The Fold
Recognising the growing need for connection and support among women in the BCP area and beyond, Camilla Parry and Sophie De Castro embarked on a mission to create a space where women can come together, learn and empower one another. Through their monthly events, inspiring talks, and engaging workshops, The Fold has become a beacon of inclusivity, offering women a platform to share knowledge, build relationships, and find strength in community. We delve into the a journey of The Fold and witness the transformative impact it has had on the lives of countless women.
Hi Camilla and Sophie! Can you introduce us to The Fold?
The Fold is a group run by women for women to help promote a sense of connection and community within the BCP area and beyond. We run events where women can either hear an inspirational talk or get involved in a workshop and then spend time with one-another - in the hopes to create a diverse, connected and empowered female community.
We are two local women having lived in Dorset for many years now, after moving here to start our families. Increasingly we were hearing frustrations from women around us that they felt disconnected, unheard and were struggling to get the information they needed to pretty vital life issues. This could include the menopause, stress, identity issues and burnout amongst other things.
We set up The Fold, as we realised there was a huge need for an inclusive space for women to come together to support one another and to share knowledge.
The response has been phenomenal - women are stopping us in the street sometimes to say thanks for starting this up! It's very humbling, but shows that this is needed - especially in a post COVID world where perhaps we have all got out of the habit of being together, or at least realising how good it feels to be around supportive women.
What does The Fold bring to the BCP community?
The Fold runs monthly events, hosting inspirational women speakers and practitioners giving talks and running workshops covering a wide range of subjects relevant to women of all ages. This may be talks covering mental health and wellbeing, including stress management, breathwork, protecting yourself and your family in the cyber age, understanding menopause, sustainable shopping or nutrition for example.
We are also running monthly workshops with local practitioners, getting women involved. We are currently running food tastings with Patricia Nunes, a holistic chef at Natures Synergies, who is an expert in gut health, a sustainable style party with fabulous local stylist Alice Nichol aka Buddy & Noo, an illustration class with writer and illustrator Becca Perl, a self employment masterclass run by successful female business owners, a Breathwork class with Tracey Howes, a RAID advanced freediver, a mixology masterclass using foraged ingredients with Bird at The Bar... The list goes on!
We work hard to research and find fantastic speakers - we can’t believe how many amazing women live locally! The aim is to become a serious resource; bringing really useful, relevant and inspiring information to women each month and making it attainable. Some women may wonder about subjects like mindfulness for example, but would never really have the time to research why it may be beneficial for them or know how to integrate it into their daily lives.
The beauty of The Fold is that we will be learning together, so we can share ideas and also pass on information to one another as women have always done. This can be such a resource in itself and without a community such as this, it is very difficult to access that support and cross pollination of ideas and experience.
We are also really excited to support local businesses and help female business owners grow - be they companies or self employed practitioners. We hope to make some great collaborations that will give female run/focused businesses some exposure.
Who is The Fold for?
The Fold is for any individual who identifies as a woman (she/her/hers) that wants to come along. We have heard that some women may find the idea of putting herself out there pretty terrifying. This is not a place to come and be under pressure to be your very best self. Nobody will be asked to participate (unless you are in a workshop) or to even stay and mingle after our talks - you may just want to leave afterwards, but we hope you will stay for a drink. We have lots of women come along alone, they always seem to stay and have a great time!
Our key objective is that anyone that comes feels included and that our events inspire and allow a woman to feel that she has taken away more than she came with. Perhaps she has learnt something new, had a great chat, made a work connection, or a new friend, had a really fun evening or just comes away with a feeling of satisfaction that she has been listened to. The talks and workshops are going to be informative and inspiring, but they also act as a useful catalyst to gather women together.
What is the future of The Fold?
The most challenging aspect of running The Fold, has been finding the right place to hold our sessions. Ultimately we would love to open a space where we can hold talks & run wellness clinics, giving local practitioners a reliable and affordable place to run workshops, so more local women have access to their services. It would also serve as a female focused community space for women to meet up - which would be so valuable for so many women!
We also plan to take the talks/speakers online for women who are unable to attend, or are out of the area, to be able access to the information being shared by our speakers via a podcast. This is in the planning stages at the moment, but we hope to launch this in the next couple of months.
We are also planning a women’s retreat in 2024 - so watch this space! The main thing is to keep growing, so we can build a strong and diverse community; without members this won’t be possible!
Website → thefoldcommunity.com
Instagram → @thefoldcommunity
