Case study: Sam, young leader, taking action on climate change Summary: Sam got lots of experience and inspiration volunteering at sustainable growing projects and is now one of the DFs leading on The Share, DFs’ project to develop a sustainable DF outdoor centre.
Recommendations: Volunteering at radical growing projects is free; the main cost to consider is your travel It’s important to have somewhere stable to stay when you aren’t travelling, and somewhere to store possessions Share your idea / ambition with other people—there will be likeminded people in Woodcraft Folk and you can’t do everything alone Do research and get practical experience
After my childhood in London, I had no idea that anyone in the UK lived so freely.
The issue: After I finished my A levels, I wanted practical skills. Doubting that three years of sitting at a university desk would be likely to prevent climate change, I pulled on my Dad's wellies, grabbed a torch and caught a train to an organic orchard in Somerset. The orchard was tended by 14 residents who lived together, heating their homes and cooking with wood. In fact, I learnt that they never used fossil fuels on site at all.
What I did: Over the next two years, I visited dozens of low-impact, self sufficient, green building, ecological and organic growing projects. I ended up spending a lot of time with growers in their forties: I remember being told as I planted kale in a polytunnel in Wales: "it's fantastic that you're living sustainably aged 18. When I was 18, I was in Ibiza off my face on pills". As much as I loved hanging out with older people, it didn't take me long to discover Woodcraft Folk, where I have the chance to meet likeminded young people, and a lot of them have more in common with me. I was excited by the national network of young people who believe in education for social change.
The support I had: It's the support from other people my own age that makes it all worthwhile. A lot of the young people excited to live on the land are brought together through Woodcraft Folk, rather than my old school friends. I found out about Woodcraft online - I didn't know anyone else involved when I joined, but it's meant that there are now dozens of us who are doing our bit to tackle the root causes of climate change by going back to the land.
Who was involved: I set up trips with other Woodies to build hobbit homes, learn coppicing and grow organic veg together. We jumped into lumps of clay and sand to mix them into cob, like making a giant cake, then we used the mix to make walls for a straw bale roundhouse. In the evenings we played guitar, changing the lyrics to fit in with Lord of the Rings. We planted kale, weeded and carried wood - a lot. We ended some days foraging for wild leaves and berries to add to the huge meals we shared in the magical Pembrokeshire hills' turf-roofed roundhouses. I joined my local group to see what Woodcraft Folk was like before I went to a national event.
Any advice? For anyone else thinking of setting up a project, my advice is to grab others, so you can support each other. It's too much for me to do on my own - plus it'd be much less fun. My family was also important. It's basically free to volunteer at the radical growing projects I visited. The only cost is travel, if you decide not to hitch. The bigger issue is having somewhere stable to crash and store possessions when you're not travelling, and having a family that support you to volunteer on smallholdings even when it's unclear if there's a link to getting a livelihood. I think it may be less to do with funding and more to do with background and how stable your family is.