Phat plant over 24,000 trees and support communities in Kenya
We’re on a mission to minimise our impact on the environment as much as possible. As part of our eco-efforts, we partnered with The Word Forest Organisation charity in 2019. Founded by husband and wife Tracey and Simon West, the environmental and education charity plants trees, builds classrooms and facilitates education in Kenya.
To date, our donations have resulted in 24,378 fast-growing, predominantly food-bearing trees, being planted across Kenya, which have collectively drawn down and locked in 6,094 tonnes of CO2 – helping to offset our carbon footprint and combat the effects of climate change.
Not only this, but we have also helped to support the building of a classroom in Kenya, providing a much-needed education hub for children within the community, and helping set the young people up for a brighter future.
Paul and Laura Clark, our Phat Controllers and Founders, visited the charity in Kenya in 2022. They said: “We’re proud to be a Corporate Partner of the Word Forest Organisation. Not only does the charity make such a wonderful difference to communities in Kenya, it also makes a hugely positive impact on the climate through off-setting CO2. The charity is perfectly aligned to our personal and business ethos and makes a real difference.
“When we visited, we saw first-hand not only the vast number of trees planted along with food and income provided for the community from the trees, but the classrooms and education opportunities that have been enabled too. On our visits to the two centres in Kenya we were accompanied by a permaculture expert. The communities had first hand training in the planting, nurturing and managing of the trees to ensure their growth and vigour.
“The project brings people together; not only do they learn and socialise together but they can engage and play sports together too. We took football kits out for all the children; we wanted to gift them something they would like but also find useful too.”
Tracey West, co-Founder of The Word Forest, said: “The work we do enables the community to help itself, and will impact many generations to come. The women and mothers – known as ‘The Women of the Forest’ – are incredibly resourceful; as well as planting and nurturing their trees, they have set up freshwater kiosks, a social support network and attend literacy and numeracy lessons. Their children also attend with them, giving them a head start; many of their mothers never had the opportunity to go to school so this is changing the future for the next generation.
“The trees not only provide fruits and nuts repeatedly each year, they provide the women an income opportunity. The more trees planted, the more that will grow in years to come, meaning as their children become older, they will inherit a forest that is producing food and income steadily.
“As part of the support the ‘Mothers of the Forest’ meet regularly to share other skills and support each other with the numerous challenges they face living in remote areas. This womens’ empowerment group provides practical benefits to the whole community.
“It’s fantastic to have Phat Pasty as a sponsor. Their contributions and support have made a significant difference to us and the people we support.”
Alongside our work with The Word Forest Organisation, we have also taken other steps to minimise our environmental impact. As a business we now have converted the team to driving electric vehicles where possible and using environmental packaging for our pasties, pies and savoury ranges. This includes being the first company in the savoury pastry arena to use 100% biodegradable packaging for a range launched over 10 years ago. Phat’s direct-to-customer ‘Phat at Home’ delivery service now uses fully recycleable packaging and every plant-based delivery is sent in vegan-friendly packaging.
We are now working towards achieving B-Corp accreditation and hope to announce this milestone within the coming months. Few companies achieve these standards and we are excited to be on the way to joining a small and commited group of companies who have met the certification process.
The Phat team
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