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Team Building
Educational
Corporate Hospitality
Raising the Baa
Bringing teams together on a sheep farm, swapping boardrooms for barns - put simply, teambuilding with sheep
Sneak peek at a Raising the Baa programme
Services we provide
Team BuildingEducationalCorporate HospitalityAbout Raising the Baa
Are you spending another day sitting in front of your screen in the same four walls as yesterday? And the day before and the day before that?
Your team are great, but you hardly see them anymore.
In fact, when was the last time you all got together in person?
It’s not your fault.
It’s simply the way corporate working patterns have developed: - 90% virtual versus in-person meetings - Scheduled coffee chats rather than the impromptu trip to grab a brew with a colleague or two - Putting on weight or tightening hamstrings through too much sitting – no need to walk between meetings or even the printer!
Tell-tale signs of a team losing its mojo:
• It takes months to sort any kind of get-together as diaries are rammed with virtual meetings • Project deadlines being missed • Increased levels of absenteeism • Lack of small talk or laughter in the workplace or in virtual meetings • Previously switched-on co-workers seeming discombobulated
The anti-dote?
A liberal dose of fresh air, totally unplugged, could be just the tonic.
Teambuilding – Wellness – Playful Learning -- Stress Relief – and more.
It’s all here for your team. You are better together.
Putting purpose before profit, every client programme enables Raising the Baa to help rural African families out of poverty in partnership with Ripple Effect.
To this end we are particularly passionate about helping sustainably conscious organisations and those who support dyslexic thinking (as per my partner and co-founder Chris).
Your team are great, but you hardly see them anymore.
In fact, when was the last time you all got together in person?
It’s not your fault.
It’s simply the way corporate working patterns have developed: - 90% virtual versus in-person meetings - Scheduled coffee chats rather than the impromptu trip to grab a brew with a colleague or two - Putting on weight or tightening hamstrings through too much sitting – no need to walk between meetings or even the printer!
Tell-tale signs of a team losing its mojo:
• It takes months to sort any kind of get-together as diaries are rammed with virtual meetings • Project deadlines being missed • Increased levels of absenteeism • Lack of small talk or laughter in the workplace or in virtual meetings • Previously switched-on co-workers seeming discombobulated
The anti-dote?
A liberal dose of fresh air, totally unplugged, could be just the tonic.
Teambuilding – Wellness – Playful Learning -- Stress Relief – and more.
It’s all here for your team. You are better together.
Putting purpose before profit, every client programme enables Raising the Baa to help rural African families out of poverty in partnership with Ripple Effect.
To this end we are particularly passionate about helping sustainably conscious organisations and those who support dyslexic thinking (as per my partner and co-founder Chris).
Our Story
It all started with an off the cuff idea for a young people's charity. The founder wanted an ice-breaker for a group of teenagers who had a variety of communication challenges and backgrounds. As a shepherd, Chris suggested the group could come out to a farm and herd sheep. Just like he and his dog do every day.
It worked a miracle, the transformation in the young people was incredible. So the exercise, simply referred to as 'teambuilding with sheep' was delivered voluntarily by Chris several times a year until quite recently when the charity folded.
Meanwhile, a couple of local companies got to hear about 'teambuilding with sheep' and asked if they could bring their team to the farm. Of course we said yes, and upped our game a bit to suit the business market.
Chris' partner Caroline, thought a Facebook page would be nice for people to see themselves in action on a sheep farm.
A chance stumble across the Facebook page by a senior manager at IKEA Bristol led us to our first events on a different farm - and a series of bookings for different teams from the IKEA Bristol store.
Another chance encounter with a freelance journalist who interviewed Chris for an article in a Wiltshire magazine. Who reads these, we thought. Turns out lots of other journalists!
Suddenly we were inundated with media requests for interviews and filming opportunities, ranging from local radio right up to 8 minutes on BBC's The One Show.
Raising the Baa was born!
Meanwhile, a couple of local companies got to hear about 'teambuilding with sheep' and asked if they could bring their team to the farm. Of course we said yes, and upped our game a bit to suit the business market.
Chris' partner Caroline, thought a Facebook page would be nice for people to see themselves in action on a sheep farm.
