Harold Craston says it straight away: he is not going to get rich from this. By definition, it isn't about scale.
He grows broccoli sprouts in Greystones, a small town by the sea in County Wicklow, and delivers them to people's doors every week. Like a milkman, but for health.
From London to the beach
Harold grew up outside London, half English and half French, and spent his childhood wanting to get to the city. A job took him to Dublin instead. Then the pandemic left him lonely in a small flat, craving community and nature.
A friend mentioned a room going in Greystones. He took it. Within days, people on the beach were handing him tea after his morning swim. Most of his new friends were ten or fifteen years older than him. They welcomed him anyway.
A milkman for sprouts
Harold had worked in a gym, eaten chicken out of a tub in his pocket and drunk three protein shakes a day. Seven and a half years ago he went plant-based. Studying culinary medicine, he got obsessed with sprouts. By his numbers, they hold many times the micronutrients of the grown vegetable, use a fraction of the water and are ready to eat in five days instead of six weeks.
During lockdown he befriended a local farmer who had lost most of his business customers. The idea came quickly: grow broccoli sprouts and deliver them to the door.
He started with six customers, delivered by bicycle to keep it carbon neutral. At thirty customers the bag got too heavy, and a car wrapped in green sprouts took over. Today around 80 households get sprouts every week, and two drivers help with the deliveries. He also dries the sprouts into capsules, and shows people how to make their own.
The question behind it
Harold's point is less about sprouts than about what we buy in the name of health. Why do we question the quality of a tomato, he asks, but not the supplement we spend fifty euros on?
He still has a day job. He became a father during the past year. And he has no plans to throw it all away for the business.
We can have impact on the side that is measurable and meaningful, whilst also, of course, the safety of a day job.
Why I made this film
This was the first film in 100 Documentaries. I came to Greystones to film a man and his sprouts. I left with something else: the sense that health comes from the people around you and what you do together. I'm not great at keeping in touch with friends and family. This film made me want to change that.
Harold showed me that you don't have to choose between a safe job and doing something that matters. You can start small, on the side, and measure what it does.
Read the original article about Harold.
The question this film answers: how do you design work intentionally?
