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SOIL: Common Ground is a three-part podcast series produced by Somerset House exploring what soil can teach us about being human, through the lens of art. Our entire existence is dependent on our relationship with soil. As awareness builds of the enormity of the ecological crisis that we are facing, a growing number of artists are engaging with soil as a material in their work. This three part series responds to the Somerset House exhibition ‘Soil: The World at Our Feet', unearthing soil's role in our future through the work of artists and thinkers working with it. Soil is the basis of many creation stories around the world. It is our beginning, and it is what we will return to. In Episode 1 of Common Ground we look at soil as the matter from which life emerges. Exploring growth, beginnings and the ways soil as a material offers unique opportunities for exploration. We hear from artist Asad Raza who makes ‘neo-soil' from scratch and covers the floor of galleries with it. Artist Eve Tagny's work examines the cultivation of the Rose as a way to ask questions about the ways we interact with the world. Agroecologist Nicole Masters and farmer Abby Rose, lay out what soil is and why it holds the key to our survival. The episode is set within the garden of our presenter Shenece Oretha. Working with soil has shaped her relationship to the place where she lives and informed her art practice. The series launches off from the Somerset House exhibition SOIL: The World at Our Feet. Presented by Shenece Oretha Produced by Jo Barratt and Alannah Chance Exec produced by Alannah Chance and Eleanor Ritter-Scott. The series is mixed by Mike Woolley Original music by Andrew Pekler Episode Image: Asad Raza: Plot feat. BB (Fabrizio Ballabio, Alessandro Bava) + Lydia Ourahmane e Moriah Evans, Curated by Leonie Radine, Museion Bozen/Bolzano, 25.03.2023 – 03.09.2023, Photo: Lineematiche – L. Guadagnini, © Museion This series is part of the Somerset House Podcast.

SOIL: Common Ground is a three-part podcast series produced by Somerset House exploring what soil can teach us about being human, through the lens of art. Our Future is tied to the future of our soil. Our decisions as to how we care for and use it matter. Soil teaches us that cycles are ongoing, and even in decline every day offers us opportunities for new beginnings. In this final episode Shenece Oretha explores the regenerative qualities of soil and composting as a model for personal redemption. We hear from Palestinian grower Mohammed Saleh whose life story offers a personal story of hope, looking at how permaculture and art can help to heal the destructive impacts of war. Somerset Studios artist Harun Morrision's singing compost invites us to see decay in a new light and Fin Jordâo lays out how composting can be a radical action for rethinking our relationships with each other and the planet. Does the future hold a closer, more natural relationship with the soil by rethinking our relationship to burial? Radical undertaker Ru Callander reconsiders our attitude to death. The series launches off from the Somerset House exhibition SOIL: The World at Our Feet. Presented by Shenece Oretha Produced by Jo Barratt and Alannah Chance Exec produced by Alannah Chance and Eleanor Ritter-Scott. The series is mixed by Mike Woolley Original music by Andrew Pekler. This series is part of the Somerset House Podcast.

SOIL: Common Ground is a three-part podcast series produced by Somerset House exploring what soil can teach us about being human, through the lens of art. Much of the history of human making springs from the soil. Cuneiform, the earliest form of writing, was engraved into clay; paint pigments come from minerals in the soil; and much of our material history is held in ceramics. But soil is not neutral; it is deeply entangled with politics of ownership embedded in the land. In this episode Shenece Oretha probes the ways the soil and clay are inspiring artists today, looking at the stories soil can tell about our past and our potential future. Ceramicist and writer Jennifer Lucy Allan reflects on the ways clay connects us to the earliest forms of making. Artists Annalee Davis and Lauren Gault look at the ways soil bears witness to our histories, from the trauma of the plantation to the deep time of paleontology. We create art from soil, but through our extraction and interaction, it is also changed. How can we heal our relationship with the soil and in so doing, transform our relationship with the planet? Farmer and food justice advocate Leah Penniman unpacks how indigenous practices of soil care can reverse some of the most egregious effects of climate change. The series launches off from the Somerset House exhibition SOIL: The World at Our Feet. Presented by Shenece Oretha Produced by Jo Barratt and Alannah Chance Exec produced by Alannah Chance and Eleanor Ritter-Scott. The series is mixed by Mike Woolley Original music by Andrew Pekler. This series is part of the Somerset House Podcast.

This month we start at Folx Farm in Sussex with new entrant farmers Chrissy, Rae and Dunia. Next, we catch up with food activist and herbalist Jo Kamal about attending La Via Campesina's international conference last year, as part of the Landworkers' Alliance. To finish, we ask Marco Carbonara about his experience learning to grow olives in Italy.

This month we start in Hawaii hearing about the importance of native plants to Hawaian culture, then we head to Portugal to learn more about the value of C4 grasses in mediterranean silvopasture systems, we dive into the Basic Income for farmers campaign in the UK, and we end with an excerpt from a podcast series about what it takes to run a Farm Hack.

What do we do about meat? With this urgent question as its starting point, this series seeks to move beyond polarised debate and identify key questions and shared values to help us build a better meat future for all. In this final episode, co-hosts Katie Revell and Olivia Oldham reflect on everything they've heard over the course of the series, thinking about what they personally have learned and considering what common ground has been found amongst the values and priorities of everyone they've spoken to.

What do we do about meat? With this urgent question as its starting point, this series seeks to move beyond polarised debate and identify key questions and shared values to help us build a better meat future for all. In this episode, co-hosts Olivia Oldham and Katie Revell look into the question: can it ever be morally right to farm animals? They speak to farmers, researchers, meat eaters and abstainers, to discuss various cultural and personal ways of relating to animals, and explore if and how it's possible to square caring for animals with eating them.

