** BREAKING NEWS!! Since writing this blog about the contribution women have made to Forty Hall Vineyard, we've been chosen as one of four female-led social enterprises to benefit from the Funding Circle's crowdfund evening to celebrate International Women's Day. More on this soon! **
As the nation recognises the struggle and achievements of the suffrage movement here in the UK, we thought we would take the opportunity to celebrate the women of Forty Hall Vineyard too.
Forty Hall Vineyard wouldn't have existed without the ambitious vision of Sarah Vaughan Roberts (below left), who in partnership with Capel Manor College, has turned just an acre of hand-planted vines into a 10 acre vineyard that is now an inclusive social project, delivering health and well-being benefits to local people and making seriously good organic wine.
Another woman making a huge contribution to the Vineyard is our Chair of the Vineyard's Board Marissa Zoppellini (below right), who is helping to shape the future of our social enterprise.
Sarah Vaughan Roberts & Marissa Zoppellini at the Boom Awards
Marissa is one of the 62% of women volunteers who work together as a team with our male volunteers, sharing the work in all weather extremes, making sure the vines are tended and harvested. Here are a few of our women volunteers caught on camera last week, taking part in our big prune!
