It was a glorious day for the CCD Members Forum annual day trip.  This year they asked HogCO to organise it so we chose 3 groups in North Devon and Torridge that could show a diverse range of community growing.

The group visited South Molton first and was shown around by Jenni who explained that the project had actually only been running for 2 months or so, having secured a small piece of the Sheep Fayre Field in the centre of South Molton from the Town Council.  Despite the project only running for a very short time, they already have potatoes, pumkins and sprouts in amongst other vegetables, have held a community day and involved the local schools.  Jenni explained about their problems with water (they dont have any!), and their aspirations and it was inspiring to hear, and feel her sense of enthusiasm over the project.  If anyone in South Molton would like to get involved please contact Jenni here.

The members forum next moved onto Food from the Farm near Bideford.  This project is (at the moment) the only HogCO project to include animal husbandry (other than bees) and they have pigs, chickens and turkeys, as well as their veggie growing, orchards and wild food collection such as elderflowers for elderflower wine!  There is a strong group of about 11 volunteers who run this project over a 5 acre site but they are desperately in need of more people to get involved.  The group have been learning through trial and error and have also taken full advantage of the HogCO training programme in order to gain more knowledge and understanding of how to grow vegetables, herbs and so on.   HogCO have organised a fruit treee pruning course with this group in the Autumn but if any other HogCO groups would like to attend please let us know.

Food from the Farm are looking for volunteers so if anyone would like to get involved in this fantastic project please contact Phillip for further information.

The CCD Members forum then went on to visit Forches Community Garden in Barnstaple.  This is an urban community project, set up by the community and North Devon Homes who have invested financially into the project.  The group was shown around by Carol, one of the volunteers, and the main driver of the project, and Colin Porter who has been hired to give advice and help one day a month with the gardeners.

This garden was hugely impressive, especially as, similarly to Living off the Farm, this group has struggled with committed volunteer help.  However the dedication and hard work of the few has paid off, and as the garden grows and blossoms, more people are getting involved.  For further information on this project please contact Carol Lewis.