Whitmuir Farm, a few miles south of Edinburgh, is selling itself to the local community. For a couple of years now, Whitmuir Community Benefit Society has been selling shares in the working organic farm, with a view to securing the future of the educational work that already goes on there.
They just finished preparing the soil of their new 2000 square metre project, which aims to show visitors just how much food can be grown on 0.2 hectares of arable land. Why 2000 square metres? If we were to divide the total global surface area of arable land by the number of people living on the planet, each person would get just that. Other 2000 sqm projects are currently underway in Germany, Sweden and elsewhere.
Whitmuir received a one-year grant from the Climate Challenge Fund to support community growing, cooking and composting on the area. They will pilot a rural food waste recycling scheme with up to 60 households and work with community growers and pupils of Newlands and West Linton primary schools to produce vegetables for both the schools and the growers. Throughout the year the project will also be running cookery, food sharing sessions, composting workshops and farm tours.
If you’re interested to get involved, you can e-mail the project manager Kate Orchard at info@whitmuircommunityfarm.org or call 01968 661 029.