The converging food, energy, and soil crises that we are facing today necessitate a new approach to farming and energy production, and a new relationship with the land. The Agroecology Land Initiative is an organisation created to advocate and implement agroecological methods in the UK to help secure food sovereignty, energy independence, and environmental regeneration in a way that is financially viable and socially just. We envision the regeneration of both the countryside and rural economies through the creation of co-sufficient community farms rooted in agroecological production.
The ALI is in advanced negotiations for the purchase of Red Pig Farm, near Brecon, Wales, which is intended to become the flagship location for the research and development of applied agroecological methods to produce food, fuel and fibre – and to do so using systems that are not merely sustainable, but that actively repair and regenerate the degraded ecosystems we live with today.
At the heart of our endeavour is the principle of co-sufficiency, both within the farm community and in its relationship with the wider community. Progressive ownership, governance and co-housing models will allow members to live on-site in low impact housing, thus enabling the farm to incorporate multiple mutually supportive and synergistic rural enterprises, thereby making full use of the productive capacity of the land.
The local community will be served by the development of successful rural businesses and by the production of processed biomass as a means to meet local energy demands – there is also the potential to develop a community Energy Supply Company (ESCo) for small scale local heat and power generation. It is anticipated that this will be a significant factor in winning support for our project both from the local community and from the local planning authorities.
The ALI: Red Pig Farm project is currently seeking additional members and further financial investment to help fund the timely purchase of the farm .
Visit: http://agroecology.co.uk/