Say hello to our second Wayfinder

Burum Collective is about connecting people within beer, wine and cider so that we can listen to and learn from one another. I started Burum only seven months ago so to be given the opportunity to take this project to the next level means everything, not just to myself but for those in our industries who Burum has had a positive impact on. 

I want Burum to be a hub for everyone, a place where people can connect, have their voices heard and maybe feel a little less alone. I want everyone to have as much access to educational resources and advice as possible. I want people of marginalised backgrounds to feel safer in the drinks industry, to feel like a career in beer, wine or cider is a viable option for them. I also want the hospitality industry to be taken more seriously as a career. Perhaps once that happens more, work can be done to protect those who work in it. 

Julia Coney, of Black Wine Professionals, said “We have to change the industry because we want to change the world”. Everytime we ignore problematic behaviour to avoid discomfort or out of “politeness” we hurt marginalised people and perpetuate a culture of bigotry. It clearly doesn’t work and it’s time to do something about it. When it comes to discrimination in our industry, we may not have the power to prevent it but we do have control over how we react.

Over the next three months at Cloudwater I’ll be working on each of these goals, laying the groundwork for the journey ahead. I hope that collaboratively we’ll be able to start tackling some of these challenges together and start discussions that will be beneficial, both personally and professionally.

From Monday, submissions for pitching will reopen and I would love to see more pitches from those of you who work in drinks who have not written before. As someone who didn’t write at all until last summer, I urge you to pitch to us if you have an idea. We want all of our written work to be a true reflection of its author, so we keep our editing style very informal and we encourage you to be as free in your opinions as you feel comfortable.

I think that learning and education should be a right, not a privilege, and I want to help those who are eager to learn more about the drinks world by providing as many educational resources as I can in one place, for free. I am currently studying towards Certified Cicerone, and as someone who has a learning difficulty I have first hand experience of the difficulties that can be faced whilst studying for something that is predominantly self study. 

I’ll be looking to work with educators within the drinks industry to provide you with our Burum Basics, a mixture of written and video work providing you with some introductions to beer, wine, cider, perry and everything in between. Plus written pieces from myself and Burum writer/editor Rachel Hendry on how to learn about these different subjects, breaking down the different methods that we have tried and tested.

With Cloudwater, not only will we be doing a collaborative brew but we’ll be producing a visual breakdown of the brewing process as we go, covering the basics of ingredients and the different stages involved in making our beer. At Burum sharing knowledge is just as important as sharing beers and we want this beer with Cloudwater to reflect that. We also have some takeovers of their live events on YouTube coming up so keep your eyes peeled for those!

As previously stated I would love to see the drinks industry be taken more seriously within the UK, and for young people to be aware of the different job roles and the various paths that can be taken. I will be spending this time really looking at the hospitality industry, looking at what already has been done and what needs to be done going forward. In order to create a safer and more equitable space for those who work in hospitality, we need to implement change and scrutinise everything, from company ethos, hiring, staff training, management, unions and Diversity, Equality and Inclusion initiatives.

This will be a collaborative project with not just myself and Cloudwater, but with people across all areas of hospitality. I believe that in order to make the most change all voices need to be heard. Therefore from the end of March, Burum Collective will be hosting open forums to discuss different aspects of the drinks industry, with focussed discussions on the improvement of hospitality.

Burum Collective isn’t just my project, it is all of yours. If you ever have any feedback, concerns or are interested in working with us in some capacity please feel free to email me at helen@burumcollective.com