The cakes and cookies on sale at a new bakery in Stoke Newington will amount to much more than just afternoon tea.
For the women who work at Luminary Bakery, baking has allowed them to turn their lives around. The shop runs an employment programme for vulnerable women, giving single mothers, victims of domestic violence and those with a criminal record the skills to find work.
Trainees learn how to bake, work towards food hygiene qualifications and are taught important business and personal development skills. Former students are also given the opportunity to work as an apprentice for six months at the bakery.
Alice Boyle, one of the founders of Luminary, said: “By investing in women and allowing them to realise their dreams, we aim to break the generational cycles of abuse, prostitution, criminal activity and poverty, which can often hold these women back from reaching their potential.”
The bakery currently works out of Husk Coffee Shop in Limehouse, but is set to expand to a premises on Allen Road in Stoke Newington. The new Hackney store will have a commercial kitchen, a café for paying customers and a training centre for students. It will also allow the organisers to double the number of courses it provides.
Crowdfunding
The founders have launched a crowdfunding campaign to help pay for the building work, offering rewards for donations. For a £10 pledge, supporters will receive a free baked item when they visit the café, while donating £500 buys a behind-the-scenes tour of the bakery and a private baking lesson.
Ms Boyle continued: “We’re really looking forward to moving to the new bakery in Stoke Newington. We want it to be a community hub, both for local residents and women on the scheme.”
There are currently 180,000 unemployed women in London. A study has found that 20,000 mothers in the capital have the earning potential to lift their families out of poverty.
Nine women have completed the scheme since 2012, all of whom are now in employment or further training.
Bakery Graduate
Alicia, a graduate from the programme said: “After prison, I felt that I didn’t fit in any more.
“At Luminary I was made to feel I was a person of worth and could do anything I put my mind to. I feel that now I have the skills I need for work and I’ve learned to be more disciplined and think for myself again,” she added.
“I now feel that my destiny is in my own hands, not anyone else’s.”
To make a donation, please visit http://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/luminary-bakery.
Images: Thomas Browning Rose.