A chance stumble across the Facebook page by a senior manager at IKEA Bristol led us to our first events on a different farm - and a series of bookings for different teams from the IKEA Bristol store.
Another chance encounter with a freelance journalist who interviewed Chris for an article in a Wiltshire magazine. Who reads these, we thought. Turns out lots of other journalists!
Suddenly we were inundated with media requests for interviews and filming opportunities, ranging from local radio right up to 8 minutes on BBC's The One Show.
Raising the Baa was born!
Our Team
Chris Farnsworth and Caroline Palmer are the co-founders and remain the mainstays of the business.
Chris' entire career has been in shepherding and remains so - he'll never give up his sheep! Chris is present at every client event, for the welfare of the sheep and facilitating the core challenge of herding them. He's even written a book on the subject!
Caroline's employed background was within a mix of marketing agencies, servicing corporate clients as well as working directly for The Body Shop International and The Millennium Experience. Known as Top Dog, Caroline is Managing, Marketing and Business Development and Client Relationship Director - not that any of these titles are ever used! She loves meeting the clients face to face on the farm and is behind the camera and ensuring the needs of every participant are met during their awaydays.
Janice is our Operations Lead who is a stickler for detail and ensures that our client's journey is a smooth one, from the initial planning stage right through to after the event. Janice ran her own professional headhunter agency before semi-retiring, making her a communication supremo at every level.
We also contract a range of shepherds and facilitators to deliver our programmes throughout England.
Chris' entire career has been in shepherding and remains so - he'll never give up his sheep! Chris is present at every client event, for the welfare of the sheep and facilitating the core challenge of herding them. He's even written a book on the subject!
Caroline's employed background was within a mix of marketing agencies, servicing corporate clients as well as working directly for The Body Shop International and The Millennium Experience. Known as Top Dog, Caroline is Managing, Marketing and Business Development and Client Relationship Director - not that any of these titles are ever used! She loves meeting the clients face to face on the farm and is behind the camera and ensuring the needs of every participant are met during their awaydays.
Janice is our Operations Lead who is a stickler for detail and ensures that our client's journey is a smooth one, from the initial planning stage right through to after the event. Janice ran her own professional headhunter agency before semi-retiring, making her a communication supremo at every level.
We also contract a range of shepherds and facilitators to deliver our programmes throughout England.
Experience
Established 2012.
Typical Clients
Recent clients including Dreams, CBRE, Howdens, Google and Boots have taken their teams to down tools and spend the day on a sheep farm with Raising the Baa.
Example reviews:
CEO of manufacturing plc: "Raising the Baa team building was excellent for our Exec, reinforcing all the behaviours and management processes required to be a high performance team!"
CFO of global medical technology plc "Thank you Caroline and the team for the brilliant day. Let’s be honest, I expected anything but to spend a day herding sheep. It turned out to be just brilliant, we learned more of ourselves, and especially how powerful is to ignite a bit of self confidence to boost motivation and achieve results."
Exec in fast-growing global software development company "Hehe, what can I say… this was an absolutely awesome team-building activity, and I would definitely recommend it! I really liked that it took place outdoors, that we had to be proactive, use our brains, think through the whole process, and cooperate. On top of that, we learned things we can actually apply in everyday life. It was just pure fun and I would go again!"
Example reviews:
CEO of manufacturing plc: "Raising the Baa team building was excellent for our Exec, reinforcing all the behaviours and management processes required to be a high performance team!"
CFO of global medical technology plc "Thank you Caroline and the team for the brilliant day. Let’s be honest, I expected anything but to spend a day herding sheep. It turned out to be just brilliant, we learned more of ourselves, and especially how powerful is to ignite a bit of self confidence to boost motivation and achieve results."
Exec in fast-growing global software development company "Hehe, what can I say… this was an absolutely awesome team-building activity, and I would definitely recommend it! I really liked that it took place outdoors, that we had to be proactive, use our brains, think through the whole process, and cooperate. On top of that, we learned things we can actually apply in everyday life. It was just pure fun and I would go again!"
Credentials
National Sheep Association
Corporate Supporters of Ripple Effect.
Corporate Supporters of Ripple Effect.
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