The Askefield Project is a social farm designed to support people not conditions, with the aim of developing self-confidence, self-esteem, and raising aspirations. We are a small community social enterprise based on our beautiful thirteen-and-a-half-acre smallholding in rural Lincolnshire which includes our barn with commercial kitchen, log cabin, toilet block, office, and reception, 72ft polytunnel, nature pond, crew building, orchard, sensory garden, and animal paddocks. We have sheep, goats, chickens, ducks, a goose called Wally, a donkey called Boris, a pony called Rory, guinea pigs and Coco the cat.
We’ve been around since 2017, and we have built a well-respected and much-loved community venture, as well as a pretty cool venue which attracts people from all around the area. We provide a range of services, run projects for people and our local community, hold several events, and undertake some commercial activity.
We currently run Puddlers, a toddler group, a Toolshed project for all adults, a Care Farm Day for clients with diagnosed mental health conditions on personal budgets, Challenge Askefield which is a craft coffee morning and a Family Farm Club for all ages. These are all run weekly. In addition to this, we run open days and events, such as The Kerry Hill, our pop-up community pub, our Christmas event and Living Nativity, Comedy Nights and Family Fun Days during the summer.
We have adapted our provision to support the community, remained flexible to local needs and increased our reach and the number of clients accessing our facilities and services. We have made significant site developments, including adding flushing toilets, an all-weather log cabin and a professional catering kitchen, which has provided us with further avenues to support future sustainability. We now have a site with extensive facilities, the right staff, a host of resources and experience, a strong management team and a strategic plan to drive The Askefield Project upwards.
We want to support people to grow, and to create a thriving local community asset that enriches people and supports the place we call home. We are brave and bold in our approach and have big ambitions for our organisation.
