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Hello One and All!
Welcome to our monthly update packed full of events, training opportunities, jobs, news and funding relevant to our city's wonderful food producers.
Our top highlight this month is to update you all on what's going to happen after we successfully hit our Crowdfunding target. Read on to find out more...
BFP News
Many of you will know Claire Rosling who has been working as the Coordinator since the start of the year has recently gone off on maternity leave. I'm delighted to announce that she's had a little baby girl called Elodie. Congratulations and best wishes to the whole family!
As always, if you have anything you'd like to see featured in our Opportunities Update then get in touch!
Steph Wetherell
Coordinator for Bristol Food Producers
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Crowdfunder Success - WE DID IT!
Thanks to 123 wonderful backers, we hit (and passed!) our Crowdfunding target, raising an amazing £5607! We've also been awarded some Awards for All funding, and are busy making plans for an exciting year ahead - here's a taste of what you can expect:
- Quarterly networking events for our members, aiming to bring together everyone from farmers to restaurants, create new routes to market and an increase in collaboration between producers
- A series of short films and articles about our producer members to help raise the profile of the amazing local food produced in and around the city, and help you get to know the people behind your food
- Masterclasses to help up-skill and train our members; from business plan writing to marketing, compost teas to cover crops, we'll be consulting with our members to see what they need the most
- Upgrades and improvements to the website to help create an online hub where producers, retailers, distributors, restaurants and more can connect and collaborate on everything from seed orders to problem solving.
- A continuation of our existing work like this opportunities update and attendance at an assortment of vents over the coming months.
- Land access work, connecting those with land with those seeking it - we're planning to run a land-matching event early in the new year so keep an eye out for more info!
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Program released for ORFC 2017!
The program has just been released for the 2017 Oxford Real Farming Conference (Jan 4th and 5th) - you can view it here. Tickets are selling fast, so grab yours now (via Eventbrite), or via the ORFC website.
The ORFC is a highlight in the food and farming calendar, with hundreds and hundreds of people coming together to discuss and discuss agroecological solutions to common farming challenges and explore how we create a sustainable and resilient food future.
To learn more about ORFC please click here
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Help Sims Hill buy a tractor!
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Check out the amazing crowdfunder video for Sims Hill!
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Our lovely members Sims Hill are Crowdfunding to help buy a tractor. This is what they have to say:
"We have grown! We have been going for 7 magical years thanks to the hard work of our members who support us and give their time. Begging and borrowing tools and a tractor has worked up until now and we are very grateful for all the help we have received! We’re now growing vegetables for 85 members and need to evolve. Growing vegetables in the English climate can be a bit hit and miss!! Due to this we sometimes have such short windows of opportunity to get work done that not having our own equipment can be problematic. To be a truly sustainable project the time has come to raise funds for our own little tractor and equipment to cultivate our crops and soil better. We don't need a sparkly new one, just a small secondhand one and some implements to save our backs and improve the efficiency of our crop production.
We still need to increase member numbers to be viable in the future and having our own equipment can help us to achieve this. We will be able to grow more and better crops. We are still buying in organic vegetables from local farms to supplement the veg boxes for our members, especially through the winter months. Being able to grow more of our own crops will help us reduce costs. This crowdfunder is not only about tools and implements but to make sure this is a long term project. Please, lovely people, help us to be more self sufficient!"
They are trying to raise £11,000 and have less than two weeks to go - pledge your support here!
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FREE workshops on marketing, finance, business planning and more!
Get Set for Growth have a wide range of FREE workshops available - if you are starting out on a new food enterprise or would like some additional skills to support or grow your existing business then this is for you!
Thur 1st Dec (10am-11.30am): DEVELOPING AND RUNNING A FACEBOOK STRATEGY
Thur 8th Dec (10am-4.30pm): 1:1 DROP IN SESSION FOR EARLY STAGE/START UP BUSINESS FINANCE
Thur 8th Dec (2pm-3.30pm): FINANCIAL PLANNING FOR GROWTH
Wed 14th Dec (2pm-3.30pm): DESTINATION SUCCESS (GROWING YOUR BUSINESS)
Wed 11th Jan (10am-11.30am): INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL MEDIA
Thurs 12th Jan (10am-11.30am): THE F WORD
and more...
For a full programme please visit: http://www.getsetforgrowth.com/events/west-of-england/
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NEW Landbase training centre launches
LandBase is a new centre for land based skills, based in Dorset. They are aiming to provide experience led, affordable, long and short-term courses for motivated landworkers, both current and aspiring.