What do we do about meat? With this urgent question as its starting point, this series seeks to move beyond polarised debate and identify key questions and shared values to help us build a better meat future for all. In episode 6, co-hosts Olivia Oldham and Katie Revell explore questions of food justice as they relate to less and better meat. By speaking to food producers, researchers and eaters, they explore whether less and better meat risks entrenching existing injustices, or could support a transition to a fairer, more equitable food system.

What do we do about meat? With this urgent question as its starting point, this series seeks to move beyond polarised debate and identify key questions and shared values to help us build a better meat future for all. In episode 5, co-hosts Katie Revell and Olivia Oldham ask: does a future of 'less and better' meat also mean a healthier future? They speak to researchers, farmers and those who follow meat-free diets, to explore how what we eat interacts with the physical, mental, spiritual, and collective health of both consumers and food producers.

What do we do about meat? With this urgent question as its starting point, this series seeks to move beyond polarised debate and identify key questions and shared values to help us build a better meat future for all. In episode 4, co-hosts Katie Revell and Olivia Oldham ask: why do we use land the way we do, and how should we use it in the future? They meet with farmers, academics and land management advisors, to delve into the history of land use in the UK, reflecting on the cultural and political factors that continue to shape it, and looking for common ground between advocates of different approaches.

What do we do about meat? With this urgent question as its starting point, this series seeks to move beyond polarised debate and identify key questions and shared values to help us build a better meat future for all. In episode 3, co-hosts Katie Revell and Olivia Oldham explore the question: if we decide to eat less and better meat, what do we eat instead? They speak with a legumes specialist and a cellular agriculture entrepreneur, and ask whether we should see “alternative” proteins as “alternatives” at all. In doing so, they reflect on what we value in our food system once we do away with the meat/non-meat binary.

What do we do about meat? With this urgent question as its starting point, this series seeks to move beyond polarised debate and identify key questions and shared values to help us build a better meat future for all. In episode 2, co-hosts Katie Revell and Olivia Oldham meet a climate scientist, along with regenerative and organic farmers across the UK, to discuss the complex ways that animal agriculture interacts with our natural environment. From how we measure emissions of greenhouse gases, to what we feed our animals, and which management systems we use, they ask – what is the place of farmers when it comes to less and better meat? Thank you to everyone on our Patreon. Your support helps us in bringing you the stories of regenerative farming around the world, each month. We appreciate it. If you'd like to join, please visit patreon.com/farmerama where you can choose your level of support.

It feels like one of the biggest questions of our time: what do we do about meat? Rather than choosing either extreme – business as usual, or ruling out meat altogether – some people suggest the best approach is one of ‘less and better meat'. But how much less is ‘less'? And which meat is ‘better'? How do we even begin to answer these questions? In this series, co-hosts Katie Revell and Olivia Oldham attempt to unearth what lies beneath questions of technological change and consumer choice. On an expansive, and sometimes personal, journey, they learn that – as much as the debate about meat is sometimes painted as a binary choice between right and wrong – things might not be quite so simple. They ask who – and what – benefits from different systems of production? What priorities and values do seemingly simple solutions obscure? And, perhaps most importantly, can we find some common ground, some shared principles and values, on which to build a better meat future for all? Thank you to everyone on our Patreon. Your support helps us in bringing you the stories of regenerative farming around the world, each month. We appreciate it. If you'd like to join, please visit patreon.com/farmerama where you can choose your level of support.

This month we bring you a conversation Abby convened at Groundswell Festival back in June, focused on Landscape Scale Regeneration. We hear from three people involved in different ways in an initiative in Waterford, Ireland. This discussion expands upon the Commonland initiative in Southern Spain we featured back in Episode 68, highlighting the power of a common vision and the benefits of working across a whole region.

Is it possible or productive to organise around a common language in order to reimagine how we produce grain and bread? In the third and final part of Good Bread, Kim and Ruth reflect on some of their experiences working on the project and consider what the future of good bread might look like. This series is in response to the Body Lab, a participatory arts and research project by baker Kimberly Bell (​​@smallfoodbakery) and artist Ruth Levene (@leveneruth) which explores the industrial processes of grain testing. Over three episodes, Lucy Dearlove explores what the body lab is, what the work around it has entailed so far, and what the outcomes might be. The Body Lab is funded by Farming the Future. This series was produced by Lucy Dearlove and is published on Farmerama and Lecker.

Consistency is at the heart of industrial bread production, from the field to the mill to the oven. But what is it costing us? This series is in response to the Body Lab, a participatory arts and research project by baker Kimberly Bell (​​@smallfoodbakery) and artist Ruth Levene (@leveneruth) which explores the industrial processes of grain testing. Over three episodes, Lucy Dearlove explores what the body lab is, what the work around it has entailed so far, and what the outcomes might be. The Body Lab is funded by Farming the Future. Thanks to Shipton Mill for their openness and generosity in allowing the Body Lab to explore these ideas. This series was produced by Lucy Dearlove and is published on Farmerama and Lecker.

This series is in response to the Body Lab, a participatory arts and research project by baker Kimberly Bell (​​@smallfoodbakery) and artist Ruth Levene (@leveneruth) which explores the industrial processes of grain testing. Over three episodes, Lucy Dearlove explores what the body lab is, what the work around it has entailed so far, and what the outcomes might be. In part 1, she explores the question - what is good bread? She speaks to Kim and Ruth about what makes good bread for them, and unpacks what the Body Lab is about, and why they started the project. We hear from farmer Fred Price and baker Rosie Benson from Gothelney Farm (@gothelneyfarmer) and Field Bakery (@fieldbakery) about their understanding of good grain, and speak with Chris Hollister from Shipton Mill (@shiptonmill), about the different tests that take place when wheat arrives at an industrial grain mill, and some of the justifications for this process. With each of them, Lucy discusses why reimagining this testing system could be positive for bakers, farmers and Millers. Also hear some of the responses to our Breadline - where we asked our audience what makes good bread to you - which will be woven throughout the series. The Body Lab is funded by Farming the Future. This series was produced by Lucy Dearlove and is published on Farmerama and Lecker.

