Through the Agroecology Land Initiative we hope to be able to contribute to the development of planning policy regarding low impact development and land based livelihoods. We are inspired by the tradition of land rights activism both past and present and the recent developments in research into regenerative farming practises.

Besides establishing our first project at Red Pig Farm, we are currently engaged in:

• creating a web based open source resource platform for land workers who need help with access to land. Here you will find business plan templates and planning advice explicitly directed at low impact living and agroecological farming.

• consultancy and business development concerning models of Community Supported Agriculture and local food distribution networks.

 

Sara Tommerup runs her own natural building business and teaches workshops on natural building in the Forest of Dean. She holds an MSc in Architecture, Energy and Sustainability studies from CAT, and is also interested in researching and developing new techniques and approaches to restoration farming. She has a cross cutting and felling chainsaw license and is an enthusiast for woodland work, especially coppicing as a regenerative building material.

James Scrivens was a co-founder of the co-operative consortium for Yorkley Court Community Farm and co-founder of the Dean Forest Food Hub. James is experienced in interpreting and applying legal and governance structures for community enterprises. He has also been instrumental in the process of developing a Community Farm Land Trust for the Forest of Dean, Glos., and, over the last two years, has been building his applied mycology business, Mycogeneration.

Sonia Ashworth is a Renewable Energy Bsc graduate of the University of Exeter and has been since living and working on a number of off grid community projects. She has much experience in the joy and difficulty of communal living and has started to focus on sustainable building and infrastructure techniques that can be used to develop communities in a way that reflects the confluenc of regenerative methods in sustainable agriculture

Matt Cummings is a computer programmer with a background in developing web-based applications and ecommerce systems for small and medium enterprises. He is interested in creating open-source educational resources and exploring the use of crowdfunding through social networks for experiments in alternative systems of sustainable agriculture. Matt is also an arboriculturalist and currently working on establishing a commercial nursery business for propagating fruit and nut trees, as well as a variety of more exotic and unusual plants.

Adam Court is trained in organic and biodynamic farming methods, has worked on various farms, and has spent many years studying curative nutrition, sustainable living and permaculture. He co-designed and implemented a large forest garden in Sussex , has knowledge of a variety of rural skills, and has led workshops in food fermentation and agroecology. He is also in the midst of starting up www.needfire.info, a media and educational platform investigating regenerative agriculture and culture.

Rob Coventry completed a BSc in Sustainable Technology before going on to train in traditional round-pole timber framing with the woodsman Ben Law. He has worked professionally as a bicycle mechanic, a renewable energy data analyst, a carpenter, a coppice worker and a nature-based learning educator. He is currently completing the second year of an international MSc program at Goettingen University in Germany, titled “Forestry in a Changing Climate”. His main interests are Close-to-Nature community-orientated forest management and ecology.