Our philosophy – Stumbling Into Permaculture

In brief we stand for Small-Scale Self-Sufficient Sustainable Smallholding

Swallow Farm sits on the site of old Roman salt workings, for many, many years ago we were a saltmarsh inlet from The Wash, now ten miles distant. Over the centuries the area has slowly been drained and converted to fertile arable farmland. So it is frustrating to see ‘farmers’ treating the soil as if it were a concrete surface on which to drive their increasingly heavy machinery and pour their chemicals growing whichever crops attract the biggest subsidies.

We are working with many other smallholders across the whole Fenland area … an improvement on the big farms, but at the same time we are trying to educate them so they can see their role in the bigger picture.

If I had a religion, I guess it would be Nature. I remember as a young child heading out of the Council Estate I grew up on to sit for hours by a small stream, catching baby eels and sticklebacks in jars. Of course, as I went to University this interest expanded to the state of our Earth. I was telling people about environmental issues when they were still widely considered a bit crackpot!

Everything I do on the smallholding revolves around integrating nature into our growing systems and having a positive impact on the Earth. 
With the launch of CERES we want to share our methods and ideas more widely and network with like-minded people and organisations.

I have surprised myself by stumbling into Permaculture. I have always known about some of its ideas on growing food, not all of which I consider to be practical. But as I learn more I realise that the big designs I have are very much in line with permaculture principles, the big principles, not the little details.

I think these overhead photos of the smallholding from 2007 and from 2017 best show how my plan is coming together and how much our little patch has developed.

2007 - A farm which once lay at the centre of 1000 acres 

has been reduced to an isolated and bare garden in a landscape of arable farming

Overhead view 2017

The plan is taking shape.