About Us
A worker co-operative with social and environmental values at its core.
Fruit Works Co-operative is a social enterprise helping people to plant and maintain fruit trees in the Leeds and Bradford area.
We are a small team with a shared mission to make fruit growing more widespread and accessible. It is our belief that fruit growing can and should be easy and that anyone can do it.
Our work is spread across 4 main areas: designing and planting orchards, pruning mature fruit trees, growing and selling fruit trees from our nursery, and delivering training workshops.
Since its beginnings in 2020, Fruit Works has blossomed into a busy enterprise with numerous projects across West Yorkshire. We now work with schools, councils, community groups and individuals to provide trees and training for budding fruit growers.
Vision, mission and values
Our Vision
We envision a future with more people growing and enjoying fruit in abundance. A future in which every single person has picked fruit off a tree and eaten it.
Our Mission
We want to make fruit growing a part of the culture and economy in West Yorkshire. We are working towards this by:
Getting more people planting and caring for fruit trees
Providing accessible education, training and skill sharing opportunities
Connecting fruit growers to fruit eaters to ensure fruit is used rather than wasted
Our Values
-
We recognise that we are part of Earth, and that our wellbeing is intricately tied to the wellbeing of the land we live on. We practice stewardship of the land we live on. We help nurture people’s connection with the land by creating opportunities to grow food and gather in community.
-
We enable people to take action themselves. We share knowledge and skills to foster a DIY, can-do attitude.
-
We take on projects that steer us towards our vision for a better future. A future in which everyone in Leeds and Bradford has access to fruit trees and takes part in fruit growing, harvesting and eating within their community. We prioritise projects that redress inequalities in our society. Our strength lies in diversity: diversity of projects, diversity of plants we grow, diversity of people we work with.
Meet the Team
-
Director
Gini’s love of tree planting developed during her time as a Volunteer Officer at Hollybush Conservation Centre in Leeds from 2018-19. She went on to gain an MSc in Sustainable Cities at the University of Leeds, where she learned more about urban ecosystems and community-led food production. Since founding Fruit Works, she has gained expertise in fruit tree planting and maintenance and is particularly adept with a grafting knife. Outside of work, Gini is a keen climber and is learning to grow her own vegetables.
-
Director
Alan gained ample experience in delivering community planting projects during his time as Project Manager at The Orchard Project and later as Community Tree Planting Manager at Bradford Environmental Action Trust. He has been propagating and growing fruit trees as a hobby for many years, locally earning himself the nickname ‘Alan Apple’. Through Fruit Works, Alan has transformed his hobby into his livelihood. His other interests include spending time with family, playing cricket, cycling, brewing beer and progressive house.
-
Director
Having worked in a variety of jobs across care and customer service, Fruit Works is their first experience of outdoor work, and they’re loving it! Trills is enjoying getting to grips with fruit tree care, and is developing wider interests in foraging, permaculture, and community forest gardens. In their spare time, they play the 5-string banjo and make chili oils.
-
Director & Sales Co-ordinator
After starting out working in education, Lydia got involved in Leeds’s food growing networks by volunteering while on a career break. She joined the Fruit Works team in 2023 and loves her job — whether it’s sending baby trees out into the world, making apple juice with kids or crunching numbers on a spreadsheet. Lydia is also training as a landscaper. Outside of work she enjoys singing, gardening, cooking and various forms of sport/exercise.
Co-operative Values
We are a worker co-operative, meaning that Fruit Works is collectively owned and democratically controlled by us, its members. Each member has an equal say in how the business is run and has access to education, training and work opportunities within the co-op’s activities. This way, worker co-ops create sustainable livelihoods in ethical businesses where everyone is valued.
As a worker co-op, we are dedicated to upholding the values of democracy, equality, social responsibility and caring for others. We are committed to supporting the communities we work with and assisting other co-ops. You can learn more about the principles and values shared by co-ops via the link below.
We are proud members of the Land Workers’ Alliance.
The LWA is a union of farmers, growers, foresters and land-based workers with a mission to create a better food and land-use system for everyone.
“We have a vision of a future where people can work with dignity to earn a decent living and everyone can access local, healthy and affordable food, fuel and fibre – a food and land-use system based on agroecology, food sovereignty and sustainable forestry that furthers social and environmental justice.”
