Birmingham Friends of the Earth Newsletter February 2002/March 2002
A WWOOFer's-Eye View of Sustainable Living
Being at a crossroads in my working life and knowing that I wanted to revive
my interest in the land, I therefore signed up as a Willing Worker on Organic
Farms or as they have now become World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. Once
you pay your annual dues, you receive a booklet with all the establishments in
the UK, which accept you to do about 6 hours labour a day in return for your
board and lodging and information and instruction.
I decided on Primrose Organic Centre between Hay on Wye and Brecon, nestling
on the spartan hillside. There were 3 other younger men living there and I quickly
picked up the routine which Paul, the owner, expects of you. As it was raining
heavily on the first day, he kindly put me in the greenhouse, where I potted
7 trays of carrot seeds, about 3150 in all. My hands would become numb as I handled
the cold compost into the small individual pots, then they would warm up again
as I dropped 3-4 seeds on top of every one. By the afternoon, the cloud lifted
and I was designated to the circular forest garden to do some mulching. Since
all the plants are perennials, the first essential job was to extract every buttercup
specimen with a small trowel, cover the ground between existing shrubs and trees
with opened out cardboard boxes, before then adding a layer of bean stalks from
a large round bale. This took up the rest of my time there.
Paul's background is that he trained in traditional farming to degree level, worked
in the field before becoming disillusioned. He then studied Ecology while setting
out down the organic road. After a while he realised this did not go far enough
and so he decided to become totally sustainable and introduce permacultural (
a shortened form of permanent agriculture, I learnt) methods to his vision. He
has been there now 13 years and he produces an annual turnover of a317,000 of
vegetable and fruit off just 0.6 hectares of cultivated land.
He mainly uses polytunnels to bring on such a diverse mixture of Japanese onions,
courgettes, aubergines, peppers, spinach, broccoli, salad crops and, of course,
carrots. He uses fruit trees and bushes to break up the vegetable areas. He grows
65 different apple varieties, 15 of pears and 15 of plums. The other pertinent
statistic is that 85% of the the produce is sold within a 5 mile radius, while
100% only travels up to 15 miles.
Paul has also developed the Primrose Earth Awareness Trust (PEAT), in which he
has involved members of the local community and this is enabling him to further
his vision of teaching the next generation about these important principles,
as well as running other training course for interested adults. In just 6 weeks
last autumn, 500 schoolchildren skipped, played and had fun on the site, as well
as erect partitions out of wattle and daub in the beginnings of the future educational
complex. There is also a sound chamber beside a 200+year old oak tree, where
he holds regular sound and toning sessions and he also facilitates rituals around
the turning of the seasons. I felt I had learnt a lot in the short time I had
been there and it will be good to take another visit when the growing season
is well under way.
It does show us what can be done with a dedicated will, a large dose of energy
and a determination to find a way through every obstruction and external adversity.
To become part of the WWOOF experience, write to: The Co-Ordinator, WWOOF, PO
Box, Lewes, Sussex, BN7 1RB. It costs a315 per annum and for that you receive
the list of farms and a bi- monthly newsletter, which contains lots of relevantly
interesting information.
Nicholas Paton Philip
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