Photo credit: Save Trecadwgan Farm Facebook page
This month, we bring you the first of 3 special episodes focusing for the most part on stories from the Oxford Real Farming Conference, or ORFC. This year, we were delighted to be the ORFC’s official media partner.
First, we hear from writer and storyteller Georgia Wingfield-Hayes about why storytelling and myth-making are crucial to the regenerative farming movement. At ORFC, Georgia shared a story called ‘The Herdsman’, a true story which shows what cheap food is doing to the land, the animals and the people involved in its production.
Next, we speak to Matt Adams, a deep ecologist, and who is working with public health and nutrition specialist Elizabeth Westaway, about to launch a their new initiative called Growing Real Food for Nutrition—Grffn for short—which is bringing to the UK the work of Dan Kittredge and the Bionutrient Food Association.
Then we share the work of fashion designer Alice Robinson, who has created two innovative accessory collections, re-awakening the connections between fashion and farming. Each collection is made solely from one animal, and using all parts of the animal without a scrap wasted. We’re helping get Fibreshed UK started, so if you are interested in being involved then tune in to future Farmerama episodes and we’ll keep you in the loop.
Finally, we share an urgent call for councils across the UK to recognise the value of real farming through the story of the Save Trecadwgan Farm campaign in Pembrokeshire, Wales. Trecadwgan has been a council farm for nearly 100 years, but now the council has decided to sell it off. A group from the local community and beyond, including farmer Gerald Miles and Sam Roddick, are fighting to buy Trecadwgan and turn it into a community farm.
Farmerama is made by Jo Barratt, Abby Rose, and Katie Revell. In this episode there were interviews by Darla Eno and editing by Louis Hudson. Community support is provided by Hanna Soderlund, Fran Bailey, Annie Landless, Eliza Jenkins and Olivia Oldham. Our theme music is by Owen Barratt. We also heard some music recorded at this year’s ORFC from a session led by Robin Grey at St Aldate’s Church.