Purpose in Practice Series
Throughout 2026, we’re showcasing our purpose-driven clients making a difference to people and planet. This series embodies our company’s purpose – a living statement we continue to refine through ongoing team dialogue: “to transform accountancy from opaque compliance into collaborative partnership – empowering purpose-driven SMEs with financial capability and reshaping the profession itself, so that investing in people, planet, and lasting impact becomes the norm.”
This is the next in our series profiling TBLA clients whose work centres on environmental stewardship and social impact. Following our features on the Agroforestry Research Trust, Good Small Farms, Investors for Purpose, PfBIO, the Apricot Centre, and Grass Roots Remedies, we’re proud to share our partnership with Six Inches of Soil.
A Story of Courage, Vision and Hope
“Despite all our accomplishments, we owe our existence to a six-inch layer of topsoil and the fact it rains.” This quote from American broadcaster Paul Harvey captures the essence of why Six Inches of Soil Ltd and Springtail Productions CIC exist: to produce films, media and events that spotlight the critical importance of soil and regenerative farming.
When filmmakers Colin Ramsay and Claire Mackenzie set out to create their documentary, there was no production company in the UK solely featuring content on this vital topic. They filled that gap with a 90-minute feature film that has become a catalyst for change across Britain’s farming landscape.
The Film That Started a Movement
Six Inches of Soil tells the inspiring story of young British farmers standing up against the industrial food system and transforming the way they produce food – to heal the soil, benefit our health and provide for local communities.
The film follows three farmers on the first year of their regenerative journey: Anna Jackson, an 11th generation Lincolnshire arable and sheep farmer; Adrienne Gordon, a Cambridgeshire small-scale vegetable farmer; and Ben Thomas, who rears pasture-fed beef cattle in Cornwall. As they strive to adopt regenerative practices and create viable businesses, they meet seasoned mentors who help them navigate a broken food system and a landscape degraded by industrial agriculture.
Among those featured is Marina O’Connell from the Apricot Centre – a farmer and educator whose work we’ve recently profiled in this series. Marina’s appearance in the film, demonstrating how she transformed Huxhams Cross Farm into a productive, beautiful, community-connected enterprise, exemplifies the practical possibilities of regenerative agriculture. Her legacy continues to inspire farmers across the UK.
Beyond the Film: Building Impact
What sets Six Inches of Soil apart is its commitment to creating lasting change beyond the cinema. The documentary can be screened in communities, watched at home via Apple, Amazon and YouTube Movies, and has sparked a comprehensive impact campaign.
Through their expanding media platform, they now offer:
- A podcast featuring guests from around the world
- A book that digs deeper into the themes
- Short educational films on soil and regenerative farming
- Resources covering soil health, farming practices, food systems, nature, climate and policy
- A platform to discover local regenerative farmers and food suppliers
The film doesn’t shy away from complex issues. It explores the connection between food and health, food poverty and affordability, the role of animals in farming systems, Britain’s unequal land ownership, barriers facing new entrant farmers from diverse backgrounds, and whether carbon offsetting has a place on farms.
The Context: Why This Matters
Industrial farming has transformed Britain’s rural landscapes. Supported by generous government subsidies, the post-war introduction of artificial pesticides and fertilisers, monoculture crops and intensive machinery use significantly increased yields, reducing hunger and kick-starting the economy.
But this came at enormous cost: biodiversity loss, polluted waters, depleted soils, tens of thousands of farmers forced to leave the sector, and significant contributions to climate change. Food production is now controlled by a handful of supermarket retailers and processing companies. We’ve become disconnected from how our food is produced, whilst ultra-processed food contributes to an unfolding public health crisis.
Yet, as the film demonstrates, change is growing – pioneered by a quiet but rapidly expanding movement seeking to completely overturn how we’ve farmed and eaten over the last 70 years.
