THE ROUGHSTUFF STORY
A board for every purpose. Purpose in every board.
How our wooden chopping boards give opportunities and skills to inmates and ex-offenders.
RoughStuff & The Prison
We’ve worked with HMP The Mount in Hertfordshire for over 10 years, empowering inmates and ex-offenders with the skills, confidence, and discipline to make a positive impact in their community.
Together, we’ve built a state-of-the-art industrial workshop where prisoners can hone their woodworking skills making top quality oak chopping boards alongside our dedicated workshop managers.
Around twenty prisoners work Monday to Friday to keep up with the demand for our boards. Beyond mastering new skills and discipline, each prisoner is also paid a statutory wage.
We have a contract with the prison to make the boards at an agreed commercial rate, and that income is used to help pay for the prison service as a whole.
It’s because of this relationship that we say there’s purpose in every board…
PICTURES SENT IN BY HAPPY CUSTOMERS
AWARDS, TROPHIES, AND SMILES!
OAK CHOPPING BOARD CARE
Caring for your oak chopping board is like caring for most wooden chopping boards. They’re natural products! So here are a few tips:
Try not to leave them submerged in water or exposed to direct heat
To wash, use soap and water and make sure to drain well
If you want to keep your chopping board really smart, we suggest oiling them every six weeks or so – use an antibacterial food safe oil or a light Rapeseed oil, applied sparingly
Always follow general hygiene standards for using food on wood surfaces
If you have any other queries on caring for your wooden chopping board, check out this article.
Truly Rustic Range
We’ve been trying for years to include working with ex-offenders on the ‘outside’ and finally we’ve managed it.
Serenity Woodmill in Hertfordshire supports ex-offenders and works with us making our new Truly Rustic Range.
Currently these boards are only being sold at our upcoming Markets and Fairs.
Upcoming Fairs and Markets
Other events will be added.
14th/15th Hitchin Christmas Market
Dec 20th and 21st Ely Market
HACRO
We take the social enterprise of RoughStuff very seriously. Our founder, Matt, is Chairman of a charity called HACRO, which helps people who have been on the wrong side of the law turn their lives around. They help deliver family support and ex-offender employment programmes – both proven to reduce re-offending.
The Boss
Matt had a number of grown up jobs with a couple of FTSE 250 companies before setting up and subsequently selling his own.
Some 10 years ago he and his business partner stumbled across the restaurant business and identified an opportunity for Rustic food service products.
With an excellent brand and a concerted sales effort, they quickly took more orders than they could handle. It was at this point they thought about trying to help the Prisoners at HMP The Mount to set up a charity that has now merged with HACRO, where Matt is now Chair.
Contact us at
boards@roughstuffoak.co.uk
01923 267077