English This is the second year of a two year pilot programme we’ve been running with the Organic Growers Alliance, CSA Network and Ecological Land Coop. In 2020, we’ve matched 14 new entrants with experienced mentors across the country for a mixture of group and one-on-one mentoring.
“I was able to developed a great relationship with my Mentor which I would hope to maintain and nourish. His openness and willingness to share both his knowledge and intimate/crucial details of his own business operation is refreshing and invaluable.”
— 2020 participant
Why mentoring?
A mentoring relationship between experienced practitioners and new entrants in the first years of running a land-based enterprise is extremely valuable and can have a significant impact on the development of the business and the success of the new entrant.
The 2021 scheme will run from January – September 2021. The mentoring offered will be a combination of group mentoring in small groups and one-on-one mentoring, and also includes a group gathering (tbc whether face to face or online) and webinar sessions.
The mentoring programme is open to people who have been running a business (or who have a decision making role in a farming business) for less than five years. Unfortunately at this stage, the programme is not open to people who have not yet started their business. The programme is open to people across all different farming sectors and we encourage people from different backgrounds and sectors to apply.
What is mentoring?
The mentoring we are offering aims to be a supportive learning relationship between an established farmer who shares knowledge, experience and wisdom with a new entrant farmer who is ready and willing to benefit from this exchange, with the aim of helping them establish and build a viable business.
Mentoring is different to simply being given advice. The mentor is not there to provide ‘the answers’, but to guide the mentee towards ‘the answer’ that is right for them. It’s about motivating and empowering the other person to identify their own issues and goals, and helping them to find ways of resolving or reaching them – not by doing it for them, or expecting them to ‘do it the way I did’, but by understanding and respecting different ways of working.
“The mentoring programme helped us to set 3 clear goals for this year: find, by the end of the season, where we are going to grow for the long term (we currently rent our site), reach a certain turnover target, determine what essential investments we need to do on our current site to make the growing season a success. Our mentors gave us the confidence to look for different sites options and we ended up putting an offer for the land we are currently renting (the offer has been accepted). We reached 75% of our target turnover with 6 months left in the year. We have a clearer vision about the priority investments to be made.” — 2020 Participant
How to apply
To apply please complete the Application Form before midnight on 18th October.
We have also produced Application Guidelines which have information about the scheme, eligibility, and a timeline for the programme. Please read these before applying.
There is a fee for the programme of £150 (or £200 if you are not a member of the LWA or any of the partner organisations). However the cost of joining is less than the price differential of the fees – so its worth considering. For example learn more about joining the Landworkers’ Alliance here.
More info
More info can be found on our website, and please contact Steph by emailing steph@staging.landworkersalliance.org.uk if you have any questions.
Please note that this is a pilot programme – the funding we have received is limited and as a result we will not be able to include everyone in the scheme.
Photo credit: Heather Birnie
