Our beginnings

Born out of personal difficulty accessing the workplace, Sustainable Sussex grew from a grass-roots community garden project based at Worthing Leisure Centre and supported by South Downs Leisure into the charity we see evolving today. From humble beginnings and no core funding, we built things with things that were no longer valued in society - and sadly that included people! In mixed needs groups, we built our social enterprise, Sussex Chilli Farm, a brand that our beneficiaries are so proud of - because so many can not access the workplace and yet they have made it happen!

Our Future

Having out-grown their first home at Worthing Leisure Centre, Sustainable Sussex sought land and partnered with Sompting Estate - and along with volunteer/beneficiaries began planning The Fen Farm, Sompting Community Farm, Nature Trail and Community Orchard.

Our vision includes a community cafe to feed volunteers on the farm and to give work experience serving the public, an outdoor kitchen with wood-fired pizza oven and Argentine Grill (plus a smoke filter to protect the environment). We'll have a commercial kitchen for making value-added products like our famous chilli jam - and for harvesting honey from our apiary.

We will offer amazing experiences around growing in groups, cooking healthy and delicious food and eating together.

Our Mission:

Sustainable Sussex provides welcoming spaces, diverse experiences and community connections to help people grow and share their skills, knowledge and passion. We build resilience by furthering the wellbeing, relationships and abilities of people and nature.

Our Vision:

Growing together we thrive.