Fergal Anderson and Emanuela Russo.
THE STORY
Meet Fergal and Emanuela. They are a Galway based farming duo who run a 30 acre horticulture and woodland farm. Their main aim is to rebuild local food systems and reconnect people with the land, food and each other. " Put simply we produce vegetables and fruit and we eat the same fruit and vegetables that we sell". The pair have been on the farm for 11 years working hard to transform the land and rebuild the soil. "We work with little inputs and stimulate the natural process to increase fertility of the land".
The farm is awash with colour and abundant with wildlife attributable to their agroecology farming practices. "We don't use any pesticides, herbicides or fungicides and we believe healthy soil means a healthy plant. We feed the soil with organic manures to keep everyone happy and healthy." The priority of the farm is to create the maximum amount of biodiversity. That biodiversity improves soil fertility, which in turn improves the nutrient density of the harvest. "We want good food that is good for the people". The couple have planted ‘natural hedges’ with native trees and allowed huge parts of the farm to go wild. They keep chickens to help with crop rotation and bees for pollination.
Fergal and Emanuela have created an ecologically and economically viable farm based on regernational models that work harmoniously with nature. Can you imagine the impact farms like this could have if the government supported these farms to grow and thrive and their lessons to be shared.
“If we could just support the right kind of farming then we could live in a paradise in the next few years"
THE WHY
We forget that what nature gives us is a gift. We have a responsibility to take care of that gift, to share it, to give back what we have taken and to leave the place better than when we found it.
THE CHALLENGE
Support a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Scheme. It’s a great way to support your local farmer and receive really good, local, seasonal produce. It’s a win, win situation for everybody.
THE HOPE
Meeting other small scale farmers through Talamh Beo. I think once you realise you are not on your own and there are many other people out there with the same shared vision of another agriculture system and a food sovereignty future, that gives you strength and great hope.
THE RECOMMENDATION
GROUP: Talamh Beo Home - Talamh Beo BOOKS. Robin Wall Kimmerer's Braiding Sweetgrass and E.F. Schumacher's Small is Beautiful
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