F E AT U R E Gavin Shelton and Ian Houlston
Cofarming – a new approach to planning the land Eating healthily is more important than ever, but there are barriers. Soil is becoming more degraded and depleted, which affects the nutritional value of crops. The UK is relying more on imports from climate-vulnerable countries, which, quite apart from the wider ethics, increases its carbon footprint, and pushes up the price of fruit and vegetables. A third of the fresh produce needed in the UK could come from switching an area equivalent to just one percent of existing agricultural land over to small scale, community-based food growing enterprises. Gavin Shelton, founder and CEO of CoFarm Foundation, discusses the transition to a more sustainable future with Ian Houlston, a landscape architect and environmental planner at LDA Design. Ian – There is much more interest nowadays in where food comes from and how it is grown, but it is often assumed that community-based enterprise can never make a serious enough contribution to the volume needed. Is it true, though, that on one acre of land you can grow enough fresh produce to feed 100 households for most of the year? Gavin – You certainly can farm that efficiently, and in harmony with nature by following the principles of agroecology1.
We employ professional horticulturists to manage operations. Cofarming differs from allotment growing because no one has their own individual patch. This year, on our pilot holding in Cambridge, which is church estate land, 180 volunteer cofarmers have so far produced 4.5 tonnes of organic vegetables with a market value of £20K. This was all achieved on 0.66 acres. Next year, we expect to at least double that output by cultivating more of our site over a longer growing season:
the pandemic delayed the planting out of seedlings till June. Ian – It’s also very much about community, isn’t it? When space is put aside for food growing, there is a magnetic point of interaction between new and existing communities, because whatever your ethnicity, religion or class, you can share your stories and lives through food. Gavin – Yes, the CoFarm is a great place for both socialising with the community and growing nutritious food. When we were designing CoFarm 19
