Embercombe, July 2015
No On Purpose year would be complete without a visit to Embercombe. It’s a collectively-run farm that hosts… how can we put it? Journeys of the self and discoveries about leadership.
Embercombe’s mission is to inspire people to take courageous action for a just, peaceful and sustainable world.
We’re not allowed to say much about our time there, as we don’t want to spoil the surprises for future cohorts.
But we can tell you it’s a game-changer, for associates individually and the cohort as a whole.
On Purpose’s 5th birthday
To celebrate On Purpose turning five, we got the social enterprise world together for an evening of fun, food for thought, food to eat, music, inspiration, and the launch of Humans On Purpose – a wonderful initiative that shares hundreds of stories of personal purpose, through a mixture of beautiful portraits and quotes. Sophie Hobson and Saira George joined three associates from the cohort above to organise the birthday bash, for around 300 guests.
Field Trip to COOK
The good team at COOK, led by On Purpose Fellow, Charlotte Sewell, invited us to their kitchens in Kent to give us a behind-the-scenes look at the award-winning B Corp.
After a whistle-stop tour of the kitchens, we disposed of our hair (and beard) nets and dived into a workshop on what it is exactly that makes COOK such a successful, values-driven business.
On Purpose Christmas Party
Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without festive drinks, community spirit and neon-green leg-warmers. Well, not our kind of Christmas anyway. We decided the right way to welcome in winter was an 80s-themed Christmas bash for the OnP community. Cue ra-ra skirts and dodgy mohawk wigs galore, a whole lot of jollity, and staying up late enough to almost catch St Nick on his rounds. Thanks to Ben Haber, Faustine Delaselle and others involved in putting on a very fun night!
On Purpose Community Catch Up
In February, On Purpose Associate, Georgie Morris, decided it was time to bring the whole On Purpose gang together. Associates, fellows, placement hosts, mentors, coaches and trainers all gathered together for an excellent evening of provocative debate and discussions, hosted by the kind folks at RBS.
Micro-adventure: camping
Friday training ended, and we headed over en masse to a lovely campsite, a couple of miles walk from the very end of the Metropolitan Line. We were there for a one-night micro-adventure, spearheaded by Andy Smith. Cue beautiful skyscraper-free views, tents galore, and plenty of great conversations around the campfire.
Movie Night: The Corporation
A month into the programme, we got together on a Friday evening for pizza and a movie. The movie was the 2003 Canadian feature documentary – The Corporation – a must-see for all those embarking on the On Purpose journey… Thanks to Riya Pabari for hosting and organising!
