English The winter is a time for reflection, evaluation and planning for the year ahead. This winter, for the first time in 4 years, LWA members will be gathering from across the UK for our tenth anniversary Winter Gathering weekend.
This year’s Winter Gathering, from Friday 2nd to Sunday 4th February 2024 at Dearne Valley Outdoor Centre in South Yorkshire, will hold a bustling programme focused on building our work together as a union. The last time we got together like this was way back in 2019, and with the LWAs membership more than doubling since then, many current members will never have attended a gathering like this! That’s why we’re looking back at past AGM’s to get us in the mood and find out what’s in store.
The 2024 AGM will have nearly twice the capacity of this AGM in 2019 in Cumbria.
What took place at past winter gatherings?
With the joint purpose of creating space for members to input into our direction as a union, as well as building our social networks and relationships of solidarity, winter gatherings have always been a fantastic mixture of feasting, dancing, singing, celebrating, crying, and partying, alongside workshops, presentations, discussions, site visits and skill shares. This is all alongside the Annual General Meeting (AGM), where members confirm the financial accounts, hear from staff and Coordinating Group members about our progress over the last year, and announce the newly elected members of the Coordinating Group.
Winter Gatherings have also provided a space for new organising groups in the LWA to coalese. Kate McEvoy, a long time LWA member who currently holds a role on the national Coordinating Group, remembers that:
“The LWA Cymru branch really took off after the Suffolk AGM in December 2017. The regional session there brought together a number of us from different parts of Wales who hadn’t met before, so we formed an organising group and went from there.”
With all of our work as the LWA being led by members, if there’s a specific issue or group of members that you’d like to bring together, then the AGM is the time to do just that.
A spirited discussion group at the 2017 AGM in Suffolk.
What does it feel like to attend a winter gathering?
After listing all of the different elements of a winter gathering, you might wonder how we fit it all into one weekend! However, the feeling of the weekend is guided by the social elements, because without building our internal culture and relationships, we can’t do any of the work we’re aiming to do together! Therefore winter gatherings aim to create a great atmosphere centred around our shared passion for food and land use justice.
In the tradition of La Via Campesina, the international peasants movement of which LWA is a part, ceremony as a way to build connection to each other and to the land is also a central part of our gatherings. With the winter being a difficult time for many, the atmosphere of an LWA winter gathering seeks to provide feelings of togetherness, solidarity, excitement, rejuvenation, and inspiration.
Long term LWA member and current Membership Secretary, Lauren Simpson, remembers:
“At the end of the 2018 or 2019 AGM, there was a long closing ceremony with space for people to speak, sing, or offer something. The emotion in the room of 150 + people was palpable – people shared difficult experiences, celebrated and a beautiful singer shook the room with their powerful, evocative voice. It was intense and beautiful.”
The hearth created at the opening ceremony of the 2019 AGM, with offerings from members’ farms, forests, and gardens from across the UK.
How does the winter gathering contribute to the work of the LWA throughout the year?
As well as seeking members’ input to help guide the work of the LWA for the following year, winter gatherings have also been where many members have been inspired to get more directly involved in the LWA. This could be as Coordinating Group members, who act as Directors of the LWA and have oversight over our national strategy, financial management, and help guide the work of the staff team. Or as Member Organisers, who coordinate the work of LWA’s member-led groups at the scale of regions, representing marginalised identities, or working across specific sectors of landwork.
On a more individual scale, Lauren also remembers that:
“At the AGM in 2018 I was talking to a fellow member about the new business I’d set up earlier that year making fermented foods. He had a dream of doing something similar but didn’t know where to start. He said he’d love to learn more about how it works in detail, and rather than put it off we sat down and went through all the nitty gritty details – boring stuff like suppliers, costings, environmental health processes. Within a few months of this, he’d set up a small scale fermenting business that is doing really well 5 years later. I was proud to share my knowledge and see it put to great use by an LWA member elsewhere.”
As well as being a place for the big-picture thinking that guides the work the LWA is doing to support landworkers all over the UK, the AGM could be just the place to have that spontaneous conversation that you didn’t know you were waiting for!
There’s social time for everyone, no matter what age, at the Winter Gathering.
What is there to look forward to about the upcoming Winter Gathering in 2024?
We put this question to Lauren, so here it is from her:
“I’m looking forward to (re)connecting with people, and inspiring new members to get active in the LWA. The winter gathering is a chance in the quiet of winter to come together with folk that know the work you do, know the reasons why you do it and understand your joy and struggle. To celebrate the year, the movement, each other but also to hold each other, learn from each other and inspire each other to carry on. Being part of something bigger than yourself and your bubble of everyday life. It’s the culture of the LWA that makes it feel like community and a family.”
All tickets for the Winter Gathering are now available to book on Ticket Tailor. Visit https://www.tickettailor.com/events/lwa/1020489 for more information and to book yours!
The tickets are sliding scale from £65 to £125. Now that they’re all released, that means when they’re gone they’re gone! So make sure to get yours quick, yma.
We’re also looking for volunteers to support with running the weekend, and contributors who could share skills during a daytime session, or share music in the evening.
For info about volunteering, click yma.
For info about contributions see yma.
One ticket includes 2 nights accommodation, 5 meals, live entertainment, a packed programme of talks and workshops, and much more.
