Job Opportunity at the Food Hub

 Cultivate is the host of Bwyd Powys Food, the sustainable food partnership for Wales.  

Their vision is "Good food for Powys!  Where local, sustainable and healthy food supports local communities, its people and the environment."

They are based in Newtown, but are offering the opportunity of a job that involves remote working, so you don't have to live in Newtown to apply for it.

What they want is someone to help to develop a Food Hub in Hay, as part of the wider Powys Food Loops, from the planning stages right through to implementation.  It would suit someone who wants to enhance their business skills, learn more about sustainable food systems, and obtain real-life experience of implementing solutions to climate change.  The title of the post is Local Food Systems Officer and the closing date for applications is 2nd November.  More details can be found at  https://findajob.dwp.gov.uk/details/17264917?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=2025-10-17&utm_campaign=+Job+Alert+-+Local+Food+Systems+Officer+for+Hay+

(sorry that's a bit of a long url, but I can't do direct links). 

Second Saturday of the Festival

 I booked an event for 5.30pm, but the rest of the day I had at leisure.

The Saturday Market was in the square and the Buttermarket and Cheese Market, with the usual range of really nice stalls with good quality produce.  Tucked into a corner was the Jump4Timbuktu stall, fund raising.  The biggest problem for Timbuktu at the moment is the influx of refugees from surrounding conflicts, and our local group tries to send them about £500 a month to help.

At lunchtime, I headed up to the Festival site, at about the same time as the Free Palestine protesters, who were walking along the road with banners flying and a police escort.

I wanted to try the momo dumplings from the Tastes of Tibet stall in the food tent, and they were delicious.

Later, I met Mike Eccles outside the Oxfam stall.  He's been networking like mad recently.  He said: "I don't believe in coincidences, but...."

He's been wanting to meet Jane Davidson - she's the Pro-Vice Chancellor Emeritus at the University of Wales Trinity St David, and she has been a minister for education and the environment in the Welsh government.  Mike talked to her briefly on a Zoom meeting, and sent her details of what is happening with self-sufficiency and resilience in Hay (based on the big meeting he organised in January), and the following week he found himself sharing a platform with her at a meeting, where he was able to talk about what is happening in Hay and chat with her further.

He also met the Commissioner for Future Generations for the Welsh Government, and the Deputy Commissioner for Future Generations in charge of Health at another meeting, and they are both very interested in what people in Hay want to do, especially the Mental Well-Being Initiative.

He also decided to get to the Festival site by horse-drawn (grass-powered!) taxi, and the lady driving the cart said that she would let him ride for half-price if he promised to go and give a talk to the sustainability group that she's involved in!

Meanwhile, with his HOWLs hat on, he has been organising a fund raising gig for the library in September, with a group called The Breaks.

Bronllys Well Being Park

 The longest discussion I had at the Volunteer Fair was with the lady from Bronllys Well Being Park.  This is a Community Land Trust, and has been working for several years now to improve the facilities at Bronllys Hospital, collaborating with the Health Board as much as they can.

Sadly, any plans they had for the future of the Mansion House, at the top of the site, cannot happen, as the Mansion House and Walled Garden were sold off in 2018.  There are plans to turn it into a 'boutique hotel', apparently.

They have produced a large, and very professional looking, booklet detailing what the existing services are on the site, and what they hope to achieve over the next ten years.

The present buildings on the site are pretty old, and not considered to be fit for purpose in the long term.  The group wants the buildings to be replaced, possibly on the same footprint, with new buildings that also incorporate the principles of sustainability.  They want any future buildings on the site to be designed and built to Passivhous standards - meaning that very little heating will be needed, and the buildings would be connected to onsite energy generation and waste management systems, including solar panels, turbines, ground source heat pumps and grey water recycling systems.  None of this is experimental - similar buildings have been built for years, and the technology is tried and tested.

They also want to put in electrical points to charge electric cars and buses, and make the site into a local transport hub.

