The Sourdough School

BALM – Proven as one of the healthiest approaches to bread in the world.

Based in the walled gardens of Dr. Vanessa Kimbell's beautiful Victorian home in rural Northamptonshire, UK, we tutor individuals and train bakers and healthcare professionals in Baking as Lifestyle Medicine (BALM). Personalising bread to your lifestyle, gut microbiome, and unique genetics for optimal health—tailoring fermentation, fibre, and diversity so that your daily bread becomes the foundation of your health.

+44(0)7813308301
[email protected]
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How we use your fees to run our Social Enterprise

A conscious decision to operate my business as something more than a commercial entity

As the concept of teaching people to bake for health took shape, it was initially framed by a simple ambition: to contribute, in whatever modest way I could, to the broader goal of making people understand our connection to sourdough. I am determined to change the way we understand bread and inspire change.

 A commitment to share knowledge with those who might not ordinarily have the means to access it empowers change.

This was not just in my classes but through social media; I always responded to people to help.  This wasn’t about the pursuit of profit in the traditional sense. At its core, it was an exploration of how a business could transcend commercial boundaries to serve a deeper, more meaningful purpose – to change the world, for one person is changing the whole world.

In the early stages, the idea was somewhat formless; it was a feeling driven more by an intrinsic sense of duty than by a clear-cut plan. It became evident that there was a significant dichotomy between the availability of knowledge and its accessibility, but I felt that the true value of knowledge lies not in its accumulation but in its dissemination. Why, then, should access to transformative education and information be restricted to those who happen to have money?

I measure success by the impact on the community and the wider world.

More recently, as my understanding of the business world deepened, a phrase caught my attention and resonated with my evolving vision: “social enterprise.” It was a total revelation. This was the articulation of my practice. The precise terminology to describe it existed. The realisation dawned on me that the path I had been navigating was not uncharted but instead aligned with a far broader movement that places societal impact at the heart of the entrepreneurial endeavour.

So whilst we do need fees to run, I do not measure success as profit. I measure success by the impact on the community and the wider world.

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