Exciting Update: Babbinswood Organic Farm's Community-Led Journey!

To read how and why we have found ourselves read Our Story so far..

(Most Recent Updates in BOLD at bottom of page edited 25th March 2024)

“Our mission is farming closely with nature to regenerate our soil, nurture our animals and care for our community whilst producing affordable nutritious organic food.”

Dear Beloved Community,

Thanks to everyone for their generous donations, gifts and loans - we made it to January 18th, the extended deadline for paying off the bridging loan! The lender has agreed to extend a bit longer as long as we keep up the interest payments. With the help of a supportive expert we now are sourcing longer term finance to tide us over until our sale of community shares is complete.

We have been proceeding with the setting up of a Charitable Community Benefit Society which will purchase part of the farm from me and, importantly, keep the land organic, and therefore regenerative and sustainable, in perpetuity.

On December 3rd 2023 about 30 hardy people braved the weather to find out more and begin the process of community consultation to secure the future of Babbinswood Farm. It was cold in that barn but plenty of hot drinks and cakes kept us going!

Casha and I spoke about the story so far and how we have come to this situation, then Charlotte Hollins from Fordhall Farm Land Initiative talked about their experience and explained what a Community Benefit Society is and how it has worked at Fordhall. We then broke up into discussion groups so that everyone in the room could have their ideas and views heard. A dozen or more people then offered to form a steering group to take things forward. We collected all the ideas together and summarized them.

On December 14th this group met in the farmhouse, and more distant people joined us on Zoom, to go through the Rules of the Society, using a template provided by Co ops UK who are helping us through this process.

Bex Syrett and I sat down on 23rd December and started the task of putting the application together, taking into account feedback from the meetings. A glitch in technology (or at least my use of it) and the season’s festivities slowed this down but we are back on track now and busy completing this stage.

Meeting held at the farm on the 31st January 2024:

Our supporters, now affectionately referred to as "Friends of Babbinswood Farm," gathered recently both at the farm and via Zoom on Wednesday, January 31st. Together, we discussed the priorities leading up to the launch of our share offer. The wealth of skills and expertise volunteered during the meeting was truly heartwarming.

Excitingly, we're just weeks away from launching our community share offer. This is a pivotal step in securing the future of Babbinswood Farm. Your participation and support in this venture will make a significant impact. Stay tuned for more details on how you can become a part of this transformative initiative.

Meeting held at the farm on the 29th February 2024

Our beloved community joined us again this time we shared delicious food and spent time getting to know each other. Barbara and Casha updated everyone on the progress thus far. Here are the highlights:

  • Bridging loan extension for a further 18 months is being put in place to buy us more time to launch and sell community shares.

  • Community Benefit Society registration application was submitted on the 11th February 2024.

  • Assets of community value application in progress

  • Currently twice monthly core and monthly steering group meetings are being held. If you would like to join these meetings - please let us know.

Find our previous meeting minutes here:

Minutes from the 14th December 2023

Minutes from the 29th February 2024

Expression of interest form to capture Share offer pledges, volunteer information and more CLICK HERE

Earlier this month Patricia, Lynda, Daisy, Lisa and Fran met with Charlotte at Fordhall Community Land Initiative to have a look around and crucially see behind the scenes how they manage their share offers!

If you're inspired to contribute your skills, ideas, or time to our cause, we welcome your involvement. Reach out to us at email us ( growingcommunity@babbinswoodfarm.co.uk) to let us know how you'd like to be a part of our growing community.

We are immensely grateful for your unwavering support. Babbinswood Organic Farm is not just a farm; it's a community-driven legacy. Let's continue this incredible journey together!

With deep gratitude,

Barbara and the Babbinswood Organic Farm Family

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With your support, we can embark on a brighter future for Babbinswood Organic Farm, which focuses on Farming closely with nature to regenerate our soils, we nurture our animals and care for our community whilst producing affordable nutritious organic food.

Thank you for choosing to stand by our side, and for being a part of this incredible journey. Together, we can make a lasting impact and preserve the legacy of this cherished place.