The whole site is Grade II listed on the list of Historic Gardens of Special Interest with CADW, though only the orchard is being maintained at the moment.  The orchard includes some rare apple varieties, and a local group is already working to improve it, and also grow damsons, pears and other fruits and berries.  They hope to expand to bee keeping and vegetable growing.  When the hospital first opened, it was almost self sufficient in fruit and vegetables, grown on site.  The BWBP wants to put in allotments around the site.

The hospital also once had its own croquet/bowls lawn and tennis court, which they want to repair.  There are also two listed buildings on the site - the chapel, which is closed at the moment because the building is unsafe, and the Basil Webb Hall, presently used by the Health Board as office and meeting space.  There is also the Concert Hall, which has been used over the past three years as a vaccination centre for Covid, and which several local businesses have expressing interest in using for exercise classes.  It would also be suitable for showing films and having theatrical performances.

They want the chapel to be refurbished as a cultural hub for the area, as a venue for arts, creative activities and performance as well as religious services.  They are supported in this by the local Veterans Group.

They want to provide new buildings for the existing services of the Adult Mental Health Unit, the Ambulance Station (which is presently in a fairly inaccessible part of the site), turn the old Nurses' Home into co-care housing (it's currently the Pain Clinic), and provide homes for families which have a disabled member.  The Pain Clinic would have a new, purpose-built building.

They want to provide a community hire, restore and repair shop, for people to borrow and repair tools, and a nursery for local children, as well as a Dementia Home for older people to live with support.

One of the big projects the BWBP wants to do is to move Llewelyn Ward down to a new building near the Concert Hall, where the same medical services would be provided.

As well as maintaining and improving the medical facilities onsite, the group wants to tackle the housing problems of the area by building affordable housing for local young families, housing for older people, and housing for people who need carers.  These would be built in small clusters around the site.

Another project they are interested in is providing space for the Men in Sheds group - and a Women in Sheds group, too!

Another proposal is for Shepherds Hut accommodation around the site for vulnerable people who need some peace and quiet for a while, such as military veterans.

And they want to provide a wildlife pond for wild swimming, and plant more trees.

Some of these projects are already running, and if they get only a fraction of what they are proposing it will enhance the site greatly.  I hope they get it all!

So, THERE WILL BE A MEETING at Talgarth Town Hall on Thursday 23rd March from 7pm to 8.30pm, with refreshments afterwards.  This is advertised as a Health and Well-Being Forum, and they will be discussing health and well-being issues relevant to South Powys.  There will also be a video of support from the actor Michael Sheen, who has already taken an interest in the project.

Sustainability Course

Richard Priestley, local green activist, is holding a series of workshops on Sustainablity in Hay over the next few weeks. They start on Tuesday 12th April, at 7.30pm, at Tomatitos, and continue for six weeks.

He says: "What can we as individuals, and as a community, do to make Hay, and Planet Earth, a more sustainable and resilient a place? What inspires and motivates us to help create the change we want to see?"

It costs £45 for the six sessions, but the poster adds that there are concessions for attending only part of the course, or for poverty, "don't let the price put you off"!

Transition Towns News

The Transition Towns group in Hay is part of a national network which is holding their annual conference in Devon next month. So although not much is going on in Hay itself, they are aware of lots of things happening in the surrounding area.
I've been getting lots of emails over the last month (when I was somewhat distracted by visitors!), with details of a new timetable for the Hay Ho Sunday bus, for instance, which has secured funding for another year and a new, improved timetable.
There have been protests in Hereford about the proposed Southern Link Road (a project that has been talked about for at least twenty years and which would cross environmentally sensitive water meadows).
Fracking has also been a subject of much debate.
Up in Llandrindod Wells, local houses that have been adapted with environmentally friendly features are open to the public today - solar panels, heat pumps, rainwater harvesting to flush the loo, and more.

And coming up next week is h.energy, right across Herefordshire. Here's what the newsletter from New Leaf says:
"Come to the h.Energy Markets for creative hedgehog activities, storytelling, pedal powered egg frying, miniature chickens, master composting, energy saving and renewable energy advice, hands on activities for all ages, opportunities to try out crafts and rural skills … and lots of friendly advice, and opportunities to chat and ask questions."

