Members of Cotham School Year 12 Enterprise Team report on the development and ongoing plans for its Edge Chopping Board
Eco Edge is a student run company at Cotham School in Bristol that manufactures chopping boards using storm felled wood from South Wales. Eco Edge is supported by the charity Young Enterprise, which encourages the empowerment of young people through development, discovery and growth.
Through the creation of Eco Edge, Cotham Post 16 students have been able to gain the experience of running their own business before being released into the real world. The idea of making chopping boards first came up when one of our members mentioned the air dried sustainable storm felled wood he had on his family’s farm in South Wales, which could be put to good use. With a focus on sustainability, we quickly decided on manufacturing chopping boards with laser cut iconic Bristol landmarks on them.
Once the wood made it into Bristol, it was cut, shaped and sanded, before being etched with designs created by our own talented and technical team members. The final step was to coat the boards in a protective layer, made up of locally sourced beeswax and food-grade mineral oil which gives the boards a golden tint. This means that every board is sustainably sourced with a negligible carbon footprint and each one is handmade and unique – enhanced by its imperfections.
Our first experience of sales was at a Young Enterprise trade fair at Cabot Circus. After a slow start, in part due to snow, the sales team was quickly finding success and by the end of the fair had almost sold out of our entire stock holding. This was recognised by the Young Enterprise judges, awarding Eco Edge Best Company and Best Trade Stand. These awards showed us that all the time and effort that we put into designing and producing these boards was worth something.
We look forward to getting more stock produced soon and to be able to continue delivering our unique chopping boards to discerning customers. We are also eagerly anticipating our chase to pitch our business to the Young Enterprise ‘Dragons at the Regional Finals later this month, and possibly beyond.