Growing Solidarity
Growing Solidarity is a project which promotes skill building, exchange and neighbourhood resilience through food-growing in communities in and around Reading. We work with individuals and families from all walks of life, at home and at the farm to improve access to good food for all.
This year we have been fortunate to be receiving funding from the Landworkers’ Alliance and the Lottery Community Fund to develop a replicable and scalable model that empowers people who are on a low-income, food insecure and reliant on food-banks to grow, cook with, eat and share nutritious food at home or at the farm. This is part of a nationwide initiative, the Community Resilience Project.
Alongside of diverse network of other growers involved in the Community Resilience Project, Growing Solidarity bases its work around the core principles of:
Sustainability
Dignity
Solidarity
Households growing food from home can grow what they choose, climate and season permitting…
At the farm this year, we will be focusing on growing nutritious salads which just so happen to go perfectly with hemp seeds and hemp seed oil!
Join us for Tuesday Community Days!
We host community days once a week. It’s a time for us to come together and get our hands in the soil. There’s lots of time for taking strolls in the woods, drinking cups of tea, and chatting. Everyone is welcome!
Find out more here:
Support our Home Food Growing Network
A lot of our community food-growing is based at the farm but we also support households to grow food from their home. This could be in their garden, on a windowsill or a front step – wherever there’s room, we make it work!
Seeds, seedlings, soil, and skills are all offered to participating households. Herbs, vegetables, and salads of all shapes and sizes are grown, as well as long-lasting friendships!
For more information click here: Home Food Growing Network
C O R O N A V I R U S – U P D A T E
The pandemic doesn’t make community building and skill-sharing all that easy!
We have strategies in place to enable people to access the project in ways that minimise risk and maximise wellbeing.
Tuesday Community Days from mid-March offer people the chance to come to the farm
We are also connecting with individuals and families to grow food at home
If you want to hear more about our coronavirus risk assessments and policies, get in touch at volunteering@hempen.co.uk
Through building community, we build resilience…
As hemp enthusiasts, you can probably tell that we’re keen on building connections to the natural world. With all the amazing things we can grow and forage, nature gives us many gifts and empowers us to provide for ourselves and our communities.
We stand within a wide network of organisations and collectives working to build alternatives to current systems. This network has grown organically and we hope it will continue to do so, building trust through experiencing and integrating other people’s perspectives and spreading the values of solidarity, resistance and resilience.
We are resisting the systems that don’t place the wellbeing of all its participants at the heart. Collectively, our small actions can lead to big changes. It is through these actions that we can build a better future for the generations who will come after us.
Growing Solidarity centres our work around the Five Dignity Principles of Practice
Developed by Nourish Scotland and the Poverty Truth Commission
1. A sense of control
Having power to make choices about what, where, when, how and with whom you eat
2. An ability to take part in community life
Feeling able and welcome to take part in different aspects of community life, regardless of your financial situation
3. To be nourished and supported
Being able to enjoy food and access support that meets you needs
4. Involvement in decision-making
Feeling able to share your views and ideas and to have those views taken seriously in decision-making
5. Valued and able to contribute
Feeling recognised and valued as a whole person with knowledge, skills and experiences to share
Now more than ever, we need to build solidarity!
We are raising funds to support our work in the city during the crisis. We aim to continue this work in the city and at the farm as lockdown eases. Your donations go towards transport costs, and materials and a little goes a long way!
Growing Solidarity is a collaborative project that aims to build resilience in and across communities.
Alongside our Growing Solidarity project, we host other volunteering opportunities.
If you’re interested in volunteering for a few days, or on a more regular basis, find out more here.