There will also be talks on all sorts of sustainable subjects, about electric cars and green economics, the future of housing in the county and Zero Carbon energy.
There's also Queenswood Autumn Festival with all things woodland-related, and the chance to be a brewer for the day at Wye Valley, one of the Gold Sponsors of h.energy. That's the first prize in the h.energy competition.
And there's a bee safari in Ewyas Harold, a clothes swap in Hereford, a community breakfast in Stoke Lacy, open eco homes all across the county, and lots more.

The AGM of Hay Transition Towns will take place at Cusop Village Hall on Wednesday September 30th at 7.30pm

The Hedge

I picked up a copy of a new local magazine at the wholefood shop today. It's called The Hedge, and I'd got the second edition. The letter from the editors at the beginning describes the magazine as a "not for profit community publication concerned with sharing projects and ideas for a sustainable future." It contains stories and poems as well as articles about a market garden (they don't actually say where it is, beyond "between Ruarden and Lydbrook", but the website www.ragmans.co.uk, places them in the Forest of Dean), sustainable living, birds and plants. There's an article about fracking, too, and adverts for ethical and ecological local companies - Tools for Self Reliance is in there, as well as an independent midwife, a hairdresser who uses only natural and organic products, plant dyeing workshops with www.plantdyedwool.co.uk, vegetable boxes and cheeses, yurts and camping and so on.
The profits from the first magazine went to Action for Botton, a Camphill Community in Yorkshire which is threatened by changes in social care provision (which seems to want everything organised in neat little boxes, rather than an actual community of real human beings living together). There's a support group called Botton Buddies, and the websites are www.bottonbuddies.org and www.actionforbotton.org
I went with my husband to look at a Camphill Community once, with a view to joining them - this one overlooked the estuary of the River Severn and was in a beautiful location on the edge of the Forest of Dean. The Communities cater for people with learning disabilities and mental health problems, with workshops producing items for sale to a high standard. The one I visited had a bakery, pottery, and basket making and a wood workshop. They also had their own library, and a small theatre where they could put on plays and concerts. We were very impressed - everyone was friendly and asked who we were and where we'd come from, and the atmosphere was relaxed and happy - but we weren't ready to commit ourselves at the time.
The proceeds from the current magazine will be going to Nepal, to the Kamala Foundation which helps to improve the lives of women and children and is trying to rebuild an orphanage after the recent earthquakes, and the Himalayan Permaculture Centre, which works in 21 remote villages. Their websites are http://kamalafoundation.org and www.himalayanpermaculture.com

Spring Fair

The weather was gorgeous and hot on Friday, so of course it was grey and a bit cold on Saturday for the Spring Fair in the Castle grounds. Despite that, a lot of people turned up, and there was a lot to see. In the main tent there were crafts, many of them either recycled, Fairtrade or wildlife related, together with Green Valleys giving out booklets on their new share offer - they're raising money for four small hydro-electric schemes somewhere in the Brecon Beacons.
There was a food and beer tent - the beer was local, and the Fairtrade group were running one of the teas and cakes stalls (and doing very well, when I passed by).
A third big tent held activities, including spinning, peg loom weaving, pottery and wicker basket making.
In between the big tents there were little tents, selling herbs and bee related products and so on. One lady had come all the way from Warwickshire with her Squeaky Green towels and washing kits. Another tent was providing balls of various sizes for children to play with. There was a stage - I heard the community choir singing, and there was a samba band later. There was a chainsaw artist, too - I rather liked this one:

