Cymraeg Building skills and knowledge is a key pillar of food sovereignty, but lack of access to relevant education and training for agroecological farming and land work is often a huge barrier for new entrants wanting to enter the sector.
Although the Landworkers’ Alliance doesn’t currently provide formal accredited education and training programmes, we work closely with our Members to improve the coherency of agroecological training opportunities, and to ensure that they are of high quality. We also produce numerous educational resources and organise training and skill-share events across the UK to support both new entrants, as well as those looking to engage in farmer-to-farmer knowledge sharing. Scroll to the bottom of this page for our education and training resources.
Traineeships
We are working with members offering on-farm training to improve the coherence of training provided and develop more standardised training opportunities across the UK through accredited training schemes and formal apprenticeships. By doing this we aim to make training more accessible to new entrants, as well as support trainers to deliver high quality training.
We also want to ensure that on-farm training adheres to current laws around National Minimum Wage. Working closely with an employment solicitor, LWA has put together a document outlining the legal framework to deliver on-farm training which you can access here.
We have also developed a suggested curriculum for what you can expect to cover during a traineeship in horticulture. Click here for the English version, and and here for the Welsh version. Printable versions can be found here (English) and here (Welsh). We’ve jointly developed this resource with the Organic Growers Alliance and Soil Association, with funding from the Resilient Green Spaces project.
For more information about our work supporting on-farm traineeships please get in touch with ariana.chamberlain@landworkers.alliance.org.uk.
Farmer-to-Farmer Groups
Farmer-to-farmer groups create opportunities for low-cost peer-to-peer exchange. A number of groups have been set up by LWA members in Scotland, Wales and England and we are working to develop more.
Groups generally get together at the beginning of the year to decide on who will be hosting sessions and what topics they will look at. The groups then meet up at members farms on a monthly basis to explore the topics, share experiences and look at practical examples.
Farmer-to-Farmer groups are simple to organise and do not require significant running costs. They are an effective tool for sharing experiences and driving innovation and cooperation. If you’re a member of the LWA, you can contact your local group using the info below.
Contact your regional group
North (England): northlandworkersalliance@gmail.com
Midlands (England): midlandslandworkersalliance@gmail.com
East (England): eastanglianlwa@gmail.com
South East (England): southeastlandworkersalliance@gmail.com
South West (England): southwestlandworkersalliance@gmail.com
Scotland: scotlandlandworkersalliance@gmail.com / clem.sandison@landworkersalliance.org.uk
Wales: cymru@landworkersalliance.org.uk
Northern Ireland: n.ireland@landworkersalliance.org.uk
Train the Trainer
Our ‘Train the Trainer’ programme is designed for people who want to develop and deliver informal land-based training. It teaches basic skills in teaching, for those who may not have had much training (e.g farmers), and also includes an exploration into standards for traineeships and how to look after traineeship wellbeing. Keep an eye on our events calendar for upcoming ‘Train the Trainer’ events, or for more information please email hatty.richards@landworkersalliance.org.uk.
Farm Hack
FarmHack is a forum for farmers and growers developing appropriate tools for small-scale agroecological farming to share their ideas and skills. Over the years LWA Farm Hack events have brought together farmers, growers, fabricators, engineers and IT programmers to demonstrate and share tools, skills and ideas.
FarmHack operates on the principles of open source technology meaning that tools and techniques are also shared and developed on the international online forum Farm Hack.
If you would like to organise a Farm Hack please contact your regional LWA group using the email list in the above section (under ‘Contact your regional group’).
Political Training for Agroecology
As more and more of our members take on organising roles in sectors, regions and branches of the LWA, we are working to develop a training that offers a toolkit of skills for facilitating, strategising and organising effective projects and campaigns. This is building on the hugely popular political in-person training events we held for LWA members across England, Scotland and Wales in 2017 and 2019.
In Spring 2024 we will be launching a new training programme called ‘Agroecology as a Movement’ – watch this space!
Resources
Page heading photo credit: Adam Payne