This month we learn how some people importing Brazil nuts to the UK is supporting the indigenous people of the amazon. We visit a restaurant who are making use of spare growing space in their community and learn about agro-ecological approaches to managing vineyards across Australia.

This month we begin in Ibiza where we learn about a project matching new and diversifying farmers with abandoned farmland to grow more organic produce on the island. We hear from a food growing project in London that teaches to produce food and care for the land and has a foundation in traditional African philosophy. And we dive deep into the world of, potatoes, looking at them in a fascinating new light.

In this months episode we head to Scotland to hear about a Beltane celebration for young people in rural areas. We speak to the organiser of the London-based Black Farmers Market, and we check in with another farmer benefiting from the Pasture for Life mentoring program. This episode of Farmerama was made by Abby Rose Jo Barratt Katie Revell and Dora Taylor. A big thanks to the rest of the Farmerama team Olivia Oldham, Fran Bailey, Annie Landless and Eliza Jenkins . Our theme music is by Owen Barratt.

This month we meet two people who are building a community group to celebrate an earth-based connection between their religion and the land. We learn about the success of a mentoring programme for farmers. And we end with a request from a Botanist.   We're very grateful to those of you that support us and allow us to bring you these stories every month. Even the smallest contribution makes a big difference to us. So if you'd like to become a supporter, you can visit patreon.com/farmerama.

This is a short episode about the Jumping Fences report. Jumping Fences is about understanding the barriers that prevent Black people and people of colour from accessing land for agroecological farming in Britain – and addressing those barriers. The report is a collaboration between the Landworkers' Alliance, Land in Our Names and the Ecological Land Cooperative. It builds on a previous project, Rootz into Food Growing, which was focused on London. Jumping Fences was launched in the Justice Hub at the 2023 Oxford Real Farming Conference. Following the launch, Katie spoke to Jumping Fences' lead researcher, Naomi Terry, as well as two of the people interviewed for the report – pig farmer Flavian Obiero, and cut flower farmer Cel Robertson. Links: Read the report here: https://landinournames.community/projects/jumping-fences Listen back to the launch event and discussion here: https://orfc.org.uk/session/jumping-fences-report-land-justice-food-justice-and-racial-justice-in-british-farming/ Tags: Naomi Terry: Instagram @naomitez Flavian Obiero: Instagram @thekenyanpigfarmer / Twitter @kenyanpigfarmer Cel Robertson: Instagram @forevergreenflowerco Landworkers' Alliance: @landworkersalliance Ecological Land Coop: @eco_land_coop Land in Our Names: @landinournames Oxford Real Farming Conference: @oxfordrealfarmingconference

This month we start by hearing about the possibilities of supply networks fuelled by sailing ships. We are encouraged to think again about water in the landscapes we are part of, and we hear how one woman in Mexico is working on connecting people in the financial world and those who work with the land with the aim of re-orienting our economy so it serves life. We're very grateful to those of you that support us and allow us to bring you these stories every month. Even the smallest contribution makes a big difference to us. So if you'd like to become a supporter, please visit. https://www.patreon.com/farmerama This episode of Farmerama was made by me, Jo Barratt, Abby Rose, and Dora Taylor. A big thanks to the rest of the Farmerama team Katie Revell, Olivia Oldham, Fran Bailey, Annie Landless, Eliza Jenkins and Lucy Fisher. Our theme music is by Owen Barratt

This month Severine von Tscharner Fleming tells us all about the work she's been doing as part of the Seaweed Commons, an international learning and advocacy network for conservation minded seaweed farmers, wild harvesters, marine biologists and researchers. We also have the third and final installment of our series on animal feed made in collaboration with Wicked Leeks. This episode, Wicked Leeks editor Nina Pullman speaks with Amy Chapple - daughter of Mark Chapple who you'll remember from last week's episode - about her soy-free pigs. Wicked Leeks are exploring this topic in a documentary entitled ‘What's the Problem with Animal Feed?' which meets some of the farmers trying to reverse agriculture's soy addiction. If you are interested in more stories on sustainable food and ethical business, you can sign up online to receive the weekly edition of the Wicked Leeks magazine. Finally, we hear from Sérgio Nicolau in Portugal about his transition from conventional to organic, and then regenerative winemaking. He shares with us how he uses a combination of sap analysis, brix readings and hole digging to understand what is working on his vineyard. This episode of Farmerama was made by Jo Barratt and Abby Rose. Additional recordings by Nina Pullman, editor at Wicked Leeks. A big thanks to the rest of the Farmerama team Dora Taylor, Olivia Oldham, Katie Revell, Fran Bailey, Annie Landless, Eliza Jenkins and Lucy Fisher. Our theme music is by Owen Barratt. Thank you to everyone on our Patreon. Your support helps us in bringing you the stories of regenerative farming around the world, each month. We appreciate it. If you'd like to join, please visit patreon.com/farmerama where you can choose your level of support.

This special episode features a conversation recorded with Vandana Shiva at the 2023 Oxford Real Farming Conference. Following the publication of her memoir, Terra Viva: My Life in a Biodiversity of Movements – which coincided with her 70th birthday – the writer and activist was at ORFC to reflect on her life and to take part in a discussion on the future of GM in the UK. We asked her about her four decades of work as an advocate for farmers' rights, indigenous knowledge, food and seed sovereignty, diversity, and localisation, her thoughts on gene editing, and her sources of motivation. Terra Viva: My Life in a Biodiversity of Movements is published by Chelsea Green. Find out more at: https://chelseagreen.co.uk/book/terra-viva/ Watch Jyoti Fernandes in conversation with Vandana Shiva at ORFC – “In the Name of the Farmer: Vandana Shiva recalls a lifetime of campaigning for small-scale farmers” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTZxmXdxAjI Watch the ORFC discussion “GM's False Promises: could the UK be next?” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYi848m6BN8 Thank you to everyone on our Patreon. Your support helps us in bringing you the stories of regenerative farming around the world, each month. www.patreon.com/farmerama

