Good Energy partner and sustainable living centre Bricks and Bread is running its Route to the Future event this weekend from 10am to 5pm at Loseley Park, Guildford. “It’s our way of showcasing the hub of experts we work with and the type of things we do here,” says Bricks and Bread founder, Trudy Thompson.

And what is it that they do at Bricks and Bread? Well, pretty much everything that anybody wants, as long as it’s helping to improve and encourage sustainability. They give advice and run training sessions and education programmes on everything from improving CSR to installing solar panels and how best to insulate your home They also host conferences and manage and sell commercial and domestic waste – the Bricks and Bread centre is zero waste and all furniture is salvaged. “But most importantly,” says Trudy, “it’s about explaining sustainability in terms of saving money. I genuinely believe that as a business person you’ve missed a trick if you aren’t looking at sustainable methods. It’s also about collaborating everything into a format that corporations like. There are loads of great people out there doing fantastic things but they’re often marginalised and not very commercial.

“Bricks and Bread grew from my frustration at giving the same advice out over and over again. So, right in the middle of the credit crunch I quit my job and rented and renovated a massive derelict warehouse on an industrial site near my home town of Guildford. As soon as I opened it I asked people to come and listen and learn; builders, homeowners, anybody. It was, and still is, about gathering experts and sharing knowledge.”

Fast forward a few years and Bricks and Bread is a successful social enterprise with over 20 physical franchises across the country and another 300 or so interested parties that have downloaded the Bricks and Bread Manual. But, Trudy says, “While I’m called an entrepreneur, and am one, it’s always just been 'self-employed' to me. Self-sufficiency, self-reliance and the practical can-do attitude is in built in me.” However, it’s not always sustainability that’s been Trudy’s driving force.

“I come from a fifth generation farming family and when I left school I had no interest in anything other than farming and driving. My mum had always told me not to go into horticulture or agriculture however much you love it because I’d always be living hand to mouth. Unfortunately for my mum I wanted to be a racing driver! So I did motorsports and had a car dealership and burnt my own hole in the ozone layer until at 30 I had my mid-life crisis (early). The old adage ‘money can’t buy you happiness’ came true and I realised that what I truly loved and what was most natural to me was the sustainability thing. So I taught myself eco-building and set up my own eco-building firm.

“I often feel like my life is a social experiment showcasing that you can do anything if you put your mind to it,” Trudy concludes. And it’s this attitude that Trudy infuses into every aspect of the Bricks and Bread outfit. She doesn’t have much time for people who displace their dissatisfaction – onto local councils, the government, corporations and the like. “We’re damning of big companies but we expect convenience. We’ve lost so many of our practical skills because of what we’ve asked for and then turn around and complain about it. If you’ve got these skills and are genuinely doing things that inspire people, that’s what matters. And that’s what people respond to.”



Head to the Route to the Future Event this weekend – 1st and 2nd of October – to find out more about Bricks and Bread.