Farming: The Organic Way By Lynda E. Blake

In recent years organic farming has grown in popularity – supported not least by Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales who is renowned around the world for his stance on the subject. But organic farms and organic farming communities have long promoted the health and environmental benefits of harnessing the earth’s natural goodness, through rejecting the use of artificial chemicals.

One remarkable example is Fordhall Farm. This Community Land Initiative is an industrial and Provident Society with charitable status. It is currently owned by 7500 shareholders from across the UK and indeed around the world who have pooled together to save it from extinction.

The Hollins family have farmed the land for generations but only ever as tenants so when it came under threat in 2001 from a neighbouring enterprise, they placed it into community ownership. This society now owns all of Fordhall Farm but Charlotte and Ben Hollins, at 24 and 22 years of age respectively, are now tenants of the Fordhall Community Land Initiative.

They live in the farm house and manage the farm land and livestock. They also run a farm shop as a commercial business. See www.fordhallfarm.com for full details.

The Fordhall Community Land Initiative and its 7500 shareholders seek to develop Fordhall as an educational resource. Making the most of its organic heritage and wildlife attributes. Their aim is to use Fordhall to re-connect people to food, the environment and most importantly to farming.

There is still a lot of work to be done, but they hope that eventually a Bunk House, Local/organic food tea rooms, and an educational resource room will be built. And in keeping with the premise of the Initiative they state that these will be built from sustainable and recycled materials where possible, and of course using renewable energy. All funds from future shares sold will be used to carry out this work.

Fordhall Farm's organic origins:

"Man must not control nature, that only leads to failure; he must work alongside it and nurture it" Arthur Hollins (1915 - 2005).

Arthur Hollins was just 14 years old when he took over the tenancy of Fordhall after his father passed away. The intensive food production of the war effort meant the land left to Arthur largely consisted of fallow and malnourished soil, but the new farmer soon observed the rich growth in the woodlands And grew to understand that if left to heal herself ‘Mother Earth’ would correct man-made errors. Shortly after the Second World War he vowed never to put chemical fertilisers on the land at Fordhall again.

He let the grassland fields regain their pre-war goodness, and built up a herd of dairy cows and a yoghurt enterprise managed with his first wife, May.
They were amongst the first in the country to make LIVE yoghurt and many famous London and Edinburgh stores soon sought their produce.

A lot of people said Arthur’s ideas were outrageous but he knew his natural approach was the only route to sustainable farming and sustainability is what underpins the
Fordhall Community Land Initiative today.

Sadly Arthur Hollins died in 2005 at the age of 89 but Charlotte and Ben Hollins now have a 100 year lease at the farm and with them at the helm, Ford hall’s heritage and its goal to promote the benefits of organic farming is in safe hands.

Touching Base with Bernie Ross

Life, in the last few months, has been strangely challenging. So up and down that I haven’t felt much like writing, which is greatly unusual for me. Each trauma has been compensated with a small step forward and the ultimate focus is now in sight. I used my skill with words (I hope) to extract a decision from my husband’s employers and he has now rightly been retired early on grounds of ill-health; but he’s still fit and able to walk miles. He simply can’t sit at a desk in an open plan office.

On 29th March we move to Scotland to begin a new life. This is where we hope to stay at first:

The lease is not signed and settled yet so we mustn’t count our chickens before they’re hatched. We’ll be starting afresh with just the cream of the cream - our favourite possessions only, our chosen pastimes, and keeping in touch with our chosen friends. There’ll be plenty of room for new adventures and fellowships too, new projects, inspiration, and creative work. I’ll keep my hand in on creative writing: I haven’t deserted you, my students; just give me time.

When I’m confident of email contact in our new location I’ll let you know so that in the feint hope you’ve done an assignment you’ll entrust it to me. I don’t intend to leave dedicated students with an unfinished course.

So trust me when I say that all the jigsaw pieces are falling into place. When I’ve got a proper Internet connection I shall probably contribute here more. Meanwhile the best thing you can do for me and for your writing life is to help Pete by submitting short pieces, commenting on Playground itself, and especially commenting to Pete personally so that he can grow with being an editor.

Bernie Ross ~ March 2007




~ ~

“Cheep, cheep!” went the baby birds.
I bought them in a pet shop.
Mum saw my sad face as I blocked my ears,
pointed to the cage and said, “They’re never nightingales to keep?”
But the sign said they were ‘Nightingales – going CHEAP!’
Thus we learn.

~ ~