Devon cheesemaker launches crowdfunding campaign
Artisan cheesemaker Sharpham Dairy, based in Devon, has launched ‘Curd Is The Word’, a crowdfunding campaign.
With a target of £65,000 to raise, people will be able to bid for a series of lots all centred around cheese.
Sharpham Cheese owners Greg and Nicky Parsons encourage people to ‘join the herd’ and help them raise the £65,000 needed to enable the business to invest in renewable energy and recycling water.
The crowdfunding lots on offer range from £20 to £2,000 and include naming one of the dairy’s cheese or milk tanks to a lifelong cheese discount and a Sharpham cheese and wine tasting hosted by Greg and The Telegraph’s drinks writer Susy Atkins.
The company moved into larger premises near Totnes in 2024 as its reputation and demand for its cheese continues to grow.
The £65,000 target will be used to switch the dairy to solar power (£30,000), implement water recycling (£25,000) to minimise waste and maximise efficiency, and upgrade to highly efficient cheese making equipment (£20,000) to further improve productivity and efficiency.
The Sharpham team have been making cheese in the Dart Valley for over 40 years and has recently been championed by celebrity chef James Martin in his new book Cheese, and in a recent episode of his James Martin’s Saturday Morning on ITV1.
Greg Parsons said: “We know we’re not the only ones passionate about high-quality, sustainable food. If people believe in supporting small, independent food producers, then this is their chance to make a difference and help shape the future of British artisan cheesemaking”.
To bid for one of Sharpham Dairy’s lots register at www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/sharpham-cheese before it closes on March 21.
