Dyfi Land Share

We are raising funds to set up a Dyfi Land Share which will increase community access to land and enable greater local food production in the Dyfi Valley. Rydym yn casglu arian ar gyfer Rhannu Tir Dyfi, ‰ fydd yn cynyddu argaeledd tir i r cymuned a tyfu cynhyrchedd bwyd lleol yn y fr™. Summary We want to set up Dyfi Land Share to match up people who want to grow food with available land. We also want to support people to grow food by providing a mentoring scheme in which more experienced growers are matched up with less experienced growers to help them to produce food more successfully. We will provide monthly master classes in which experts will give talks on different aspects of food production to better enable local growers to grow food on the land. Rydym yn dymuno geni Rhannu Tir Dyfi i gysylltu pobl sydd eisiau tyfu bwyd gyda r rhai sydd ‰ tir sydd ar gael. Rydym hefyd eisiau hyfforddi pobl sy n tyfu bwyd trwy cynnig gwasanaeth cefnogaeth, lle bydd garddwyr mwy a llai profiadol yn cael cwrdd a helpu u gilydd i dyfu bywd yn mwy llwyddiannus. Byddwn yn cynnig dosbarthau mwy manwl yn fisol lle fydd arbenigwyr yn gwersi am wahanol agweddau o dyfu bwyd, i allu garddwyr lleol i well dyfu bwyd ar y tir. In Machynlleth, Mid Wales, there is a six year waiting list for allotments. This seems to echo the situation in towns and cities all over the UK. There is a far greater demand for land to grow on than there is land available. While searching for land to relocate a vegetable market garden, we came across lots of local people who had small patches of land which they wanted to see used. These are people who cannot maintain their own land for various reasons but want there to be food grown on it. We are seeking funds to get this project up and running in our community in time for this year s growing season! We want to raise enough money to run the project for six months. If we receive this funding, we will begin work on securing longer term funding for the project to continue beyond these six months and into the future. Having the funds for these first six months will be crucial in getting the project off the ground and getting local growers using the local land this year. Below is a breakdown of who we are, exactly what we will do and where the funds will go. Support for Dyfi Land Share I enquired after an allotment from the town council five years ago, but no luck yet. Gardening is something I have enjoyed as a hobby for quite a few years, but I m a bit limited with only a small concrete yard in the middle of Machynlleth. I ve been aware of requests to increase the size of allotments in the past but with no success, so it seems other avenues like this project are another way of opening up more allotment space. Soft fruit and mange tout are my favourite things to grow but I d need some space first! Bryn Fogden, Machynlleth local, currently on allotment waiting list. "Yn fy marn i dyma r union y cyfeiriad y ddyla ni fod yn cerdded yno, fel cymuned ac fel cenedl. Mae yna ddigonedd o tir o n cwmpas yma yn Bro Ddyfi, sydd ddim i gyd yn cael ei ddefnyddio neu ei garu cymaint ag y gallai- ac mae yna llawer o bobl ‰ fyddai n llesu o gael garddio- am y cyfle i allu tyfu eu fwyd eu hunain, a dysgu rhagor ar yr un pryd. Diolch i chi r Rhanwyr!" Megan Mills, Dyfi Valley resident. As the county councillor for Machynlleth, I m really delighted to give my full support to the Dyfi Land Share scheme. The number of people seeking allotments has grown steadily over the years and if we can match those with land to those who wish to grow their own food, this exciting scheme will prove beneficial to all concerned. I wish it every success. Councillor Mike Williams. A land share scheme is just what the Dyfi Valley needs. There are so many frustrated would-be brilliant gardeners, as well as people struggling to look after land which they cannot manage on their own. I would love to be involved in the scheme, both as a participant, and as a teacher too. I really hope this project comes off - it could be a great benefit for many in the Dyfi Valley - for our community, for our physical and mental health, for our nutrition, and just for having fun. Chloe Ward, Gardening Consultant and Fruit Specialist. Aims ¥ Address the issue of the 6 year council allotment waiting list by making land available to local growers. ¥ Enable people to get involved in gardening and food production. ¥ Promote knowledge sharing, particularly between generations. ¥ Contribute to the development of local, sustainable food growing networks. ¥ Promote healthy food consumption by enabling greater access to fresh vegetables. ¥ Encourage different members of the community to engage with each other through the medium of landsharing. What will Dyfi Land Share do? ¥ Recruit land owners and land users through social media, door to door leafleting, postering, presence at community events and giving talks to relevant organisations. ¥ Assess potential land by visiting the site and land owners to establish it s suitability. A land assessment will be completed, detailing things such as location, access to water, accessibility by public transport, light levels, soil quality, size and equipment available at the site. The land owner will be consulted on factors such as access times and length of land use. ¥ Match potential land users by interviewing each potential land user and completing land user profile. A questionnaire will be completed detailing the land users needs and expectations. Growing skills, time available and need for support will be identified. ¥ Facilitate Land Agreements between land owners and users. Template agreements can be provided and factors such as how long the land can be used will be discussed and agreed. ¥ Run a mentoring scheme in which experienced food growers will be matched to less experienced growers needing growing support. Regular check-up s with land users and mentors will be made by Dyfi Land Share to ensure both parties are still getting something out of the mentoring sessions. ¥ Run monthly master classes to which all Dyfi Land Share members will be invited. Experts will be booked to give talks on different aspects of food growing and drop in question time sessions will happen at the end of each masterclass. ¥ Mediate land disagreements where problems arise for the land owner or land user, Dyfi Land Share will discuss issues with both parties and facilitate solutions and adjustments to land agreements. ¥ Find ongoing funding through identifying and applying for further sources of funding to allow the project to continue to run. Budget for 6 months(we will be seeking alternative funding to continue the project beyond this point): £4030 to pay for: Office space for one day a week Staffing: 2 members of staff for one day a week Telephone line rental and call charges Printing and office supplies Website fees Travel expenses Welsh translation services* Workshops for members will be funded through small yearly membership fees. *If we obtain funding to continue the project beyond 6 months we would aim to include staff training in the Welsh language as a priority. Other landshare projects Land Share projects are working successfully in other parts of the UK. However, there is no landshare scheme which works specifically in the Mid Wales area. Although networks such as landshare.net have a small handful of landowners and growers based in Wales, there are none registered in the Dyfi Valley. There is a need to make local connections in our community and promote a landshare scheme that is specific to our area. Through the monthly masterclasses and the mentoring scheme, we hope to build a network of growers who can support each other face to face as well as remotely. LandShare Partnerships- www.landshare.org LandShare- www.landshare.net Edinburgh Community Backgreens Association- www.ecdg.org.uk Please consider spreading the word about Dyfi Land Share s funding bid to other people you think might be interested. Find us on Facebook - Dyfi Land Share

by Katie Hastings in Machynlleth