Clay oven build at Fordhall Farm

Last weekend a group of us got together to build a clay oven at Fordhall Farm. We spent the first day mixing clay and sand to form out first layer. The mix was a bit wet but with a bit of ingenuity we wrapped a 'girdle' around it to stop it from slumping. On Sunday we proceeded with a mix of clay, sawdust and straw to create an insulation layer which was then covered with a final layer of clay, (from Fordhall's pond) and horse hair with one secret ingredient to help waterproof it. To finish it off, we moulded a worm, (much loved here at Fordhall) around the outside of the oven. The oven will be protected from the elements by a structure built by Mel Draycott, which will eventually have a grass roof on top. The wooden uprights for the structure are ash and alder and were donated by the Shropshire Wildlife Trust and come from the Ercall a woodland area near Telford. Hazel hurdles will surround the structure to further protect the oven from wind and rain.

But we could not have achieved any of tihs without the generous support from Shropshire Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund - thank you.

I shall soon be trying out the new oven to see how much wood it needs to get hot and in September, will be running a weekend bread making course, using the oven to bake the bread and cook pizzas. For more information about that, please see the events page on our website. Bex

Be a Norman for the day at Fordhall Farm

Be a norman for a day! If you are interested in history or simply dressing up then this childrens activity morning is for you. We will be dressing up as Normans on our very own Ringwork and Bailey site, using nettles to make string to tie around our waists, making dough rings to cook on the fire and more - generally eating drinking and being merry jsut as the Normans did... without the alchohol of course!

10am-12.30pm. £5 per child, suitable for ages 4-12 years. All children must be accompanied by an adult

Fantastic visit to West Town farm, Devon

Recently, I was able to travel to Devon to meet shareholder, Andy Bragg, on his organic beef farm in south Devon. Andy tenants his family farm from the church and over recent years has moved from dairy farming to organic beef. As well as selling some of his beautiful beef direct to the public, he also runs many inspiring activities for the community, very similar in nature to those that we do at Fordhall.

Andy is an inspirational person and extremely passionate about West Town farm and involving the community. I left feeling even more inspired and enthused about the possibilities for Fordhall - I may even steal some of his great ideas! For example, they have a fantastic community library which we could incorporate in our new tearoom. I was especially jealous of the many characterful old farm buildings that Andy has and is able to use for their community activities - something which we desperately lack at Fordhall.

They also run an insprirational project called Organic Arts, where children and families are encouraged to learn about farm life through the arts. This truly is a wonderful place and I must thank Andy for his hospitality on our visit. I left full of inspiration and ideas.

If you are ever in Devon I would definately recommend a visit. We do have a volunteer weekend and a clay oven building course this weekend at Fordhall, however if you find yourself in the south then West Town Farm have an Open Day this Sunday. See their website for more details.

http://www.westtownfarm.co.uk/
http://www.organicarts.org.uk/

Charlotte

Clay oven build at Fordhall Farm

Just a quick reminder to readers that the clay oven course is happening this weekend at Fordhall Farm and we do have some spaces available. We shall be building the oven and showing you how to make one, so you'll be able to have one in your own garden - they don't have to take up masses of space. Being able to make pizzas or bread or roast meat in an outdoor oven is a great thing to be able to do - get your friends to come and help you and have fun at the same time! Please call Bex on 07875742522 or ring Fordhall Farm.

Family Summer Activities at Fordhall Farm

Here at Fordhall we have some great family aactivities this summer. Families are encouraged to come along, enjoy some fresh air and get involved in arts and crafts, bush craft, pond dipping and much, much more!

The sessions are as follows:

* Bush craft activities - Wednesday 4th August

* Fordhall's secret past, be a Norman for the day! - Wednesday 11th August

* Mini beasts and junk, come on a bug hunt and create giant mini beasts - Wednesday 18th August

* Pond Dipping - Monday 23rd August (FREE EVENT)

* Arts and crafts, Wild and Woolley - Wednesday 1st September

Each activity is £5 per child (apart from the pond dipping which is free). All activities are suitable for children aged 4-12 (adults must accompany children aged up to 9 years) Booking is essential and all activities run from 10am - 12.30pm.  For more information or to book a place, please contact the Fordhall Community Land Initiative office on 01630 638696 on any of this or email project@fordhallfarm.com

WE DID IT! The £100,000 was raised!

We have done it! The £100,000 we needed as match funding for the renovation of the Old Dairy at Fordhall Farm has been reached, enabling us to create a visitor centre, in memory of our father, Arthur Hollins - thank you so much.

