Cerys ap Rees
A True Exchange of Empowerment
Have you thought about welcoming future farmers into your operation? Empower the future generation by offering educational opportunities for them to live and learn through your guidance. Many young future farmers don’t have access to land, to generations of learnings, observations, or perhaps even traumas. You could count this as a blessing, but also as a curse. I feel privileged to be entering the industry without the generational trauma of lasting through droughts, wildfires, floods and whatever else mother nature throws our way. However I did feel ill-prepared for life on the land, without access to the learnings of the generations that have come before me.
could offer me mentorship in the practical application of the theories I’d studied. In return, I felt I could offer my time, hands, skills and of course the odd belly laugh. A true exchange of empowerment.
On completing my Horticulture studies, I knew the only way I would feel equipped for what my future holds was to put myself out there and find people that
At Black Barn Farm, I spent most of my days shadowing Charlie (a hydro-geologist by trade), each day I was armed with a wealth of knowledge at my disposal.
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BioLogical || a journal for change
For me, this exchange began when I reached out to two seperate family-owned first generation farms, Jade and Charlie of Black Barn Farm and Erika and Hayden of Epicurean Harvest. Both of whom I had long admired.
He was patient with me as my practical skills developed, offering me countless opportunities to further my learning. No matter how many times I asked “why?”, Charlie would answer me with a grin and a poignant response. Nearing the end of my 3 months at BBF, Charlie would delegate independent tasks to me in areas he knew I’d enjoy, we’d built a beautiful level of respect and trust. Afterall, I’d learnt from the best. Jade taught me about the importance of building a brand and marketing a business. She showed me the practicality of the principals of permaculture, from humanure to preserving produce for the seasons to come. Being on her local
