As part of what we’re doing at the Hill Station we have opened this shop as a pilot for 4 months, selling locally handmade things as well as bread and milk. We are working with local people who are giving us some of their products to sell, and in return will volunteer at the shop for a session a week. This means we all get lovely things to buy and they get valuable retail experience without the financial risk of renting a shop.

Our vision is to provide a space for people to both buy and sell locally produced goods, share skills and inspire others who want to create things to sell. We have aimed to be as inclusive as possible and are trialling a range of different items produced by people of all ages and backgrounds.

As a community initiative The Hill Trader shop will pass on the costs of sales directly to local people providing the goods, with 15% commission retained to cover set up and overhead costs.

We’re excited about starting this new venture and we are keen to hear whether you agree a shop like this would be a great resource for our community. Please do also get in touch if you have something you would like to produce for the shop.

On the reverse of this sheet is a very simple questionnaire. At the end of July if there is enough interest and support from local customers we will consider how best to continue this bold vision!  So wish us luck, support this initiative and let us know what you think.

Jacqui, Stephen, Sarah and all the local suppliers x

Let’s hope the sun is now ‘back’ to help the seedlings germinate and our plants recover from the harsh winter.

The garden is open from around 2-5pm each Sunday. Hope to see you there.

PS. There are still some places for the free gardening workshops at Common Growth – email commongrowthuk@gmail.com to book a place.

Get sowing and growing    Saturday 13 April 10:30am – 12:30pm

Growing fruit in containers   Saturday 2o April 10:30am – 12:30pm

Pond Planting   Saturday 11 May 10:30am – 12:30pm

http://growwild.org.uk/food-growing-workshops-for-all/

Join the Forum discussion on this post

The Hill Station Community Café is urgently seeking to appoint an experienced Chef to
work up to 5 shifts a week preparing daily specials, short orders (including breakfasts)
and be responsible for planning and delivering the menu for each week.

This position would be for an initial 3 months to cover the absence of our current chef.
Payment will be calculated on an hourly basis (above London living wage minimum).

This position would suit someone who is keen to develop their flair for good cooking
and we welcome applicants who have at least one year’s experience of working in a
busy kitchen and have in their possession relevant food handling and hygiene training
certificates. Applicants must be able to prove that they can work well with other team
members (barista, serving staff and assistant cooks), enjoy engaging with members
of the public, and above all be able to show initiative drive and work hard to prepare
exciting but reasonably priced daily specials.

Please send CVs to Jacqui Shimidzu at Jacqui@thehillstation.org

Candidates will be expected to do a trial shift as part of the interview.

Hi Everyone,

The dark and miserable month of January is nearly over and slowly our daylight hours are increasing again.Yeah! To celebrate this we are starting February with another SOUP-er Sunday on the 3rd of February! Louise from Grow Wild will be sharing some delicious home made soup with us and if weather permits do a little cooking demo as well. Everyone is welcome to join us from 2-5pm! The attached photo was taken at a previous Soup-er Sunday. We are keen to continue to share food and conversation at Common Growth – and we’re looking for more people to get involved with the cooking, sharing and the gardening, so do come along some time!

As ever there are plenty of tasks to get involved in at Common Growth, such as finishing the building of the greenhouse, building steps, digging the pond, and constructing the pergola. There is also still some ‘Elephant Garlic’ to plant – I know a bit late for garlic, but better than never (I’m not sure that’s a phrase in English – I’m translating from Dutch!)

Hope to see you on Sunday.

Anniek
On behalf of Common Growth

P.S. Do make sure your come prepared for mud and rain! (I’m not sure I’m selling it here, but MetCheck said only Light Rain for Sunday afternoon, so no excuses!)

Join the Forum discussion on this post