Whoever controls the food supply, controls the population.
That’s true of both government and the corporations they exist to serve. Which is why we, through this project and it’s predecessors when we were based back in Essex, have always been passionate about decentralising and localising food production. This ranges from supporting small scale, local producers through to neighbourhood level, community run vegetable gardens, orchards, food banks and food co-operatives.
This is why in The Directory we feature a range of community gardens, food banks and food co-operatives in Bath, Bristol and the surrounding settlements. A downloadable, printable version of The Directory can be found here. This is what we have so far:
Community gardens, city farms, organic gardening & food
BATH
Alice Park Community Garden (Bath)
BRISTOL
Blaise Community Garden – Facebook
Bristol Area City Farms and Community Gardens (PDF)
Inns Court Kitchen & Wildlife Garden
Let’s Grow Community Allotment (Knowle)
Royate Hill Community Orchard – Facebook
Sims Hill Shared Harvest – Facebook
KEYNSHAM
Keynsham Community Fridge – Facebook
Keynsham Community Veg Plot in the Park – Facebook
Somerdale Shed and Community Garden
Somerdale Shed and Community Garden – Facebook
SOMERSET
The Directory is a work in progress and is always being updated. So, if you run a community garden or a food growing project in Bath, Bristol or any of the surrounding settlements, and you’re not in the list above, please feel free to contact us, send some details about what you do, and you’ll get an entry. We eventually hope to make The Directory a collaborative project. Part of that is being open to workable suggestions as to how we can improve the presentation and layout of both the online and printable versions.
You don’t need us to tell you that it feels like we’re being pushed to accept the inevitability of a major war within the next five years. A part of the seemingly relentless propaganda drive aimed at getting us to accept this is getting people to think about how the UK could become more self sufficient when it comes to food production. This is what we had to say about how our beliefs in decentralising and localising food production could get hi-jacked by those pushing us towards accepting the idea of war: Digging for victory? 18.5.24.
As you can see, it could be made out by some mischievous elements that there’s an overlap between our principles of decentralising and localising food production on the one hand, and on the other, those advocating for more home produced food to counter the threat of severe supply chain disruption in the event of war. We want to make it abundantly clear that there is in fact, no such overlap. We are not going to allow our principles about food production and supply to be co-opted into a nationalistic ‘Dig For Victory’ campaign. If anyone does ever attempt to do this, we will be issuing a pretty strong rebuke to them.
Our promotion and support of community food growing projects, food banks and food co-operatives is not a fluffy, feel good thing. The whole point of At the Grassroots is to support initiatives that bring control over our lives and communities down to the grassroots where we live, and away from government and the corporations they serve. Given how dysfunctional and increasingly dystopian things are getting, getting control at the grassroots is more important than ever.
keynshamgrassroots.blog 