In the Castle, there were talks on Green issues all day, starting with Nigel In Transition, a film about setting up a Transition Town (which is a town coming to grips with the problems caused by the world coming to the end of cheap fossil fuel energy and becoming more self-sufficient).
I had been in the Mending Shed, the Hay Together venture on the other side of the castle, where various experts were waiting to mend anything from computers to holes in cardigans. There were a couple of bikes to mend, and one or two electrical items, and I sewed up the holes in Ellie's cardigan, but after that I wandered off and caught the talk on Energy.
The general idea was to look at Hay and the surrounding area to see where we could produce our own energy as a community, but of course the speakers also went off on various tangents.
So, we have a big river - but it moves slowly and the weir on the Warren isn't really worthy of the name according to a man who has canoed down it. The tributaries, which drop a long way over a short distance are a better bet for producing hydro-electricity.
We have some public buildings upon which we could place solar panels - at the moment Dave Prescott from New Leaf, one of the speakers, is involved in setting up solar panels on an old landfill site outside Hereford, which is land that can't be used for growing crops or for building on because of the landfill contamination. In Leominster, there is a community project which has solar panels on the leisure centre and the school.
We have woodland which was once coppiced, and could be again, to provide biomass, as is being done in Fownhope.
We have wind - but the proposed Clyro wind turbine recently failed to gain planning permission, with a lot of local opposition. One of the wind schemes that was mentioned is in Scotland, where 50% of all energy is now renewable, and wind is quite popular. As one chap in the audience said - roads are polluting and noisy, so we should close the roads and build turbines instead!
One chap at the back of the hall said that he was interested in starting a co-op in Hay to provide community energy, and asked about the possibility of a regional framework rather than one local co-op after another. It seems there are a couple of reasons why schemes are done on a small scale - one is that each new co-op gets a certain amount of tax relief, and the other is that people who are passionate about solar power are often not interested in wind power, or other forms of renewable energy, so it's best to be specific rather than general with schemes. The chap who wants to start something in Hay was hoping to go for solar panels on public buildings first, and then branch out later to hydro-electric and finally wind power, while collaborating with Bronllys and Talgarth.
I was going to come back to listen to the talk about affordable housing locally, but by that time I was ravenous and disappeared back home to eat.

Sustainable Herefordshire Week

It almost seems as if Herefordshire has a split personality. On the one hand, the County Council are busily building a shopping centre no-one seems to want, shutting libraries and public toilets and chopping trees down against the wishes of the inhabitants - and on the other, events like h.Arts and h.Energy are being organised.
h.Energy, or Sustainable Herefordshire Week, is happening from 12th to 20th October, so there's an overlap with the Walking Festival (presumably why one of the walks in the Festival is on a sustainability theme). It's the fourth h.Energy week, and this year the theme is water.
So there are open houses all over the county, powered by solar energy and other alternative technology.
Cartridge World appeals to everyone to give their printer a second chance - they might be able to revive it, and if they can't, they can strip it down to its recyclable parts to save it from landfill. They can also recycle printer cartridges.
There are events promoting walking, cycling and bus travel, a Camera Obscura, art and apple juicing. Lots of events are organised by The Big Apple, www.bigapple.org.uk
There's storytelling at Hereford Library and the Rocket Cafe in Hereford.
There's green woodcraft, metal working workshops and stone carving. There's a fungus foray and foraging fun, and information about veggie boxes and organic food. Arkstone Mill organic smallholding in Kingstone is open for a day, where they pack vegetable boxes for customers around Hereford. The Cafe at All Saints is providing a locally sourced menu.
There are pub quizzes - Wye Valley Brewery is one of the sponsors of the event - and an open day at the brewery.
The Courtyard is hosting a day of events aimed at local businesses which want to reduce their energy bills and increase energy efficiency. There's also planning guidance for people who want to build ecologically friendly buildings at Hereford Library and a tour of an anaerobic digester at Barrett's Mill, Ludlow.
There's also a tour of the hydro-electric generation scheme on the River Arrow in Kington, and a walk around the sixteenth century water management scheme in Vowchurch.
There are workshops on "upcycling" garments and there's a giant water-powered cuckoo clock in Pembridge!
Repair Cafes are popping up across the county, providing tools and materials - and help - to repair clothes, household goods and bikes.
The Quakers are looking at the concept of simplicity at the Friends' Meeting House in Hereford.
There are films - Trashed with Jeremy Irons, and Chasing Ice with James Balog, a photographer for National Geographic.
There are village markets at Bredwardine, Dilwyn and Stoke Lacy.
There's music - a ceilidh at Canon Frome Court and a Greenpeace gig at the Steiner Academy at Much Dewchurch.
Nearly all these events are free, too!
I picked up the leaflet giving details of the week's events from Hereford Library, and the events are co-ordinated by New Leaf, who can be found at www.herefordshirenewleaf.org.uk

