia or those with learning difficulties may come together and bake bread. Those with mental health issues might knead dough alongside those who have good physical health. Utilising all five senses, we will potentially offer special ‘high-touch’ paid and/or free community programmes such as:
a. “Bread building” as a teambuilding method, appreciated by major international companies;
b. “3S: Sifting-Shaping-Sharing” alternative career counselling method for young people;
c. “Cultures and breads of the world” Educational Programme, engaging people to explore the cultures of around 30+ countries by making their traditional breads;
d. “Kitchen music” and “Theatre of Crumbs” regular community arts -baking events;
e. “Playing kitchen” a unique tool to develop healthy eating habits in kids employing funny food activities;
f. Birthday/celebratory parties;
g. “Bread in the Dark” a life-changing experience in full darkness, where blind facilitators enable you to see with eyes wide shut and hearts wide open!
Up to 10 paid plus up to 13 free community programmes can be pre-booked by companies, not for profit organisations, schools, pre-schools, colleges and universities, local charities, cruise liner excursion experience, families and friends gift experience, and also by individuals for special occasions such as family celebrations and corporate business events. The financial income generated from paid services would be reinvested to support our free social and bread therapy methods and programmes.
The making, baking and breaking of bread together will potentially bring transformation through:
• Providing a potentially game-changing antidote to the many unhelpful and potentially toxic racial, religious and socio-economic and political divisions, family breakdowns, cultural ‘ghettos’, misunderstandings and deep prejudices and stigmas within our broken society;
• Promoting positive, healthy relationships, and integrated communities with GP, practice nurse and other primary care professional referrals being made through local social prescribing initiatives;
• Powerfully promote shalom, love for others and lasting friendships between strangers;
• Potentially narrow the socio-economic gap between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’;
• Celebrate our global cultural diversity and our common humanity through local involvement;
• Become an abundant source of blessing to enhance the wellbeing of our local communities;
• Bring empowerment to those on the margins (e.g. homeless people coming together to make, bake and break bread free of charge and then distributing bread to other homeless people).
2095-11