This month, we continue to share some of the conversations we had at the Oxford Real Farming Conference at the beginning of the year. First, we meet Satish Kumar, founder of Schumacher College and editor of Resurgence and Ecologist Magazine. Satish shared his meditation practice with the conference, and talked to us about his connection to food and nature. Next, we hear from Pete Ritchie and Anna Chworow from Nourish Scotland, to talk about the work they have done supporting the Scottish Agricultural bill. We also have the second interview in a series we've made with Wicked Leeks, about animal feed. In this episode, Wicked Leeks editor Nina Pullman speaks with Mark Chapple, and meets some of the soya free and pasture reared chickens on his farm. Wicked Leeks have made a documentary on this topic, called ‘What's the Problem with Animal Feed?' which meets some of the farmers trying to reverse agriculture's soy addiction. If you are interested in more stories on sustainable food and ethical business, you can sign up online to receive the weekly edition of the Wicked Leeks magazine. This episode of Farmerama was made by Jo Barratt, Abby Rose, Katie Revell, Olivia Oldham and Dora Taylor. Additional recordings by Nina Pullman, editor at Wicked Leeks. A big thanks to the rest of the farmerama team Annie Landless, Eliza Jenkins and Fran Bailey. Our theme music is by Owen Barratt. Thank you to everyone on our Patreon. Your support helps us in bringing you the stories of regenerative farming around the world, each month. https://www.patreon.com/farmerama

In this special episode, we hear about the project “Agroecology: Enabling the Transition”, which brings together farmers, crofters and growers across Scotland to exchange knowledge and experience. Through farm visits, conversations and shared meals, the project aims to create supportive spaces where participants feel comfortable to ask questions, voice opinions, and learn new things. Funded by the Knowledge Transfer Innovation Fund, the goal is to help embed and support the transition to agroecological practices in Scotland. Katie Revell met with three members of the South-West Scotland group – farmers John Veitch and Heather Close, and facilitator Abi Mordin – to hear about their experiences with the project. “Agroecology: Enabling the Transition” is a partnership between Landworkers' Alliance, Pasture for Life, Soil Association Scotland, the Nature Friendly Farming Network, Propagate and Nourish Scotland. This episode of Farmerama was made by Katie Revell. Thanks as always to the rest of the Farmerama team: Abby Rose, Olivia Oldham, Jo Barratt, Dora Taylor, Fran Bailey, Annie Landless and Eliza Jenkins. Our theme music is by Owen Barratt. To learn more about the “Agroecology: Enabling the Transition” project, visit: https://www.nourishscotland.org/agroecology-enabling-the-transition/ Find out more about Heather and Philip Close's farm, Balsar Glen, here: https://www.balsarglen.com/ Join the Regenerative Farmers Network South West Scotland here: https://dgsustainablefoodpartnership.org/regenerative-farming-network

This month, we are at ORFC celebrating the first in-person conference for three years! We learn about beneficial beetles, alternative forms of land ownership, and some of the potential problems with the overproduction of soya. Thank you to everyone who signed up to our Patreon. We appreciate every one of you - your support helps us to keep bringing you the stories of regenerative farming around the world, each month. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/farmerama Links: Dr Kelly Jowett: https://beetlekell.wordpress.com/ OSL: https://www.opensystemslab.io/projects Wicked Leeks: https://wickedleeks.riverford.co.uk/ Innovative Farmers: https://www.innovativefarmers.org/

Welcome to Farming Fashion, our three part series co-produced by Southeast and SOuth West England Fibresheds and Farmerama Radio. In this third and final episode we talk to three designers from independent design studios who work with native natural fibres and dyes and who are pioneering a shift toward a new paradigm for fashion. While none of them would claim to be fully ‘regenerative' they are transparent and open about their approaches to becoming more so, and take a deep, thoughtful approach to making small, truthful steps in the right direction. The first voice we hear is Tilly Kaye from Zero to Product, a design studio offering design and development services to the fashion industry. Next we hear from Pheobe English, another designer who through her connection with the Southeast England Fibreshed and Plaw Hatch Farm, is also now on a journey to rethinking how her brand designs and produces fashion. Finally we hear from Deborah Barker, who besides being a co-producer in this series conducting the majority of the interviews, has herself worked with natural dyes for 15 years and is also the regional coordinator for the Southeast ENgland Fibreshed.

Welcome to Farming Fashion, our three part series co-produced by Southeast and SOuth West England Fibresheds and Farmerama Radio. In this second episode of the Farming Fashion series we will hear from three farmers or growers who have diversified their businesses explore fibre processing, responding to one of our biggest farming fashion challenges in the UK today - the lack of small to mid scale fibre processing infrastructure. The first voice we hear from is David from Rampisham Mill, the UK's newest fibre spinning mill which opened in Dorset earlier this year, specializing in semi-worsted spinning of sheep wool in small to medium scale volumes. We also hear from Rosie Bristow, a costume designer who through her recent Masters research to grow, harvest a hectare of flax, is now exploring models and building prototypes for machinery that can process it. And finally we hear from Mallon Linen, an arable farm located in County Tyrone that is reinvigorating this heritage industry in Ireland, by not only growing the fibre but also aiming to process it into textiles.

Welcome to farming fashion, our three part series co-produced by Southeast and South West England Fibresheds and Farmerama Radio. In this first episode we speak to farmers who grow and produce yarns from their own flocks and explore what regenerative fibre farming, and adding value to that fibre, really looks like on the ground. The first voices we hear from are Leila and her mother Ellen from Tamarisk Farm, a Soil Association certified mixed farm on the Jurassic Coast in Dorset. Then we hear from Katie Allen of Loopy Ewes, a designer and shepherdess who designs and makes her own knitwear collection using the fleece from her flock of native breed sheep in Gloucestershire. The final voices we hear are Jen Hunter and Andy Wear from Fernhill Farm, Somerset - one of the country's largest native breed sheep farms which is one of the country's largest fibre farms and now certified regenerative by A Greener World.