Sustainable Schools

I went along to the Transition Towns meeting in Kilvert's last night (we got chips! Thanks, Eddie). Since the big events they put on, the group have been struggling slightly to articulate just what Transition means to people who don't already know about it - but now there's a cause that they can become part of in a positive way.
They agreed that there was no point in banging on about supermarkets - other people are doing that, and there are no firm plans in place yet anyway. Also, there are all the issues of food miles, for instance, that they are already clearly against. Transition is all about making the best use of local resources for when the oil runs out.
On this theme, they decided to concentrate on the new school that Hay does want.
On of the founding members of the group has a background in architecture - and green architecture, at that. There are several schools which have already been built around the country with local materials, grass roofs, insulation made of sheep's wool, and so on - and building in this way would probably also make it a lot cheaper to provide a new school. And there's the potential for such a school to last longer than a cheap conventional build, such as we are seeing struggling along in Hay at the moment. There are even instances of such building schemes including training for local people in building techniques, which would be good for employment prospects in the future. One lady in the group had visited a school which basically came as a timber flat pack construction from Finland (where they do a lot of that sort of thing) with local sheep's wool insulation.
One member of the group also made the point that the Youth Club should be approached to see what the kids there think. After all, they've all gone to Hay School quite recently, so why shouldn't their opinions be listened to?
It could be interesting to see what develops.

Transition Towns AGM

I went up to the Council Chambers last night - and they were packed out. There were people there from Cusop and Clifford and Painscastle, as well as Hay. The actual business of the meeting didn't take long - electing new officers and so on - and the main body of the evening was taken up with a presentation about the Green Valleys project.

It all started with two men in a pub.... They disagree about whether they were drinking beer or cider - but they agree on the idea they had, and the competition they went in for. I think they were slightly surprised to be one of the ten finalists, out of 355 entrants, and even more surprised to be one of the three winners. By that time, they weren't just two men in a pub any more....
The Green Valleys covers the Brecon Beacons area, and is a properly set up company with a board of directors drawn from five communities. They've decided to concentrate on two main areas of expertise, at least to start with - hydro-electric power from mountain streams (they already have several power plants up and running) and woodland management. They've talked to landowners all over the Beacons, and have made at least one farm carbon negative. Never mind carbon neutral, or cutting emissions by a small percentage - they're ambitious, and it seems to be working.
They've also been behind a group that has created 46 new allotments, and having won the original competition, and a further grant of £300,000 from NESTA, they have serious money to put into community projects, which they hope to make more money, to further invest. The people at Talybont have already gone on to a second stage by buying an electric community car (called Blue Bell) and one that runs on bio diesel (called Mr Chips). Another group have formed a bidiesel co-operative, and buy it in bulk from somewhere up the Heads of the Valleys, made from old cooking oil.
For the hydro electric schemes, they also put a percentage of the earnings aside for upland conservation and saving peat bogs, which are drying out at an alarming rate, and for which there is no grant funding at the moment. The speaker said that climate change really comes home to people when you show them arial photos of their own local mountain taken twenty years apart.
The speaker (Greville Ham?) said that what they provided was seed money, support and contacts - suddenly it's not a lot of little isolated groups doing it on their own - they're a Beacon's wide movement, with expertise and knowledge that can be shared.
They have a website at www.thegreenvalleys.org/

And to close the meeting, there was the good news that the National Trust wanted to put a demonstration allotment in on the Hay Festival site, and needed a local partner to run it and maintain it. Gardeners from the Wier Gardens near Hereford will plant it up, and all the locals have to do is look after it, and harvest the crops. Which sounds like a very good interim project while they get the permissions for new allotments up the road to Clyro, just over the bridge.