Trying to save the world....

Published on 20 Jan 2020 by Emma Eynon

...one tree at a time.

Last year, Steve and I decided to stop contracting out our IT skills and instead look to building our own real company – Fantom Factory. Building a brand and an identity was new to us, and we went through a bewildering but important journey to think about this very carefully. Our own personalities and beliefs actually play a big part in shaping the company and what we want our business identity and personality to be. We had never really considered this angle, as consumers, but as new business owners, we now see the importance of building trust and reputation.

We want people to know that dealing with Fantom Factory, is simply the same as dealing with Steve or myself directly. So what does that mean for anyone who hasn't yet met us? We had to analyse what we hold important and establish what our vision is, define a mission statement and lay out our business (and personal) values. What we found out really surprised us.

Our vision

Ensure advanced technology is accessible and understood by those who aspire to save our planet.

After long and successful technical careers, we realised that our professional interest is in helping other people. Not just other people, but especially those who are trying to achieve good things but who just need help with understanding and using technology. Something we can really help them with! Given that our new business venture is to work with other companies in an industry which is trying to save energy and resources, we can all work towards saving the planet at the same time!

Mission statement

To provide education and guidance to enable all within the Project Haystack community to achieve their technological goals.

This is "how" we intend to work towards our vision. It is important to define these goals at an early stage, before random opportunities come knocking in all sorts of guises and try to turn our heads!

Our brand values

Don't cut corners - we pay attention to details
Be a friend - we do everything in your best interest
Keep it simple - we don't take anything or anyone too seriously
Care about our planet - everything we do has to be sustainable
Bring value - technology should be accessible and demystified

Now we're starting to see some of our own personalities and beliefs shaping the company.

It seemed that the more we thought about this, the more that the greener aspects (saving the planet) were very important to us. After spending time in some third world countries, we came to appreciate how precious that natural green areas are to the environment and to our wildlife. There is such a rush to devastate and plunder these areas to put up fast food outlets and factories for producing cheap bric a brac, all for the sake of offering minimal wage jobs to poverty stricken communities. We all lose out really. Many third world countries feel they need to "catch up" with their first world neighbours, not appreciating what they actually have on their doorstep.

It's the same here in Wales, and we live in one of the poorest areas of the UK. We have lush valleys, forests, waterfalls, beaches and even rolling hills and moorlands which are being slowly chipped away by industry. We actually tried to fight our local authority over a fast food drive through they decided to approve for building at our traditional mining village entrance. Of course, we lost, to the sway that powerful commercial developers hold over our poor and power hungry council. Sadly, not only does this herald the end of a more traditional way of life here in a beautiful part of Wales, but it inherently increases traffic danger and pollution for the young generation.

So how do we go about making a positive impact on our environment? We have a beautiful garden where we keep fish, and enjoy visits from foxes, badgers, moles, voles, frogs and toads and so many birds… We realised that we couldn't spend the time going out to actively contribute, but what if we could partner with a charity that is doing something both truly useful and affecting us globally? Well, after researching a number of green charities and organisations, we instantly recognised the good work that Tree Aid are doing. Not only are they working to replant areas with new trees, but they are actively working to educate and share knowledge with the poor communities that are unknowingly destroying their only valuable resource! It is because of this work in education that we wanted to partner our business enterprise with Tree Aid.

As a UK charity, it makes it very easy for us to work together and for us to donate money. Importantly though, they are one of the main charities contributing to the Great Green Wall project – which is a global endeavour at planting a 700km wall across Africa. Such a large plantation of trees will make a considerable impact to the global climate – essentially a benefit to all of us.

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