Our heartfelt thanks go to all of you who contributed. Your generosity has once again achieved what many thought was un-achievable. The lovely messages and emails of support remind us of the final campaign weeks in 2006 when Fordhall was saved. This is our next major challenge and although raising the £100,000 has been an incredible milestone, the next six months will pose many more challenges. One of the most important will be to continue the fundraising as we work hard to reduce the loans which form the rest of the match funding. We do hope you will follow us on this journey: enabling Fordhall to shine as a fantastic example of what can be achieved when people work together, how food is produced in harmony with nature and how wonderful good local food can be.

Have a great weekend!

Charlotte

Fordhall Farm Barn dance and Hog Roast....in a REAL BARN!

Yes it's true, a barn dance in a real barn!
For the first time ever we are holding a barn dance at the farm next Saturday (31st July) 7pm - until late!
As you most probably know we have been trying to raise funds in order to renovate our Old Diary, (see last post) so this event will hopefully help these funds - so please tell everyone you know and make sure that they come along too for a great night out!
Tickets are just £10 each which includes a tasty hog roast (£5 for kids) So if you want any tickets just call 01630 638696 or email project@fordhallfarm.com  .......see you there!

Our deadline is getting closer

Wow, the total is getting closer each day. You have all been amazingly generous; once again demonstrating that even the largest of tasks are possible when enough people come together. This makes the second stage of our fundraising at Fordhall Farm even more possible. If we raise the £100,000 match funding required for the grant by the end of the week, then all additional funds will help increase the amount of renewable energy we can install and the natural materials we can use. We were conservative in our initial plans, but hopefully we can expand upon this with your help.


For example, we have a lot of south facing roof space enabling us to install much more renewable energy. We could install a more sustainable system to deal with our waste, such as a reedbed. We could make better use of the heat that Ben loses from his fridges through a heat recovery system and we could recycle our grey water e.g. water from washing could be reused to flush our toilets. There is a huge array of systems, which we could incorporate into our renovation project - any additional funds we raise will help us to do this.

Gavin, our quantity surveyor from WCP, and Ian, our architect from Seven Architecture are working on the options as we speak: trying to find the most cost effective way so making our building as sustainable as possible.
We are also re-launching the share scheme in the Fordhall Community Land Initiative to contribute to this project and to help reduce the loans that we currently have agreed (£200,000 from Triodos Bank plus further loans from individuals) – why not buy a share in the Fordhall tearoom for friends and family?

Watch this space – our campaign has only just begun… Please do pass the word around and keep supporting us with your donations – however large or small, they all make a big difference to us.

Thank you,
Charlotte

Clay oven build at Fordhall Farm

Interested in learning how to build your clay oven?

We are in the process of building a green roof structure and base for our new clay oven and will be running a clay oven making course on the 7th and 8th August to not only build our oven but show people how to make one for their own garden. Nothing could be nicer than the taste of freshly baked pizza, hot from the oven! Once the oven is built it can be used to cook bread, roast meat and vegetables and is a great focal point in the garden. At Fordhall Farm we will be able to use the oven when we have open days and fund raisers, as well as being able to offer it to groups wanting to have a celebration at the farm.

If you would like to book on the course, please hurry as we are limited to only 8 places. We have been fortunate in getting a grant towards the cost of materials for this whole project from the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund and can offer places at the reduced cost of £60.00 for the weekend. This also includes a light lunch and refreshments. If you are on a low income and live locally we are able to offer you a place at an even more reduced rate - please ring Hannah on 01630 638696 and have a chat with her. Bests wishes Bex

The campaign is going - can you help?

Yes, that's right we need to raise £100,000 before next friday to help secure our grant funding for the renovation of the Old Dairy. At end of play yesterday we have so far raised an amazing £41,528.25!

This project has been worked on by the Fordhall team for over 2 years and earlier this year planning permission was granted. Since then all of the team have been working hard to refine the plans (with our architects at Seven Architecture), create the detailed specification and search for grant funding. Most recently, we applied for funding from the Regional Development Agency. However, since the election everything has been in a state of flux. We hope to hear the result of our funding application by the end of next week and when we do we need to confirm that we have the match funding in place to take the project forward.

Then we can begin to instruct contractors and prepare the grounds. This is a major project for Fordhall and one which will ensure we remain a flagship social enterprise for the West Midlands; enabling us to create our own revenue and reinvest the surplus for community and environmental benefit.

If for any reason, our grant is not successful, we will look elsewhere (we are gathering a list of potential funders all the time). Either way this project will definately go ahead.

A big thank you must go to all the wonderful supporters who have already donated. You are giving us the confidence and enthusiasm to ensure that this campaign and project succeeds.

Thank you for sharing the journey with us.

Charlotte and all the team at the Fordhall Community Land Initiative