From a skincare brand to an all-woman mountain biking event and a cider making enterprise to a wedding events business and family support service, the women behind these businesses are bucking trends, following investment from The Pen y Cymoedd Wind Farm Community Fund.

Since The Fund launched in 2017, it has invested more than half a million pounds in championing new business ventures across the Welsh valleys, launched, owned and run by women. This has subsequently helped to create jobs, services, events, and products that have provided the valleys with the vital economic boost they needed.

Kate Breeze, executive director of The Pen y Cymoedd Wind Farm Community Fund said:

“We may be in the middle of a recession, and a cost-of-living crisis, but the women we have supported to launch new business ventures have thought outside the box. They have come up with innovative new concepts, products or events that are becoming established as widely recognised brands.

“Not only are they running their own businesses, juggling family-life and in some cases holding down another job, but they are also managing and growing what are now successful and thriving businesses. These are all in turn helping the local economy to prosper.”

Meet the ladies behind the businesses:

Bridie Phillips, founder of ThatCocoCompany used the £5k she received from the Fund to purchase the manufacturing equipment she needed to grow her business, after demand for her coconut-based candles and diffusers outweighed her supply capabilities. Since then, the business has gone from strength to strength. Bridie is now in the process of fitting out a larger retail outlet in the town centre to allow her to meet the businesses rapidly increasing orders. Not only is the business thriving but it is attracting people from outside of Aberdare and helping to rejuvenate the declining high street.

Bridie said:

“The brand and our products have really taken off. The business is growing at such a rate that we simply cannot keep up with demand. We have developed a strong customer base both locally here in Wales as well as across the UK, and that seems to be growing. I think people are increasingly looking for more natural, ethical, and sustainable products and are willing to travel to get them. I am grateful to The Fund for the boost it has given our business and allowed us to grow.”

https://thatcococompany.com/

Bianca Samuel, 29 from Afan, co-founded Austringer Cider in 2021 with her father, Phillip, and applied for a micro-grant of £5k from The Fund to support the growth of the business.  Following receipt of the money Bianca purchased a carbonator to help her produce limited-edition varieties of the cider and commissioned a graphic designer to create labels for the brand. Since then, Bianca has gone on to win internationally recognised awards and is producing 7000 litres of their popular home-made cider.

Bianca said:

“My father and I have been making cider at home for several years, and it has always been well-received by friends and family, so we were confident that we had a good product. When we were both made redundant during the pandemic, we decided to plunge everything into cider making. We knew it was a risk, but we felt it was worth taking. Thankfully it has paid off and thanks to the support from organisations like Pen y Cymoedd, demand for our product is at an all-time high.”

https://www.austringercider.co.uk/

Stephanie Davies, 38, from Glynneath founded Luna Bell Events in 2021 after receiving £5k from The Fund. She used the money to help launch and grow her event design and décor business and has now diversified into weddings. Bookings are continuing to escalate, particularly towards the summer months, with Stephanie securing clients from all over South Wales. Stephanie is still juggling a full-time job, alongside a family, while running the business. However, she is hoping to secure more money from The Fund this year, to help give up her day job and plunge everything into her events business.

Stephanie said:

“Without money from The Fund, I simply wouldn’t have been able to grow the business. I needed support to build up my inventory of products to style and decorate the rooms.  I am so grateful for The Fund helping me to start making my dream of running a wedding and events business, a reality.”

https://www.instagram.com/lunabell_events/?hl=en

Ceri Pritchard, 41, from Resolven co-founded Building Blocks in 2007, a charity providing vital support services to families in the Neath Valley in the form of childcare, workshops, and training. Following the pandemic, Ceri applied for £63K of funding from Pen y Cymoedd. This money paid for vital research into post pandemic-related mental health problems in children. As a result, Building Blocks, was able to generate a growth and mindset programme for young people aged between 9-12 years old to help with anxiety, self-esteem, self-worth, and confidence. The 10-week programme has been taken to primary and secondary schools around the county and has received very positive feedback from both parents and children. Ceri and the team also generated a 121 programme for children with learning difficulties to help with emotional regulation, communication, and expression.

Ceri said:

“The pandemic had a huge impact on children mentally, and readjusting to life post-pandemic has been difficult, especially for those with learning difficulties. Without the grant from The Fund, our vital research and subsequent mindfulness programme simple wouldn’t have been possible. The impact that the research and the programme has had on the mental health of children across the area has been phenomenal.”

https://buildingblocksfamilycentre.co.uk/

Emma Hawkins, Jessica Strange and Ally Campbell, held the first ever Wales based female mountain biking festival called The Sisters of Send in the Afan Valley last year after receiving £16k from The Fund. All three ladies have a background in coaching, guiding and riding and what started as a simple ladies demo day turned into a two-day mountain biking festival. Consequently, the event attracted over 200 female mountain biking enthusiasts from around the country to the Afan Valley. Emma, Jessica, and Ally all juggle organising the festival alongside other parenting and career responsibilities. However, they are passionate about attracting women into the sport, while also raising the profile of the Afan Valley as a destination for mountain biking.

Emma said:

“Mountain biking is a predominately male dominated sport, which can put women off from ‘having a go’. The festival was originally designed to not only showcase the Afan Valley as a great place for mountain biking but also offer women the chance to get on their bike with like-minded women.

“It's all about creating a platform for equality in the sport by providing women with the right equipment, advise, guidance, and environment to feel confident to have a go. We couldn’t believe the success of last year’s event, but it just proved to us that there is a demand for it. Thanks to The Fund, we are on our way to creating the foundations for a pivotal event in the mountain biking calendar.”

https://www.sistersofsend.com/

The Pen y Cymoedd Wind Farm Community Fund was established in 2017 by energy company Vattenfall and is designed to provide local individuals, groups, organisations, charities and businesses in Upper Neath, Afan, Rhondda and Cynon Valleys with the opportunity to apply for funding to improve and grow a local service, product, project or activity.

Now in its fifth year, the fund has already catalysed a total of £20.1 million of community investment in the Welsh valleys, supporting more than 450 local projects and businesses in its first five years of operation.

For more information on the fund or to apply please click here