Aldermoor Community Farm was started in 2014 as business owned by its members – a co-operative. This was a great way to start, but in 2020 we transitioned to become a charity and now benefit from being a project of Alder Trust. Not only do we now have the financial benefits of being a charity, but we are part of a larger organisation, a local charity with similar values and goals. We benefit from a wider governing body and from basic admin support, giving us more energy to focus on our work on the land.
Vision – nurturing the potential of people and land
We exist to nurture the potential of people and land. We believe every person has great potential and we want to see each other thrive. We also believe the land has great potential and we nurture it to be both abundant and beautiful.
Another way to look at it: we are about wellbeing and sustainability….
Wellbeing – nurturing the potential of people is about wellbeing. For us, wellbeing sums up all we need as humans and these are some of the things we think about: happiness, health, being creative, connection with the land, significance, connection with others (community), making a contribution (being productive).
Sustainability – nurturing the potential of the land is about sustainability. We manage the land to bring out its abundance. We think of it as if nature plays all the instruments in an orchestra and we are the conductor. We manage the land so that all the parts of nature play to their best and we end up with land that is not only productive, but also beautiful. We are designing the farm using the principles of permaculture.
Tracey – our first ever volunteer – after clearing all the weeds between the farm gate and the barn.
History
In April 2014 we leased an acre of agricultural land in the city of Southampton, UK (see us on Google Maps).
The land was completely overgrown – it had not been used for many years. The challenge was to restore it to something beautiful and productive. Our very own acre of abundance.
You can read more about our beginnings in our Annual Report to Jan 2015.
Foundations/Beliefs
What is the personal motivation of those who started the farm? We said above that our vision for nurturing the potential of people and land means we care about wellbeing and sustainability. Going deeper, the foundations for our vision are God’s love and stewardship.
The farm is open to all, no matter what their view of these matters.
Wellbeing and the Love of God: We recognise that people are spiritual beings and unless our spiritual needs are met, our wellbeing will not be complete. We believe our spiritual needs all boil down to knowing and experiencing God’s love. We do not impose this view on anyone at the farm – everyone is welcome regardless of their thoughts on this.
Sustainability and Stewardship: The foundation of our ethic to manage the land sustainably is our responsibility to be stewards of God’s wonderful creation. We take our identity from the biblical perspective of the human race being the custodians of this earth, with a mandate to make it a beautiful and abundant place. We must answer to God for how we take care of it. This is what we mean by stewardship.