Impact on people

Alex Kilbane-Howes

Alex Kilbane-Howes joined Enterprising Women to grow her business, HotSteppa Sauce.

What business idea do you grow on Edventure's Enterprising Women's course?

HotSteppa Sauce. We believe in symphonic recipes that tell a story - one rooted in the land, the seasons, and the wild places that inspire us.

Our mission is simple: celebrate Gaia, support local ecosystems, and ignite every meal with unparalleled flavour.

Every sauce we craft begins in nature, focused on wild ingredients and UK-grown chillies that bring zest, resonance, and fire to every drop.

How has your entrepreneurial journey been so far?

Since 2018, my partner and I have embarked on many adventures and explored boundless flavours, cultures, and landscapes. Our shared passions for travel, food, foraging, and all things sweet and spicy led us to begin our small-scale kitchen experiment, ‘HotSteppa Sauce’.

Stars aligned as we arrived back in Frome, and I secured a space on the Enterprising Women Course at Edventure. Blessed with a network of supportive female leaders, I found community, accountability and encouragement to establish myself as an entrepreneur. Whilst there is still a long way to go, the course gave me the momentum I needed to get my ideas into fruition. 

What did you enjoy most from joining Enterprising Women?

The meditations, check ins and creative exercises. The holistic nature of the course helped my integrate my ideas and values into my everyday life. 

How can I find out more and follow you?
Find us on Instagram at @hotsteppasauce

Camilla

After Edventure, Camilla set up a traditional sign writing business, and went on to become a director at the Flameworks, a community arts center in Plymouth.

“I joined Edventure because I wanted an education that really helps me find what I love to do and that teaches me about life. Edventure gave me a blank canvas to experiment on. The freedom and every growing opportunity that have come my way since being involved with Edventure has in turn challenged me to learn to recognise what is truly right for me.”

L’s story

L grew up in Frome. At 16 he left school and tried going to college. He dropped out, and joined our MAKE course before joining this Start-Up course.

“I've definitely gained a lot of confidence and I've also learned more about myself on the course than I ever hoped to. I came away with, skills and experiences working and talking to people, connections for what I might do next, and direction for how my life might pan out”

Lily

Lily joined our team to tackle food waste in Frome that led to us setting up the first UK Community Fridge. She went on to set up The Pitney Farm cafe to help people reconnect with where their food comes from, selling local, organic veg and running community events.

“Many of the skills I learnt during my time with Edventure had a direct impact on my ability to confidently move forward into setting up my own project.”

Rosa

Rosa took part in the start-up course looking for some practical business skills in setting up and running an enterprise with people and wanted to meet like minded people. She went on to work for a crisis support charity that tackles homelessness and food poverty, and set up a food growing project for them.

Read her full story here:

“I am grateful for all the skills I gained which undoubtedly opened up the opportunity into my current role.”

A’s story

RK had a car accident in her early 20s and suffered a major brain injury, she has ongoing memory problems. She was volunteering locally at the time and after the programme she joined a start-up course.

“I met new friends, learned about working as a group. I’ll be back, edventure is truly life changing for me and my new thoughts”

D’s story

D is a young man on the autistic spectrum and he was referred through one of our referral partners (Work Wiltshire, ‘a one-stop shop for education, employment and skills information’). He was not in work or education.

“My favorite bit was carving a spatula - I was a bit nervous about whether I had sufficient skills to make it. Harry (the tutor) was really encouraging and gave me advice and demonstrated some skills. I have learned new skills, met new people and I am more confident about talking with people and sharing my ideas.”

Sylvie

Sylvie was one of 51 unemployed young adults on a Kickstart placement in Frome, facilitated by Edventure. Edventure had worked with local green & community minded companies to create meaningful work-placements and provided weekly training. Sylvie moved on to a full time job after her placement.

"I attended the kickstart training with Edventure. This involved a range of interesting, varied sessions on confidence, intrapreneurship, climate change, and first-aid-training. The Kickstart training enabled me to meet other people who all shared their individual experiences of the pandemic. It took seeing people in person and hearing everyone’s stories to realise that I really wasn’t the only one going through it. We were all in a similar boat (sinking!). But now I am finally moving forwards with cautious optimism. Kickstart has been a massive game changer for me."

Allen

Allen was referred to Edventure by the Job Centre, joined a make course, and then got involved in a start-up course. He continued to co-lead an edventure project - the Frome Wardrobe Collective, and got support with finding a job, later landing in an IT support company.

“It was awesome to work in a team, I gained skills and confidence, and lots of support. ”Being involved in Edventure gives life meaning and gives me something to do. I love helping people and being part of something”

Katie

Katie joined our 2nd start-up course in 2014 went on to start one of the first Food Assemblies in the UK, an online and in-person market to sell locally produced food and promote their producers.

“I joined Edventure to have the opportunity to be involved with lots of different projects, to find out what I want to do in the future. I wanted to work with like minded people and be part of a community. After the course I was much more likely to take risks, happier in what I am doing and more confident.”

Charley

Charley joined the team that set up Share - Library of things. She was later employed by the project as the shop manager, went on to manage an adventure playground, various community projects, and is running a photography business.

“The course had such a big impact on my life. I can’t think of anywhere else where I’d have the opportunity to create a sustainable business from scratch and get involved with every step of the process – from
writing a business plan to actually building the shop interior.”

Ben

Ben joined edventure after completing a business undergraduate degree, and was looking for a more meaningful career. He later got employed by a tech start-up, a social enterprise working in the health sector.

“I wouldn’t be where I am today without Edventure as a stepping-stone. The best part was that we were able to mould the experience to our own interests.”