The Kindling Trust

What The Kindling Trust does

The Kindling Trust is a UK-registered not-for-profit charitable company (company number 06136029) founded in 2007 and headquartered in Manchester, operating as part of the Fairfield Environment Trust family of organisations. Its core mission is building a more ecologically sustainable and equitable local food system in the North West of England through organic farming, agroforestry, training, and community development programmes. The organisation serves multiple customer segments simultaneously: local residents buying organic produce via veg box subscriptions, restaurants and cafés sourcing through a wholesale cooperative, NHS-referred patients on health and wellbeing programmes, corporate volunteer teams, and aspiring commercial growers entering the sector.

The portfolio of programmes spans the full grower lifecycle. FarmStart (established 2013, the UK's first farm incubator) is a year-long £660 training programme that combines classroom and practical horticulture at the 1.5-acre Woodbank Community Food Hub in Stockport. A 4-day Commercial Organic Growers Course (£180–£200) and a 20-week City & Guilds Level 2 Work-based Production Horticulture course extend the training ladder. Two trading cooperatives — Veg Box People (B2C veg box subscriptions from £6 delivered to community hubs) and Veg People (B2B supply to Manchester restaurants and cafés) — provide the guaranteed market access that anchors the training pipeline. Volunteer programmes (Land Army, community gardening), corporate Team Challenge Days, and the Grow, Cook & Eat social prescribing health programme extend community reach. The 2023 acquisition of the 31-hectare (77-acre) Barn Hey Farm in Knowsley, Merseyside, acquired via a £1 million+ community share raise from 624 investors, is being developed into a pioneering agroforestry demonstration site.

Revenue is generated through a hybrid nonprofit model combining trading income (veg box subscriptions, training fees, event tickets at £2–£25, corporate volunteering fees) with donations processed via PayPal and community share offers (minimum £200, 0–3% interest). The organisation has 11–50 employees, operates three physical sites (Manchester HQ, Stockport training hub, Knowsley farm), and is community-owned via one-member-one-vote democratic governance irrespective of shareholding size.

Name

The Kindling Trust

Legal name

The Kindling Trust

Website

https://kindling.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Kindling Trust is a Manchester-based nonprofit (founded 2007) that runs the UK's first farm incubator (FarmStart), operates organic veg box and restaurant supply cooperatives, delivers social prescribing health programmes, and manages a community-owned 77-acre agroforestry farm in North West England.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sustainable Agriculture Services

NAICS

Other Vegetable (except Potato) and Melon Farming (111219), Support Activities for Crop Production (1151)

SIC

Agricultural Production-Crops (100), Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro primary industry

Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems (Fair Trade, Food Access, Regenerative) (BPAGALAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Organic Vegetable & Melon Farming (Open-Field) (AFAGAKAC)

Keywords

• Organic farming services
• Community food programs
• Farm incubator training
• Agroforestry systems
• Volunteer farming programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Manchester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Vegetable Sales: Revenue from veg box schemes (Veg Box People), direct sales to restaurants and businesses through Veg People cooperative.
2. Training Programmes: FarmStart year-long programme (£660), Commercial Organic Growers Course (£180-200), Level 2 accredited horticulture course.
3. Donations and Supporters: One-off or recurring donations through website using PayPal payment processor.
4. Community Shares: Community share offers for Kindling Farm with minimum £200 investment, offering 0-3% interest.
5. Events: Revenue from paid events like Kindling Lates (£25), CANOPY FEST (£2), Big Butterfly Saturday (£2).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Kindling Trust runs an integrated portfolio of programmes that incubate new organic growers and build a local sustainable food system across Greater Manchester and North West England. Core activities include year-long farm incubator training (FarmStart), short commercial horticulture courses, volunteer on-farm programmes (Land Army), community gardening, organic veg box subscription delivery (Veg Box People), B2B organic produce supply to restaurants and cafes (Veg People), a social prescribing health programme (Grow, Cook & Eat), corporate volunteering days, and the operation of a 31-hectare community-owned agroforestry farm (Kindling Farm).

Product overview

The Kindling Trust offers a portfolio of interconnected programmes and services focused on building a sustainable food system for Greater Manchester. The core offerings include FarmStart (a year-long training incubator for new organic farmers), the Land Army (volunteer programme for hands-on growing experience), Community Gardening (weekly drop-in sessions), and a range of training courses including Commercial Organic Growers Course and Level 2 Accredited Training. The Trust also operates two veg supply chains: Veg Box People (consumer-facing organic veg box delivery) and Veg People (B2B supply to restaurants and businesses). Additional services include Team Challenge Days (corporate volunteering), Grow Cook & Eat (social prescribing health programme), and the Agroforestry Project. The portfolio culminates in Kindling Farm, a 77-acre community-owned agroforestry farm acquired in 2023 between Manchester and Liverpool. All services are designed to incubate new organic growers, increase local organic food access, and demonstrate sustainable farming methods.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• FarmStart: Year-long training programme for people considering a livelihood as organic veg farmers, providing practical and classroom training on organic market gardening.
• Veg People
• Veg Box People
• Kindling Agroforestry Project
• Grow, Cook & Eat
• Woodbank Community Food Hub