In this episode we have 2 interviews for you. First, Olivia visited a community garden in her homeland, and then Abby chatted with a winemaker in California who walks us through the organic no-till vineyard system he has co-created with his team. This episode of Farmerama was made by Olivia Oldham, Jo Barratt and Abby Rose. A big thanks to the rest of the Farmerama team Katie Revell, Fran Bailey, Annie Landless, Eliza Jenkins and Dora Taylor. Our theme music is by Owen Barratt Thank you to everyone who signed up to our Patreon. We appreciate every one of you - your support helps us to keep bringing you the stories of regenerative farming around the world, each month. If you'd like to join our growing Patreon family, please visit patreon.com/farmerama where you can choose your level of support.

This month we are hopping all over the world. Firstly we hear from Andre Miguel of Hortas de Cascais about how community gardens have spread across a whole region in Portugal. Next, we head to Amaqanda Learning Garden in Philippi Village, South Africa where we speak to Yanga Gceya of Captain Fanplastic about how kids are connecting with their ecosystem by becoming plastic pirates. Then, we're in Bulgaria where we hear from Filip Harmandzhiev, owner of Livadi farm, about an interesting membership model for his farm shop. Finally we're back in the UK, to Kingsclere Estates, to chat to Tim May about a farming approach that layers and connects many businesses on one farm. This episode of Farmerama was made by me, Abby Rose and Jo Barratt. A big thanks to the rest of the farmerama team Olivia Oldham, Katie Revell, Dora Taylor, Fran Bailey, Annie Landless and Eliza Jenkins . Our theme music is by Owen Barratt.

This month we hear how one ranch is managing to build green cover in its 22nd year of drought in California.. And about the vineyard they've designed to allow for grazing sheep below the canopy all year round. And we learn about the roots of the Fibershed movement, again in California, ahead of the release of our upcoming mini-series Farming Fashion from Fibreshed UK. This episode of Farmerama was made by Jo Barratt, Abby Rose and Olivia Oldham. A big thanks to the rest of the Farmerama team - Katie Revell, Annie Landless, Eliza Jenkins, Fran Bailey and Dora Taylor.

This is a bonus Cereal episode featuring an extended interview with Anne Parry, miller at Felin Ganol watermill in Ceredigion, Wales. Anne features in episode 4 of Cereal: “The Miller is Missing”. In this episode, Anne shares how she and her husband Andy restored and revived their historic watermill, and explains how the Welsh Grain Forum is working to rebuild local grain economies. If you haven't listened to our Cereal series yet, we'd really encourage you to check it out. Listen here: www.farmerama.co/about/cereal Find out more about Felin Ganol, and where to buy their flour, at: www.felinganol.co.uk

‘Cereal' bonus episode: Scotland the Bread This is a bonus Cereal episode featuring an extended interview with Connie Hunter, Miller-Manager at Scotland the Bread, “a collaborative project to grow better grain and bake better bread”, based at the Bowhouse in Fife, Scotland. Connie features in episode 4 of Cereal: “The Miller is Missing”. Connie mills small batches of heritage grain using a cool-running Zentrofan mill. She explains the many benefits of using fresh flour, and tells us a bit about the work Scotland the Bread does with schoolchildren and community groups. If you haven't listened to our Cereal series yet, we'd really encourage you to check it out. Listen here: www.farmerama.co/about/cereal Find out more about Scotland the Bread, and where to buy their flour, at: www.scotlandthebread.org

This is a bonus Cereal episode featuring an extended interview with Fintan Keenan, a regenerative grain farmer, miller and mill designer living in Denmark. Fintan features in episode 4 of Cereal: “The Miller is Missing”. Abby Rose spoke to Fintan at PX+ festival. Fintan tells us about his innovative hybrid stone/roller mill – which allows millers to produce a huge range of flours while retaining the whole grain – and shares his vision of what it will take to rebuild local grain economies around the world. If you haven't listened to our Cereal series yet, we'd really encourage you to check it out. Listen here: www.farmerama.co/about/cereal You can find Fintan Keenan on Twitter: www.twitter.com/fintankeenan And on Instagram: www.instagram.com/fintankeenan

This is a bonus Cereal episode featuring an extended interview with Angus McDowall and Alison Campbell of Mungoswells Malt and Milling in East Lothian, Scotland. Angus and Alison feature in episode 4 of Cereal: “The Miller is Missing”. In this episode, Angus explains how he – accidentally! – came to be milling the grain he grows on his 550-acre farm, and Alison gives us a tour of their very unusual Swiss Army flour mill. If you haven't listened to our Cereal series yet, we'd really encourage you to check it out. Listen here: www.farmerama.co/about/cereal Find out more about Mungoswells Malt and Milling, and where to buy their flour, at www.mungoswells.co.uk

