DD Charity Update - June 2025

Curious by Nature is a grassroots community organisation bringing outdoor learning and nature connection to local children and families in East London. Through their weekly Forest School sessions, held across three locations, they offer free and low-cost access to green spaces, encouraging young people to care for the natural world around them.

Their new DD tarps and hammocks have already become firm favourites - as Monica shared:

“Jens and some of the children built a den with one of our new tarps. One girl spent a large part of the session engrossed in her own world inside it.”

We’re proud to be bringing joy to the children of Curious by Nature with our donation of two hammocks and four tarps. 

Cae Rhug Holistic Farm 

Cae Rhug is a not-for-profit, permaculture-based social enterprise that supports people facing disability, ill health, isolation, and other vulnerabilities through connection with land, food, and each other. With over 50 years of combined experience, Simon and Rachel use their farm as a space to foster resilience, creativity, and belonging. 

We caught up with Simon to find out a little more about the organisation and his journey with them: 

1. Tell us about Cae Rhug Farm?

Cae Rhug Holistic Farm is an organically-managed, not-for-profit Social Enterprise. Adhering to the permaculture principles of Earth Care, People Care and Fair Share, we deliver nature-based interventions that create positive change through immersion in high quality nature space. We work with people and nature to create positive changes in the lives of people living with disabilities, ill health, or those who face isolation, disadvantage or vulnerability.

2. How did you become involved?

Joint owner and colleague Rachel, and myself have over 50 years of experience of working in the environmental and education sector and we knew that through using the farm we could develop our ideas of growing wellbeing, food and benefitting biodiversity in a collaborative way with participants. Rachel is an artist and trained Social Therapeutic Horticulturist and I have skills in education and rural skills.

3. What is the best part of working for Cae Rhug Farm?

So many things, but it is the synergistic magic that happens when you bring people and wildlife together in a setting with specialist staff and everyone works together to creates a caring, mentally and emotionally safe social place where nature promotes wellbeing through life long learning.

4. What is the plan for the DD Hammocks & Tarps?

The Farm works on life long learner-led activity and discovery. Access to high quality natural environments has many benefits, especially combined with an ethos of providing a welcoming, non judgemental safe place. The tarps and hammocks allow our participants to “nest”, creating their own space in nature, where they can find quiet solitude or a social “roost” of hammocks surrounded by, and in, orchards, woodland and meadows. 

With our donation of six sets of DD Charity Edition Hammocks and Tarps, they are even planning to create a hammock spiral, co-designed and built by participants, using local larch trunks. We can’t wait to see how it evolves.

Link: Website | Instagram

Thank you to everyone working hard behind the scenes at these incredible organisations. From building dens in London to creating safe nesting spaces in North Wales, it's amazing to see both groups using the outdoors to heal, teach, and inspire. We’re proud that our hammocks and tarps can be part of their journey.

Stay tuned for updates next time from OaKley and Elemental Adventures CIC.