Community Food Event

As part of my work with WLGA, I'm facilitating this free workshop with Katie Jones:

Allotments & Community Grown Food Event, Tuesday 20th September 2011 - Wrexham

As part of its Sustainable Development Framework, the WLGA have begun working in partnership with the Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens [FCFCG] on community grown food issues.

The WLGA and FCFCG are organising an event for local authority officers involved in planning and managing allotments and community growing sites.  This event is an opportunity to:

• inform Local Authorities about developments currently taking place within the community growing sector in Wales (and further afield)

What is the aim? An exploratory event to enable the development of ways to promote good practice in allotments management and provision in Wales; promote resources that can facilitate good practice; develop models of good practice from the event; facilitate the development of supportive networks; signpost to organisations that can give help and support; offer constructive and productive delivery. It is also an opportunity to consult and establish circumstances, needs, barriers, etc. 

Who is the audience? Council staff, and others, responsible for the provision and management of allotments.

What are the desired outcomes?

• Development of an active, supportive, network in Wales in which council staff responsible for the provision and management of allotments can identify their needs, aspirations and barriers in order for support organisations to develop methods of meeting same;
• The establishment of a definitive list of council staff responsible for the management and provision of allotments in Wales;
• This will all help and support the strategic direction of council allotments’ services and land use planning at a localised level in Wales.

What will the day include?

• Talks & discussions from various experts in the field.
• Allotment case-studies from Local Authorities and communities.
• Networking opportunities.
• Workshops to share information and identify support needed.

Venue: Alan Waters Building, Alan Waters Country Park, Mold Road, Gwersyllt, Wrexham LL11 4AL

Understanding Cancer

It's taken a while - 200 years or more - and maybe now, we are starting to finally understand and reconcile tha the damage we're doing to the external environment in loss of biodiversity is echoed in a loss to our own internal health.

In a recent paper pubished in Nature, scientists from Manchester University revealed results of research that indicated a potential total lack of cancer in pre-industrial cultures, suggesting that one of the world's biggest killers, cancer, could be man-made.

Rosalie David and Michael Zimmerman's article abstract reads: "In industrialized societies, cancer is second only to cardiovascular disease as a cause of death. The history of this disorder has the potential to improve our understanding of disease prevention, aetiology, pathogenesis and treatment. A striking rarity of malignancies in ancient physical remains might indicate that cancer was rare in antiquity, and so poses questions about the role of carcinogenic environmental factors in modern societies. Although the rarity of cancer in antiquity remains undisputed, the first published histological diagnosis of cancer in an Egyptian mummy demonstrates that new evidence is still forthcoming". The full article can be read here

A question for us to consider would be one of working out the timeline to starting to address issues of our term health as though we were serious about a) reducing unnecessary death and suffering, b) reducing unneccessary spending on diseases we don't to have, c) start behaving as though we were homo sapiens

Three generation farming

St. Davids, Pembrokeshire, Wales, UK. April 2010.

A new community supported agriculture scheme was launched in Wales on the weekend thanks to the tireless hard work of organic farmer and GM-free campaigner Gerald Miles, Gill Lewis, Ailsa, Adam, Wyn & Val Buick and Darren & Rupert from regeneration agency PLANED.

The first day's work involved planting potatoes, onion, artichokes and comfrey. Members signed with an £18 donation that will be followed with a £30 a month food payment from July or so when the harvest starts.

Gerald Miles reckons that for each 50 or so households that sign up, a full time job can be created on one of the areas' organic farms. There are 800 houses in St Davids...

Community Supported Agrciculture

At a time when there's no clear plan anywhere in the UK (that we can find) that sets out what a coordinated local response to the threats of peak oil mean for food production and security, it's more important than ever that people start to act on the knowledge they have. The blogger calls not acting due to a lack of knowledge ingorance, and not acting when you have the knowledge, ineptitude.

It was heartening and inspiring to be part of discussions in St Davids that have resulted in the establishment of a new CSA scheme. CSA, Community Supported Agriculture, is an enlightened process that relocalises food production, reduces prices, improves nutrition (fresher food) and increases local jobs. Oh, and it helps to bring community together too, around shared interests and action.

Caerhys Community Agriculture has been germinated by organic farmer Gerald Miles, a pillar of community and activism and a small group of local folk. Have a read through the text below that has been sent to interested people, and notice the feel and potential impact of phrases on risk and sharing.

Caerhys Community Agriculture:

Welcome to Caerhys CA .......

Our vision is :

• a community of people sharing and supporting organic food production,  in a spirit of friendship and trust.

Our aims are :

• to produce organic vegetables, fruits, flowers and herbs, and enable wider access to local organic meat, dairy products and eggs.
• to enable members to live well and eat well in an organic and sustainable way.
• to support organic farming and food production in the local area.
• to grow a community around the project based on shared work, social activity and a spirit of  friendship
• to grow in whatever way the members feel will help achieve these aims.

The principles of Caerhys CA are :

• that organic growing (of vegetables, meat, dairy products, eggs and fruit) is necessary for the best and most nutritious food for all, maintaining fertile soils and a healthy, diverse environment into the future.
• that supporting local organic farmers and producers is a worthwhile aim for local consumers.
• that co-operation, shared risks and shared benefits, and a spirit of friendship are fundamental to the operation of the group.
• that decisions should be arrived at by consensus wherever possible.  

As a Founder Member:

• I support the vision, aims and principles of Caerhys CA and will comply with the rules of the association.
• I undertake to pay a monthly share subscription of £30.00 by Standing Order at the beginning of each calendar month, beginning in July 2010 and to give 3 months’ notice of ceasing.
• I undertake to pay a yearly joining fee of £24.00, due in January annually.
• I accept the risk that there may be no return or profit on any payments I make to Caerhys CA. As a member of Caerhys CA I support the project through good times and poor.

CSA St Davids

Something much more useful than the CSI cloned TV programmes from Channel 5 happened in St.Davids, Wales UK last evening that will result in less drama and better outcomes. Gerald Miles, tractor-driving hero of the 2009 Do Lectures shared his vision for a new kind of food supply business where farmers, community and the environment benefit. For every 50 families in the community who sign up and commit to the farmers who grow their food, a farming job is created, seeds are planted, and a chain of restorative events slowly let loose that build relationships, health and soil.

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) schemes in Moray, Scotland and Stroud, England have already shown what’s possible when householders stick together. It seems that, in the long run, it’s not possible for supermarkets, communities and farmers to get maximum benefit; in the past, it’s been where we live and our environment that have lost out.

Now it’s time to turn the tables, and reclaim our food chain. A little Do? Read up about CSA, get 19 other local households together, and start a small CSA scheme of your own. Fresher, more nutritious, cheaper…