Welcome to Cultivating Justice! Our 6-part series in collaboration with Land In Our Names (LION) and Out on the Land (OOTL, part of The Landworker's Alliance) which weaves together interviews, conversations, music and reflections from Black people, people of colour, trans people, queer people and women, on their relationships with land, growing, and identity. In the final episode of this series, our producer, Katie Revell, hosts alongside LION's Sam Siva and OOTL's Hester Russell, who add their reflections to the pieces throughout the episode. First, psychotherapist and grower Srikanth Narayanan shares their thoughts about the fluid ways in which we can see our relationship with land, other living creatures, plants and the natural environment. They discuss how to reconnect with the natural world as something that is not outside of us, and how trauma can be addressed and healed through our relationships to land. Next, Farmerama's Dora Taylor and Abby Rose talk about a dissertation that Dora wrote about Black farmers in the UK. The dissertation explores the relationships between the cultural practices of Black farmers and the mainstream agroecological movement. Abby and Dora unpick themes of racial identity, the use of language around agroecological methods, and the importance of centering joy. Towards the end of the episode, we hear from our chorus of voices, who reflect on home, belonging and rurality. And finally, Sam Siva shares an emotive visioning piece, inviting us to imagine the world that we are working towards, one that centres queer, anti-racist and reparative frameworks, challenges systems of oppression, and fundamentally changes the structural experiences of marginalised groups. We also hear a re-worked traditional folk song, and a performance piece by artist Sin Wai Kin. The first two zines from the Cultivating Justice project, ‘TransPlants' and ‘Gourds, Banjos and Calalloo', are available to order now here, on LION's website. The Cultivating Justice podcast series is made by Abby Rose, Dora Taylor, Katie Revell, Nadia Mehdi, Sam Siva, and Hester Russell. This episode featured contributions from Srikanth Narayanan, Dora Taylor and Sam Siva; reflections from Philomena de Lima, Maymana Arefin, Sasha, a.k.a. MindYourOwnPlants, Dani Foster, Tinisha Williams, Anna Barrett, and Nancy Winfield; music by Eggclab 7 and Bianca Wilson, a.k.a. Island Girl; along with performance art by Sin Wai Kin. Our series music is by Taha Hassan, and our artwork is by @Blkmoodyboi. Thank you to our funders, Farming the Future and the Roddick Foundation. And a massive thank you to everyone who's contributed in any way! Visit landworkersalliance.org.uk/cultivating-justice to find out more.

Welcome to Cultivating Justice! Our 6-part series in collaboration with Land In Our Names (LION) and Out on the Land (OOTL, part of The Landworker's Alliance) which weaves together interviews, conversations, music and reflections from Black people, people of colour, trans people, queer people and women, on their relationships with land, growing, and identity. Our host for episode 5 is Marcus MacDonald – Land in Our Names member, grower, tour manager and organiser. Marcus takes us on an auditory journey centring on the banjo, and we learn why this instrument is intricately connected to Black culture, food growing and justice. We sit in on a banjo lesson with Marcus and his friend and teacher Bianca Wilson, aka Island Girl. They play together, chat about country music, and discuss the history of the banjo, including how this instrument from African and Caribbean culture became mainstreamed in white culture throughout Europe and the United States. Marcus talks about how growing gourds to make banjos has become an important part of his cultural identity. Next, we hear from Hannah Mayree – grower, herbalist and founder of the Black Banjo Reclamation Project, which aims to re-appropriate Black culture by returning banjos, instruments of African origin, to the descendants of their original makers. Hannah talks to us about how the project works, and how growing gourds to build banjos can be an immensely healing practice. The Cultivating Justice podcast series is made by Sam Siva, Katie Revell, Hester Russell, Dora Taylor, Abby Rose and Nadia Mehdi. This episode featured conversations with Marcus Macdonald, Bianca Wilson and Hannah Mayree. Our series music is by Taha Hassan. Our artwork is by @Blkmoodyboi. Thank you to our funders, Farming the Future and the Roddick Foundation. And a big thank you to everyone who's contributed in any way! Visit landworkersalliance.org.uk/cultivating-justice/ to find out more.

Welcome to Cultivating Justice! Our 6-part series in collaboration with Land In Our Names (LION) and Out on the Land (OOTL, part of The Landworker's Alliance) which weaves together interviews, conversations, music and reflections from Black people, people of colour, trans people, queer people and women, on their relationships with land, growing, and identity. Episode 4 is hosted by Hester Russell and Zoe Miles, who are both from Out on the Land (OOTL), and also involved in an emerging grower's union. In this episode, we hear more of Jass Butt and Hari Byles's music made from recordings inside a wormery and a compost heap in East London. We also hear another clip from a a performance by artist Sin Wai Kin, commissioned by the Queer Ecologies collective. Our chorus of voices returns, reflecting on the relationships and congruences between plants and queerness. We also hear from Natalie Tamburrini, who talks about her experience of working on a farm as an autistic person as part of a project called Eco Talent, and shares her ideas on how to make farms – and workplaces in general – more just, accessible and inclusive. She shares part of an open letter she has written to neurotypical society. Then, we chat with Maggie Cheney of Rock Steady Farm in upstate New York. They discuss how they are centering care in their work on the farm, and consider how this could be a way of queering our approach to landwork. The Cultivating Justice podcast series is made by Sam Siva, Katie Revell, Hester Russell, Dora Taylor, Abby Rose and Nadia Mehdi. This episode featured conversations with Natalie Tamburini and Maggie Cheney; reflections from our chorus of voices – Tinisha Williams, Sasha, a.k.a. MindYourOwnPlants, Dani Foster, Dav Singh, Anna Barrett, and Nancy Winfield; clips from a performance by Sin Wai Ki mixed for the Microbe Disco and a piece from Jass Butt and Hari Byles. Our series music is by Taha Hassan. Our artwork is by @Blkmoodyboi. Thank you to our funders, Farming the Future and the Roddick Foundation. And a big thank you to everyone who's contributed in any way! Visit landworkersalliance.org.uk/cultivating-justice/ to find out more. Hester and Zoe referenced an emerging growers' union they are involved. Here Hester has shared a bit more information about it and links to get in touch if you are interested: “A union of landbased employees has been forming since the start of 2022. New name tbc! Together we aim to provide support for grievances, counter isolation, increase the accountability of employers, fight for better standards and to build power and solidarity across the landworking and other union movements. See our full aims here. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RiJO5UekAXOeGPxKBnhGyjaACnWq8HeWM_-K5uBfyiU/edit?usp=drivesdk This union is still very young and welcomes any landbased worker who is not an employer or a manager to join our conversations. At the moment we are conducting a workers enquiry as well as forming and strengthening our group processes. Join us on discord to say hi and find out more https://discord.gg/FH9QAS42WD“

