"Every day I think wow if these ancient rituals, plants, fire, and nature did this for me, think what they can do for a healthy person. Think how this could help others not feel so alone in a dark place and help them to really live"
Why Jolly Allotment?
Our Story
When you find yourself in a physically dark place and are told there is nothing that the modern world of medicine can do for you, you have two choices. To walk away from your life as you knew it or turn to Mother Nature and ask for help.
In 2015 our founder Polly Baldwin found herself in a physically very dark place. Headaches, chronic fatigue, arthritic joints, sore muscles, eczema, constant pain in her ovaries, brain fog, memory loss, numb limbs, nervous system issues. She could not see a way out of the darkness. Her physical symptoms and lack of help and understanding led to anxiety, anger and depression. It destroyed her life as she knew it.
She was living through an autoimmune breakdown, Modern medicine gave up on her saying that there was no cure. She would just have to learn to live with her chronic conditions - there would be no help.
So she turned to ancient times and places in the world where there are no autoimmune diseases to learn how they live, and gradually reclaimed her own health through regenerating her gut health with plants, bone broth and ancient ways of being.
Polly's autoimmune conditions were caused by post viral fatigue from a spider bite infection. She was also diagnosed with coeliac disease at the age of 37. So her Gut Health was a major factor in her becoming so sick but also the power behind her rehabilitation.
Polly began to grow her own food on her allotment so she could grow the nutrients she needed to repair. She now has a deep understanding through first hand experience that our health begins in our soil and our food. But also in the way we choose to connect to nature, each other and ourselves.
Through our Jolly Allotment community and at our events and gatherings, Polly now cooks, talks and shares her story and those of others to educate, empower and encourage.
At the same time as regenerating her gut, she also took an old tired horse box out of a field, with the seed of an idea to grow it into a coeliac friendly gut health food truck and gut education hub for festivals and events. A beautiful way to reclaim her passion for food and festivals yet stay safe in her food choices and also provide that space for others. So they can explore the world of wellness and gut health gently and understand how simple it all is.
We are passionate about all the things that helped Polly on her journey.
- Soil Health
- Plant Health
- Gut Health
- Emotional Health
- Community Connection
- Connection to Self and Nature
- Self Care
- Movement
We feed your gut heart and soul
It is all about fuelling yourself with as much 'Goodness For Wellness' as possible. So you can be the healthiest you can be for yourself and those around you.
We look forward to sharing with you.
The Jolly Trolly
The Regenerative Wellness Community
Don't miss guest journal articles from our network of health and well-being professionals. The darkest hours for Polly were when she didn't know who to turn to for help and she was lucky to have so many friends with amazing knowledge in natural health both physical and mental. So we have grown this community to help people find support and learn all about regenerative wellness and self care so they to can grow jolliness for themselves and the people around them.