Our work in Suffolk

The countryside – what it does, what it produces and what it offers – has an impact on us all.

The Royal Countryside Fund wishes to see a thriving countryside – a living, breathing, working place which is there for everyone. Working together, we can help those who look after the Suffolk countryside to safeguard its future.

Our vision is of family farms and rural communities that fulfil their role in creating a sustainable future for the countryside and our whole nation. Founded by HM King Charles III in 2010 while The Prince of Wales, we are proud to be the only UK-wide charity empowering family farms and rural communities to ensure they survive and thrive.

Our work coalesces around three pillars: enabling family farms to thrive, building confident rural communities, and inspiring support. We achieve these aims through our programmes and initiatives, from providing free business skills and environmental management training to farming families, to investing in essential rural services.

Farm Resilience Programme

Our Farm Resilience Programme has recently helped farming families around Woodridge and Diss in Suffolk. Chloe Cross, the group coordinator said: “The flexibility of this programme and its holistic approach to business planning is ideal for those wishing to pave a clear pathway for a successful and profitable future. East Anglia boasts numerous examples of agricultural businesses where productivity is balanced with profit, where families work alongside each other and where the environment is prioritised for restoration and maintenance.

“The Suffolk group have completed workshops with topics including business planning and succession, and will have access to 1:1 support to face their next challenge. The group engagement is fantastic and each session uncovers a point of view that hadn’t perhaps been considered before”

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Grant funding

The Suffolk-based Rural Coffee Caravan received £12,500 of grant funding in 2021 from the RCF to support their innovative ways to keep in touch with their users and a to create a social space in a rural place. In 2019, we published our Village Survival Guide, a vibrant manual filled with tips and advice on how to build a strong community and the Rural Coffee Caravan features on page 22 of this publication.

Ann Osborn, CEO of the Rural Coffee Caravan said: “We take our caravan to identified rurally remote areas, providing a social event, providing information about issues affecting residents, creating support networks, promoting community connections and reducing social isolation We are extremely grateful for the support from The Royal Countryside Fund. They understand that these visits create vital connections in these challenging times.”

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Our grant projects in Suffolk

We are delighted to have awarded a total of £141,034 to rural projects throughout Suffolk. These projects are working make their communities more resilient and tackle challenges such as isolation, limited access to provisions and creating a more sustainable rural economy.

Find out more about the projects on the interactive map:

Help Britain’s countryside to thrive today and into the future.

We have significant ambitions for our work: extending our reach to help 10,000 family farms, increasing our work with rural communities to assist them in becoming more self-sufficient and viable through community-led solutions, investing at least £500,000 each year through our grant programmes, and strengthening our networks of support.

There are a number of ways to support The Royal Countryside Fund, both individually or through your business. You can find out more here or reach Ellie Burnage, Head of External Affairs at eburnage@countrysidefund.org.uk or 07552 340129.