Treflach Community Growing Hub

We have had 50 backers, of all shapes and sizes, and we thank everyone for helping us along the way. As they say, the real work starts now, We have all sorts of plans which we can now begin working on.

Let me provide a little background on what we are doing at Treflach, and you can take it from there. From the Farm's perspective, they seek to develop an attractive and productive garden area to complement the other areas of their business. We have developed a plan and are at the start of phase two of this. We started on the garden itself, and now we have some funds lined up to help us develop the infrastructure around the garden. This generates some more interesting and engaging work to do, plus of course, as we develop, we will have facilities for year-round activities. From my perspective, I am a teacher of permaculture design, organic gardening and am an advocate for community growing schemes. I am also serious about producing more food and being increasingly active in the local food economy, which I see as strategically important going forward. I am using the garden as a research project into soil building and carbon sequestration, a long-term experiment into using the organic no dig methodology. What we have to offer is gardening as a therapy, mindful work that helps people focus on the present in a mutually supportive environment. We use hand tools, work at a slow and steady pace and keep stress, etc, to a minimum. There are no expectations on volunteers to do more than they are able, whilst encouraging people to do what they can. Practical sessions are no more than 4 hours, and there is a common room area for drinks, and volunteers are encouraged to bring a snack for themselves. I hope that participants will be drawn into wanting to learn new and practical skills, at whatever level is appropriate, to become part of a team and that we ,will slowly take on my responsibilities and more beds to produce more food. Produce is available for volunteers to take home, when appropriate, and as we grow, more will be offered for visitors, students, and for sale via the farm. Treflach has charitable goals around community engagement and social inclusion as well as high environmental standards. i hope that this mix of concerns, activities and goals can create many opportunities for participation. Most of our work is not funded, and we would love to find ways to win financial support for our work, but at this stage, we are open to anyone who wishes to take part in the ongoing project. We are keen to work with clients who have some budget and support costs attached to them, but this is not a requirement. We really want to build our momentum as the project develops. Currently, we hold two volunteer sessions a week, on Thursdays and Saturdays, from 10.00 am. It is pretty informal, I am happy for people to turn up without booking, but you are also welcome to contact me in advance, or the farm, to let us know if someone is coming. The local bus passes about half a mile from the farm, and can be asked to stop. There is a car park, facilities and washrooms for visitors. I am available to host a visit or chat, if you would like to know more

We are already holding regular volunteer sessions at the garden, and with he support from SpaceHive, we will be able to begin planning our infrastructure developments. We will need to build our team, so please welcome to take part.