A Connection Forged at Our Event
The partnership between TBLA and Six Inches of Soil began at our Sustainable Food Production event in Norwich on 20th September 2022. Over 130 people attended that evening, which opened with a trailer from the then-unreleased film. Co-producers Colin Ramsay and Claire Mackenzie were in the audience, whilst the main speakers – Marina O’Connell and Jake Fiennes, Conservation Manager of the Holkham Estate – shared their experiences of regenerative farming and restoring biodiversity.
As the team behind Six Inches of Soil explain: “We were looking for an ethical accountant and we met Fran at TBLA’s public event. We saw immediately that you might be the sort of folks we would like to work with.”
What TBLA Has Done for Six Inches of Soil
Our work centres on managing accounts for both Six Inches of Soil Ltd and Springtail Productions CIC, navigating tax requirements and preparing end-of-year reports. Understanding the dual structure of a limited company and a Community Interest Company has been essential to providing effective support.
As a small organisation in their initial years, we’ve guided them through setting up and running a CIC, addressed tax queries, and supported them to maximise their resources during those crucial early stages. Specific to the film industry, we guided them through the application process to achieve British Film Institute (BFI) certification. This enabled us to submit Film Tax Relief claims to HMRC for four consecutive years, resulting in tax credit receipts – a vital financial boost that supported their impact work.
By handling the financial complexity behind the scenes, we’ve enabled Colin, Claire and their team to focus on what matters most: creating compelling content that tells the story of Britain’s regenerative farming movement, producing their podcast, developing educational resources, coordinating community screenings, and expanding their impact campaign – all whilst managing the administrative demands of running two interconnected organisations.
A Growing Movement
The film’s impact continues to expand. Community screenings bring people together to witness these farmers’ journeys and engage in vital conversations about our food system. The accompanying resources help viewers understand the science behind soil health, the principles of agroecology, and how they can support regenerative farmers in their own communities.
This is storytelling for impact – using film as a catalyst to shift how we think about food, farming and our relationship with the land. It’s about showing that agroecological farming isn’t simply a job, but a way to live values and engage in practices which nourish both the planet and the farmers themselves.
Looking Ahead
As Six Inches of Soil continues to expand its impact through new media, educational content and community engagement, we’re honoured to provide the financial foundation that allows this vital work to flourish. Their journey demonstrates that purpose-driven media can create real-world change – shifting perspectives, connecting communities, and supporting the farmers who are transforming British agriculture from the ground up.
Their work reinforces what we’ve always believed: that investing in people, planet and lasting impact isn’t just possible – it’s essential for building the resilient, healthy food systems we desperately need.
About Six Inches of Soil
Six Inches of Soil Ltd and Springtail Productions CIC produce films, media and events focused on the importance of soil and regenerative farming. Their flagship 90-minute documentary tells the inspiring story of British farmers transforming food production to heal the soil, benefit health and provide for local communities.
If your organisation is ready to align its financial management with its values, we’d love to hear from you. Whether you’re a media producer, CIC, educational organisation, or anywhere in between, Triple Bottom Line Accounting is here to help purpose-driven organisations thrive. Contact us here.
Engage with Six Inches of Soil:
- Website: sixinchesofsoil.org
- Watch at home: Journeyman Pictures
- Host a screening: Community screenings
- Podcast: Listen here
- Book: Six Inches of Soil companion book
- Find local farmers: Regenerative Farmers UK Map
Fran leads TBLA’s sustainability services and HR function, delivering Net Zero Workshops, decarbonisation and ESG consultancy for SMEs and organisations. She develops and delivers sustainability education across multiple frameworks, notably as tutor for ESTU Global’s Sustainability Manager and Carbon Manager programmes, teaching sustainability managers and leaders from diverse corporate backgrounds. In her dual role at TBLA, she obtained B Corp certification and drives the company’s ongoing ESG momentum, while supporting TBLA’s commitment to environmental and social responsibility through practical sustainability solutions and a focus on inclusive team leadership through the company’s HR function.
