English The latest Meet Our Members blog is with Abbi Mason from Big Meadow CSA on the Gower in South Wales. Originally working as a music photographer, after getting her Permaculture Design Certificate, Abbi sold her kit and headed to New Zealand to learn more about farming. Via the Isle of Mull, she ended up at Cae Tan CSA on the Gower where she did a traineeship. Seeing the potential in the local area, found some land and started the farm in April 2020, and the CSA has grown from 35 shares up to around 90 households. Read on to learn more!
What is your vision for your farm?
I see Big Meadow CSA equally as a place to grow and provide food for the community as well as a project that can facilitate volunteers, school groups, youth groups, host events…putting culture back in agriculture!
Tell us about your favourite dinner to end a long day?
I love eating seasonally – the excitement when the first courgette is ready, or the squash or tomato! I love anything that is fresh from the field and cooked really simply, either that or chips from the chippy!
What does your vision of a radical, intersectional food and farming movement look like?
I am a real advocate of small scale and local. My vision would see people empowered to grow their own or support someone they know who is growing their own, it would see food grown in cities by and for the community it serves. All children would have access to fresh, nutrient dense food and food production would be an integral part of the education system – schools would know their farmer who grows their school dinners. I would see more land readily available for growers to establish community growing hubs, like a CSA. I would also see more growers, trainers and volunteers who can inspire those around them in the wonder of cooking fresh from harvest!
What’s your favourite season and why?
There is definitely things I love about all the seasons but If I am honest my favourite is winter, being able to deeply rest in the shortness of winter days, to hibernate and recover from the business of spring and summer. I also love July as it feels like a grace period after the busy-ness of spring, before the winter sowings are done, just to enjoy the fruits of our labour and enjoy the sun.
Working seasonally is one of the joys of farming for me, I find real satisfaction in waking from my winter hibernation as the first of the seeds need to be planted or reducing my field hours as the field becomes to wet to work.
Why are you a member of the LWA?
For me being part of the LWA is being part of a community, we are connected to a wider web of people who understand what we are working on and striving for, and why we do it! Growing food at scale is hard work and being connected to people who understand and support this is very important. I also see huge value in the work LWA does politically, I don’t have a strong political vocabulary but I am very grateful for those that do who ensure our voices and stories are heard on the wider political stage.
Find out more about the farm at https://www.facebook.com/BigMeadowCSA or give them a follow on Instagram.
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