Welcome to Cultivating Justice! Our 6-part series in collaboration with Land In Our Names (LION) and Out on the Land (OOTL, part of The Landworker's Alliance) which weaves together interviews, conversations, music and reflections from Black people, people of colour, trans people, queer people and women, on their relationships with land, growing, and identity. Episode 3 is hosted by LION's Sam Siva and Farmerama's Dora Taylor. In this episode, we dig into the practices and meanings around callaloo, a plant that's commonly used in Caribbean food, and can also be grown in the UK. Glenda Trew is a workshop facilitator, community grower and gardener who lives in London. She talks to us about: teaching callaloo growing to growers from Lewisham's Ital Garden; her personal history and connection to the plant; and the importance of being able to access culturally appropriate crops. We also join Sam and Dora in Sam's kitchen as they cook some callaloo dishes together. As they cook, eat and swap recipes, they chat about the links between food, growing, history and their own identities. The Cultivating Justice podcast series is made by Sam Siva, Katie Revell, Hester Russell, Dora Taylor, Abby Rose and Nadia Mehdi. This episode featured conversations with Glenda Trew, Dora Talyor and Sam Siva and banjo music by Bianca Wilson aka Island Girl. Our series music is by Taha Hassan. Our artwork is by @Blkmoodyboi Thank you to our funders, Farming the Future and the Roddick Foundation. And a big thank you to everyone who's contributed in any way! Visit landworkersalliance.org.uk/cultivating-justice/ to find out more.

Welcome to Cultivating Justice! Our 6-part series in collaboration with Land In Our Names (LION) and Out on the Land (OOTL, part of The Landworker's Alliance) which weaves together interviews, conversations, music and reflections from Black people, people of colour, trans people, queer people and women, on their relationships with land, growing, and identity. Episode 2 is hosted by Assistant Producer Nadia Mehdi and Farmerama's Abby Rose. Woven throughout we are taken to the fields, pots and allotments of the chorus of land-based practitioners. We hear from Maymana Arefin, a community gardener, spoken-word poet, and artist. They talk to us about their cultural connections to growing, as well as speaking about a series of foraging walks that they help run with Misery Party - a mental health and harm reduction collective - called “Misery Medicine, Plant Magic”, which focus on healing for Black people, and people of colour. We dip into a clip from a performance by Turner Prize nominated artist Sin Wai Kin (this is the first of a few clips we will hear from them across the series). It was commissioned by the Queer Ecologies collective as part of their Microbe Disco. The piece mixes Sin Wai Kin's original sounds and poetry with music from the Butterfly Lovers violin concerto, and recordings from oceans and compost piles. We also hear a field recording by Amu Gibbo, taken by a canal in London. Sam Siva of Land In Our Names (LION) digs into the experiences and wisdom of community gardener, beekeeper and proud South Londoner Carole Wright. We tune into their conversation at Carole's community garden where they chat about liberation through healing, building resilient communities, and the ways that access to land and the living world are key to this. The Cultivating Justice podcast series is made by Sam Siva, Katie Revell, Hester Russell, Dora Taylor, Abby Rose and Nadia Mehdi. This episode featured conversations with Maymana Arefin and Carole Wright; reflections from our chorus of voices – Tinisha Williams, Sasha, a.k.a. MindYourOwnPlants, Dani Foster, Dav Singh, Anna Barrett, and Nancy Winfield, along with Maymana Arefin; clips from a performance by Sin Wai Kin mixed for the Microbe Disco and field recordings by Amu Gibbo. Our series music is by Taha Hassan. Thank you to our funders, Farming the Future and the Roddick Foundation. And a big thank you to everyone who's contributed in any way! Visit landworkersalliance.org.uk/cultivating-justice/ to find out more.

Welcome to Cultivating Justice! Our 6-part series in collaboration with Land In Our Names (LION) and Out on the Land (OOTL, part of The Landworker's Alliance) which weaves together interviews, conversations, music and reflections from Black people, people of colour, trans people, queer people and women, on their relationships with land, growing, and identity. Episode 1 is hosted by OOTL's Hester Russell and LION's Sam Siva. Woven throughout we are taken to the fields, pots and allotments of a chorus of land-based practitioners. We are treated to a sound piece ‘Eating your castings' by Jas Butt and Hari Byles, made up of sounds that were recorded inside a wormery and a compost heap in an urban nature reserve in East London. We hear from Paula Gioia about the organising work happening in Europe on issues relevant to LGBTQIA+ landworkers, as well as the roots of European Coordination Via Campesina (ECVC)'s gender and sexuality articulation, and their Embracing Rural Diversity report. We drop in on a conversation between Sam Siva and Professor Corinne Fowler, recorded shortly after their keynote session at the ORFC22 on Land, Race and Empire. They discuss how systems of oppression are rooted in land ownership, issues around access to rural spaces for BPOC and people living in cities, and how to truly decolonise regenerative agriculture. The Cultivating Justice podcast series is made by Hester Russell, Abby Rose, Dora Taylor, Katie Revell, Nadia Mehdi and Sam Siva. This episode featured conversations with Paula Gioia and Corinne Fowler. Reflections from Sasha aka MindYourOwnPlants, Dani Foster, Dav Singh, Tinisha Williams, Nancy Winfield, Srikanth Narayanan and Philomena de Lima and music by Jas Butt – a.k.a. Guest and Hari Byles, as well as Bianca Wilson, a.k.a. Island Girl. Our series music is by Taha Hassan. Thank you to our funders, Farming the Future and the Roddick Foundation. And a big thank you to everyone who's contributed in any way! Visit https://landworkersalliance.org.uk/cultivating-justice/ to find out more.

