WATCH: Charity Spotlight - Grow, where horticulture, retail, hospitality and so much more transforms lives

Grow was innovative when it began 40 years ago, it remains at the forefront of thinking today.

At the outset it was a rural occupational workshop purely based on horticulture, somewhere where people with learning disability could spend their time in a safe environment doing something that was worthwhile.

The operation was ahead of its time.

About 15 years ago the directors decided with the condition of the greenhouse it was time to think again.

That led to a £4m. redevelopment project and an incredible new facility where the crew can not only work in horticulture, but also in hospitality in the cafe, or maybe learning carpentry skills in the workshop. 

There is now also a small shop selling local crafts, adding retail skills into the mix as well, and opportunities to help in administration and at events.

And Grow’s reputation for quality means that demand for what it produces is rising.

So something that was jokingly referred to as “four greenhouses and a shed”  has totally transformed, also adding other facilities like a training room and space for co-location of other charities like Paws for Support, Carers Guernsey, Citizens Advice, Wigwam and Mencap. 

General Manager Mandy Mackelworth has been a learning disability nurse for three decades.

“I've never seen anything quite like Grow is now,” she said.

In the past the opportunities for the crew to move on to paid work was extremely limited. That is changing. 

“I think there's much more opportunity for people with a learning disability or difficulty to go into paid work. So rather than just staying at Grow for life, we would love them to go on to paid work. 

“We work very closely with Guernsey Employment Trust and others, and we look to see if people can gain skills and go on training pathways within Grow, get support, and then hopefully people can go on to paid work. We had three people last year go into paid work, two of whom had been with us for probably around four years, and another young lady who went into paid work in January this year, and all three remain working.”

One of the longer term crew members is Jack, who described the old facility as cramped.

“Now 14 years later the new cafe has been built,” he said.

That means he gets to serve customers as a waiter, but there is also a lot of preparation and a tick list of tasks to get through before the cafe can open and after it closes that he described, including cleaning out the dishwasher and sorting rubbish.

“Everything needs to be spick, span and spotless,” he said.

Donations of all sizes flooded in when Grow announced its redevelopment plans.

Guy and Julia Hands came onboard as patrons, which gave confidence for others to back the project.

“We had donations of £10 to £10,000. One particularly heartening donation was from a gentleman who came in to see our bookkeeper and gave him £100 pounds in cash,” said Grow director Marguerite Talmage who led on the fundraising.

“Our bookkeeper said to him, ‘thank you very much. What's your name?’ And he said, ‘you don't need to know my name. I'm a Guernseyman’. And I thought that just sums up the Guernsey community spirit.’

It costs more than £750,000 a year to run Grow.

A third of that comes from a service level agreement with Employment & Social Security which was locked in for 10 years.

“We’re extremely fortunate to have that security and we’re in the third year now. Another third will come from our plant sales, which are extraordinary. The quality of our plants is really very, very good, and I think that's being spread around the island,” said Marguerite.

“So with our plant sales, cafe takings, retail, woodwork and room hire, we need to raise another third. And a third then comes from donations, corporate sponsorship, and this year, we're actually working hard on legacies, because we're probably one of the very few charities in Guernsey who has guaranteed longevity. We own our site. We're there for a very long time. There will always be adults with learning disabilities who need that sort of facility.”

The new site opened in September 2023. 

Last year was a period of stabalisation, and one where they could assess what the demand would be for the plants they sell.

Last year they had 30,000 plug plants, this year they ordered 55,000.

“We’re selling like crazy,” said Mandy.

“I think people realise that it's not just about supporting people with learning disabilities in the charity anymore. The quality of our plants, the quality of our cafe food, are fantastic. And we're getting lots and lots of repeat visitors, but lots and lots of new visitors too.”

There is also an example of the circular economy within Grow now that new chickens have arrived on site, something that has also allowed the crew to learn about animal husbandry as well.

The eggs are used in the cafe for food like cakes and quiches, and some of the food waste from the cafe goes back to feed the chickens. The chicken’s poo is used in the compost being produced on site which reinvigorates the soil in the greenhouses. The produce from the greenhouse is used in the cafe and so on.

Grow has always welcomed visitors on the site.

“One of the things that we're looking at doing is being involved with some of the schools around their outdoor curriculum and learning about plants and learning where plants and their vegetables and things come from,” said Mandy.  

“We've worked quite closely with St Martins year ones and year threes. They've come up to us and had a tour. They plant a seed. The Year Threes were with us a couple of weeks ago and planted up some pollinator plants. So they'll take those back to school and grow them on and then plant them in their pollinator patch. We talked a lot about Guernsey natives, about where your food comes from, about pollination.”

Mandy said she was very proud to work for Grow.

“There's some challenges, but every day I go into work and we have a laugh with each other, and we work hard, but it's incredible to see the progress that people make. 

“We have one young lady who has been at Grow for a while. When I first met her, she had ear defenders on most of the time. She created a frog called Frollo, who has now become our mascot. She's done a Frollo trail around the site. 

“When we were nominated for the Entrepreneur for Good at the Véyaon Awards last year, she came with us, and there were 200 odd people in the room, and she actually came on stage to collect the award with us. And it was such a proud moment.”

For more on Grow see its website here.