The Story
We all need to eat. But as a society we’ve become so disconnected from the way in which our food is produced, packaged and transported. Most of us seem happy with the ‘choice’, ‘convenience’ and ‘good value’ that supermarkets seem to offer.
What we don’t see is that many farmers growing our food face increasingly impossible demands from the powerful supermarkets and massive food corporations controlling our food system.
Many farmers have faced bankruptcy or have grown big to survive – relying on fossil fuels, chemicals, monoculture crops, subsidies and heavy machinery that have disastrous consequences for the environment and our health.
But change is in the ‘soil’ - pioneered by a quiet but rapidly growing food and farming movement in the UK that seeks to completely overturn the way we have farmed and eaten over the last 70 years.
Our film, Six Inches of Soil, tells the story of extraordinary farmers, communities, small businesses, chefs and entrepreneurs who are leading the way to transform how our food is produced and consumed.
“Agroecology” is an approach to farming that includes ‘regenerative’ farming techniques that work in harmony with, rather than against nature. It focuses on local food systems that cut out supermarkets completely.
The advantages are numerous: we get to know who is growing our food and how, farmers get paid a fair price and have the satisfaction of producing healthy food in a healthy environment.
Agroecology may also be our best chance in the face of climate change: it keeps carbon in the ground and creates resilient systems in the face of climate uncertainty.
Here is a taster of the story and characters (Anna & Adrienne) who will appear in the film.
We invite you to join us on this journey to bring this story to the big screen - Choose a reward on the right and let’s grow this food & farming revolution together!
What are the film's goals?
- Show how modern industrial agriculture is degrading our soils, rivers, biodiversity, climate and long-term food security;
- Give a voice to young British farmers, including new-entrants to farming;
- Explain the principles and benefits of agroecology and regenerative agriculture;
- Illustrate how the soil food web is a complex living system that interacts with the environment, plants and animals on which we all depend;
- Debunk the myth of food scarcity and outline how the global population can still have affordable, nutritious food while being genuinely sustainable;
- Challenge the major supermarkets, agrochemicals and biotech industries and corporate food lobbyists to respond to this alternative vision for agriculture;
- Encourage buying local, sustainably produced food direct from farmers and producers;
- Partner with organisations to create a valuable campaigning tool that can engage the public and policy makers to support an agroecological vision for farming for the UK.
Why are we crowdfunding?
We believe that Six Inches of Soil is a film whose time has come. The success of films like Kiss the Ground (2019) and Seaspiracy (2021) shows that consumers have an appetite for hard-hitting and inspiring films about how and where their food is produced. We want to create an equally provocative ‘focusing moment’ for a wider public debate on the food system in Britain today.
We are making Six Inches of Soil independently so we can retain creative control and focus on our message. Once we have finished post-production, we will, however, approach broadcast television, streaming networks and film festivals.
Our small production team has invested countless voluntary hours in research and development for over a year, now at the start of this year’s growing season, we are ready to begin filming and need your funding and support
Our total budget is £150,000. This includes hiring film crew and equipment, travel expenses, editing, original music, animation and graphics, talent promotion, running our launch and importantly our social impact campaign. We aim to raise £50,000 with our first Crowdfunder, with the remaining funds coming from private individuals, film funds and foundations.
Who we are
We are a small production team who share a passion for nature based solutions to climate change. Our team includes experienced documentary filmmakers, scientists, agroecological farmers and food and environmental campaigners.
This project was inspired by our short commissioned film, From the Ground Up (2020) which told the stories of five Cambridgeshire farmers at different stages of their regenerative farming journey. It was very well received and has been widely shared.
Making that film and listening to British farmers made us realise that there was another film to be made - the so-far untold story of the British agroecological movement today. And so Six Inches of Soil was born.
There is already a buzz around our film - we have support from leading figures in the UK food and farming world, such as Henry Dimbleby and Baroness Bennett.
We have also formed partnerships with the major charitable organisations and interest groups working on agroecology who plan to use our film as a campaigning tool, with screenings up and down the country and accompanying campaigning materials. Our Partners include: The Soil Association, Farm-Ed, Sustain, Groundswell, Sustainable Soils Alliance, Nature Friendly Farming Network, Organic Farmers and Growers Association and the Pasture For Life Association.
“Despite all our accomplishments, we owe our existence to a six-inch layer of topsoil and the fact it rains.” --Paul Harvey 1978)
Please join us by donating and sharing this Crowdfunder, following us on social media, signing up to our newsletter and getting the word out!
All our love
Colin, Claire and the Six Inches of Soil Team