This month, our first stop is UK Grain Lab, a gathering in Nottingham of farmers, millers, bakers and scientists who are building a new grain system for the UK. We speak to baker Kate Hamblin and miller David Howell about their close working relationship Next, we head to Aotearoa New Zealand, and hear from Jake Clarke, the head farmer at Organic Market Garden - or OMG - a model farm set up by For the Love of Bees in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland Finally, we share a preview from our upcoming series, Cultivating Justice. We've been working on the series in partnership with Land in Our Names and the Landworkers' Alliance's Out on the Land Group, with the first episode due to be launched next month. In this snippet, Abby speaks to Farmerama's own Dora Taylor about her Masters research on the experiences of Black farmers in the UK.

This month we hear from three practitioners about what it takes to transform minds and hearts. Firstly we hear from Bea Alvarez, Climate Resilience Projects & Outreach Coordinator at Carbon Sink Farms and Foodshed in San Diego County, California abouut how collaborations between multiple farmers and indigenous landholders have built a new vision for the food and farming system there. Clare Hill at FAI Farms tells us about her journey, moving towards a regenerative farming system and we hear from Nicole Masters about the CREATE program and what it takes to train people so they can coach others on a regenerative journey. We're very grateful to those of you that support us and allow us to bring you these stories every month. Even the smallest contribution makes a big difference to us. If you'd like to become a supporter, visit patreon.com/Farmerama

This month we have voices on three continents. We begin talking to Juani Lisboa, part of a natural cider-making collective in Chile - Agricola sin Patrones - who are working to support more diverse rural ecosystems. Then our co-creator Abby Rose puts her Vidacycle hat on and talks to agroecologist Nicole Masters about a powerful new tool they worked on together - the Soilmentor Regen Platform - which uses the 10 Regen Indicators to help farmers learn from their in-field observations. And finally we hear from two people working closely with Bruichladdich Distillery on Islay. Richard Gantlett at Yatesbury House Farm supplies the distillery with biodynamic barley, and Christy MacFarlane works in their comms department. She shares about the distillery's work with growing landrace barley on the Hebridean Islands where they are based. Episode Links: Agricola sin Patrones https://www.instagram.com/agricola_sinpatrones/ Nicole Masters x Vidacycle = the Soilmentor Regen Platform https://www.integritysoils.co.nz/ https://soils.vidacycle.com/ Richard Gantlett, Yatesbury House Farm https://yatesbury.wixsite.com/yatesbury Bruichladdich Distillery https://www.bruichladdich.com/

This month we hear about the new food and farming media and how the two are becoming ever closer, we head to a medicinal CSA and we end with a technology that may be part of our toolkit for a regenerative future. This episode of Farmerama was made by Jo Barratt, Abby Rose and Olivia Oldham. A big thanks to the rest of the Farmerama team Katie Revell, Fran Bailey, Annie Landless, Eliza Jenkins and Dora Taylor. Our theme music is by Owen Barratt. We're very grateful to those of you that support us and allow us to bring you these stories every month. Even the smallest contribution makes a big difference to us. If you'd like to become a supporter, visit patreon.com/Farmerama Links: Vittles https://vittles.substack.com/ @vittleslondon Jonathan Nunn @demarionunn Earthlight Herbs: https://www.earthlight.uk/ Regen Network : https://www.regen.network/token/

In this month's episode, we bring you three conversations with farmers and researchers who spoke at this year's Oxford Real Farming Conference. First, we hear from John Letts - a wheat grower and crop developer living in Buckinghamshire, known for growing heritage grains. He joins us to explain Continuous cropping, something that got a lot of attention this year at the ORFC. Next, we speak to Frances Northrop, who works for the New Economics Foundation and is an associate fellow specialising in local economies. Frances talks to us about a project she worked on last year called 'Land for Who'. She also explores the concept of 'new municipalism' - a global political movement that is all about ordinary citizens claiming power in their local and city governments - and how this relates to land. Finally, we catch up with Ben Raskin to talk about his new book.‘The Woodchip Handbook' delves into the magic and potential of woodchip not only as a mulch but also as a way of building soil health and fertility through beneficially increasing the fungal content of the soil. This episode of Farmerama was made by Jo Barratt, Abby Rose and Olivia Oldham. A big thanks to the rest of the farmerama team - Katie Revell, Annie Landless, Eliza Jenkins, Fran Bailey and Dora Taylor.

This month we hear about more resilient grape varieties and growing grapes in the UK from new grower Victoria Vine Lizard, we are offered a mind bending new way of understanding what soil is from Rothamsted research scientist Andy Neal and you can sit back and relax as we take you on a farm tour on the other side of the world with Greg Hart of Mangarara Station in Aotearoa New Zealand. It's been a long year and we don't know about you, but here at the Farmerama team we are pretty exhausted. We wanted to say thank you to all of you, the Farmerama listeners and people out there doing the work to build a more ecological and just farming future for all of us. We know this isn't easy but we really appreciate you and it's an honor to all be in this together. May 2022 bring beauty to you all. We're very grateful to those of you that support us and allow us to bring you these stories every month. Even the smallest contribution makes a big difference to us. If you'd like to become a supporter, visit patreon.com/Farmerama

This month, we're heading to Glasgow to bring you three stories from the fringes of the COP26 conference. We'll hear from Tenement Veg about the challenges of growing food in Scotland's largest city. We'll highlight Nourish Scotland's involvement at the conference, and speak to Warami Jackson and Marlon Opigo, two participants in Feedback's “participatory action research”- an innovative and inclusive project researching young people's experience of the food system. We'll visit the Landworkers' Alliance's agroecology hub, and speak to the LWA's Catherine McAndrew about the urgent call for solidarity with migrant workers. This episode of Farmerama was produced by Katie Revell, Olivia Oldham and Abby Rose. We're very grateful to those of you that support us and allow us to bring you these stories every month. Even the smallest contribution makes a big difference to us. If you'd like to become a supporter, visit patreon.com/Farmerama Links: ‘Young Seeds for your Thoughts: Towards a Just Food System'. www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNkYxX90O7Y