Products and services

• FarmStart Programme A year-long part-time training programme for aspiring organic veg farmers, combining classroom and practical training at Woodbank Community Food Hub, covering soil nutrition, pest management, crop planning, and commercial operation skills. Priced at £660 inc. VAT with a £100 deposit returned on completion.
• Land Army Volunteer programme enabling individuals to spend days on local organic farms learning food growing skills, supporting new growers and gaining hands-on commercial-scale experience.
• Community Gardening Weekly drop-in gardening sessions at Woodbank Community Food Hub with polytunnels, raised beds, fruit cage, orchard, and herb garden for community members of all skill levels.
• Commercial Organic Growers Course A 4-day intensive course run by experienced market gardeners covering business operations, soil fertility, market gardening, field-scale vegetable production, and organic certification. Priced at £180-200 with 10% discount for supporters.
• Accredited Training Course (L2) A 20-week Level 2 City & Guilds Work-based Production Horticulture course held on consecutive Tuesdays combining classroom theory with practical organic growing activities.
• Veg Box People Greater Manchester's organic veg box scheme run as a workers' cooperative, sourcing certified organic produce within 50 miles and delivering weekly or fortnightly to community collection hubs in four sizes starting from £6.
• Veg People Multi-stakeholder cooperative connecting local organically certified growers with restaurants, cafes, and businesses across Manchester through collaborative crop planning and farm-to-fork distribution.
• Team Challenge Days Corporate team volunteering days at Woodbank Community Food Hub offering outdoor activities supporting organic growers, with lunch, refreshments, equipment, insurance, coordinator and first-aider provided. Free to corporate volunteers.
• Grow, Cook & Eat Health and wellbeing programme combining local organic vegetables with cookery and food growing at Woodbank Community Food Hub, supporting people referred through NHS social prescribing services.
• Kindling Agroforestry Project Sustainable farming initiative combining agriculture with productive trees, integrating crops, trees, wildlife, and animals into one ecological system to improve soil health and biodiversity, including a heritage fruit tree grafting programme producing 9,000+ heritage fruit trees over 15 months.
• Kindling Farm A 31-hectare (77-acre) community-owned farm between Manchester and Liverpool being developed as a pioneering agroforestry farming blueprint using sustainable methods and organic production. Purchased in 2023.

Quantifiable outcome

• UK's first farm incubator established 2013, inspiring many more across the country
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Veg Box PeoplecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorkers' cooperative delivering organic veg boxes to community hubs. Kindling sources from local growers including FarmStart site. Connection allows customers to volunteer on farms their food comes from.
• Veg PeoplecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMulti-stakeholder cooperative where growers, workers and buyers are all members. Crop plan together to provide secure market for growers. Kindling helped establish strong foundations and provides ongoing resource support.
• Glebelands City GrowersminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorManchester-based growing business and member of Veg People cooperative. Strong focus on salads and leafy greens.
• Land Workers AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTraining partner for developing new opportunities. Runs network of similar farm incubator sites and published 'How To' guide for land providers mentoring new farming entrants.
• Organic LeaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTraining partner providing accredited courses and sharing good practice in organic growing.
• Organic Growers AllianceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTraining partner for sharing good practice in commercial organic growing.
• Growing CommunitiesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTraining partner for developing opportunities and sharing good practice.
• Soil AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCertification body ensuring integrity of organic food supply chain from farm to fork for Veg Box People and its growers.
• Better Food TraderminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBody established to support and promote fair trading practices. Veg Box People accepted as one of first ethical food business members.
• John Lewis PartnershipminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCorporate volunteers from Cheadle store participated in Team Challenge Days clearing land for polytunnels at Woodbank Community Food Hub.
• SantanderminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCorporate team challenge day participant at Woodbank Community Food Hub.
• University of ManchesterminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWorks with university chefs on menu planning using local produce. Students volunteer at Woodbank site.
• Open KitchenminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCommunity organisation holding events with Kindling to support local food system.
• Unicorn GrocersminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWorks with Unicorn Grocers on events and to increase biodiversity at their site in Glazebury.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Incredible Edible Network: UK-wide community food growing movement started in Todmorden, focusing on volunteer-led local food growing and education. Shares Kindling's community-led GTM and emphasis on training/engagement over commercial scale.
• CSA Network UK: UK membership network for Community Supported Agriculture schemes. Operates in the same organic/local food access space as Kindling's Veg Box People and Veg People operations, though as an industry body rather than a single farm operator.
• Organic Lea: London-based workers' cooperative operating organic horticulture training and a community food hub. Comparable to Kindling's Woodbank Community Food Hub training and community gardening programmes.
• Growing Communities: London-based social enterprise running an organic veg box scheme, farmer training and community food programmes. Closely mirrors Kindling's training + market access + community engagement model, making it the strongest like-for-like UK comparator.
• Apricot Centre: Essex-based organic farm combining food production, horticulture training and wellbeing programmes. Comparable to Kindling in blending organic farming, training and therapeutic/community outcomes on a single site.

Broad incumbents

• Soil Association: UK's main organic certification body, which also runs farmer training, public engagement programmes and policy advocacy. Acts as both a certification partner for Veg Box People and a broader incumbent in the UK organic/sustainable agriculture space.

Others

• Sustain: The Alliance for Better Food and Farming: UK advocacy alliance of organisations working on better food and farming policy. Adjacent to Kindling's mission of building a fairer, more ecologically sustainable food system through community action.
• Land Workers Alliance: UK alliance representing small-scale and ecological farmers, including publishing a 'How To' guide for farm incubator programmes. Listed as a Kindling training partner and operates in the same small-scale organic farming ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/KindlingFarm
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-kindling-trust

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Kindling Trust