Deborah Flint, CEO of Cinderhill Farm

Producers of the famous luxury savoury pastries from the Forest of Dean.

Deborah's background is in Funding for Development.  For 26 years she worked with the poorest and wealthiest communities of the world, funding (from private sources) sustainable development which was shaped by - and designed for the benefit of - the poorest of the poor.

Inspired by the people she worked for on behalf of for the development agencies, Deborah and her husband Neil moved to Cinderhill Farm in 2011 with a view to putting into practice the community and environmentally sustaining farming practices she had learned about from the work she was involved in previously.  

From the fruit of the farm, Deborah started the food production business.  It now employs 16 local people and purchases from other small farmers employing sustainable farming practices across the country.  The business is committed to continuous learning and improvement.  They employ, champion, and sponsor apprenticeships at all levels.  Their production seeks to reflect and protect the people who work with them, the community in which it is based and the land on which it is farmed.  

Cinderhill Farm is an accredited member of the Living Wage Foundation,  runs a Cycle-to-Work scheme (despite being based on the Forest's steepest hill!) and supports the Species Recovery Trust's work on Britain's rarest beetle, Cosnard's Netwinged Beetle - found in the slopes below the farm above the beautiful Wye Valley.  

Deborah's next aspiration is for Cinderhill Farm to attain B-Corp status, and to see the business set for future generations of the Forest of Dean to run beyond her time.