Confirmed course dates so far
21-23rd Feb 2017: THE GOAT GATHERING
8-10th April 2017: MAKING A SUCCESSFUL MARKET GARDEN
To find out more about LandBase please visit: http://www.landbase.org.uk/
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5th Dec : PopUp Buiness School comes to Bristol
There's never been a better time to test a business idea! The PopUp Business School is coming to Cabot Circus, Bristol for a HUGE workshop on the 5th December 2016!
The Bristol workshops will be teaching you how to: Start your business for free, get a website or free, get you over those initial barriers & so much more!
To find out more and register visit: http://www.popupbusinessschool.co.uk/bristol.html
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Bristol Community Energy Fund
The Bristol Community Energy Fund is a scheme created by Bristol City Council, to benefit the whole city. They're supporting local groups through grant and loan offers to fund their energy efficiency and sustainability projects.
The grant programme supports activities with one of the following aims:
- To support local people to reduce their energy use (e.g. their use of electricity or gas)
- To support local people in moving toward cleaner renewable sources of energy
- To support local people to take measures that ensure they can afford to meet their energy needs
The grant programme can support all costs relating to your project or activity, including: core costs (e.g. staff, office costs), project costs (e.g. venue hire, project worker) and capital costs (can support the cost of a renewable installation).
For more information please visit: http://www.bristolcommunityenergy.co.uk/
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FREE Advice and Support for Community growing projects
Growing Together’s vision is for all community growing groups in the UK to have the skills, knowledge and opportunities they need to create a financially sustainable future for themselves.
Support and advice are available on topics including:
- Crowd funding
- Community shares
- Generating income, e.g. from trading and sales
- E-commerce
- Procurement
- Planning your project, e.g. vision, strategy and business plan
- Marketing, PR and social media
- Monitoring and evaluation
- Governance
- Land issues, e.g. access, negotiation, leases and licences, right to buy
- Setting up a social enterprise
- Working with the business community, e.g. increasing in-kind help and corporate volunteering
- Working with the public sector
- Finding supportive networks and information
- Identifying site and community resources and optimising your land's productivity, eg. permaculture design
- Maximising community engagement and volunteering
For more information please visit: https://www.growingtogether.community
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Job Opportunity: Part time assistant grower (near Bath)
Part-time assistant grower wanted 2-3 days/week February-November 2017, initially to cover the current head grower’s maternity leave; work will also be available and ongoing after this time.
Wages: £8/hr, & monthly profit share available. Wages paid on a freelance invoice basis.
Deadline is Monday 9th January 2017.
For full info: https://growngreen.wordpress.com/
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Land Seekers' Survey: The results so far!
Over the summer we had a wonderful intern who worked away and analysed the results so far from our Land Seekers' Survey. It's an interesting look at what people are looking for in land, and will help influence and guide our work in the area over the coming year.
Check out our summary infographic to the right, and you can read the full report here:
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Prince's Farm Resilience Program
The Prince’s Countryside Fund has launched a new ‘major’ programme to provide free practical and essential business support and one-to-one guidance to 300 farm businesses across 15 regions throughout the country.
The £1.5 million five-year initiative will begin with special introductory sessions during November and December to encourage farm businesses to find out more about the programme to help tackle ‘some of the biggest challenges’.
For more info: http://www.princescountrysidefund.org.uk/how-we-help/the-princes-farm-resilience-programme
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State of Nature Report
The State of Nature report is published by the RSPB and brings together data and expertise from over 50 organisations, providing an update on how wildlife is faring across the UK.
Click here for the full report.
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New Model Farming: Resilience Through Diversity
The first paper in CPRE's new Food and Farming Foresight series suggests that, following the EU referendum decision, there is an opportunity for major policy change to develop a new vision and policies that will establish a sound future for farming. The paper identifies a range of recommendations to increase the diversity, sustainability and resilience of the farming sector on which so much of our countryside depends.
Click here to read the report.
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8 Dec: Creating Common Good Land Use
Shared Assets are running an event on 8th December in London looking at how we can create a future where land is used for the common good.
But what models of land use could deliver all these outcomes? What roles do different institutions and sectors have in creating an environment where these models can thrive?
Find out more about the free event and register here.
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1 Dec: Green Capital Partnership Gathering
The final Green Capital Partnership Gathering of 2016 takes place on Thursday 1 December (2pm-5.30pm) at The Station, Silver Street BS1 2AG, and will offer an opportunity to learn more about future plans and opportunities for involvement, network with members of the Partnership and hear from an expert panel of speakers on regional planning proposals & future devolution directions from the perspectives of energy, food, nature, resources and transport; find out more here.
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Shift Bristol Twilight Talks
Shift Bristol are organising a great series of evening talks from some wonderful speakers. Upcoming events:
Ed Hamer – Community Supported Agriculture, Landworkers’ Alliance and small scale food production
Wednesday 7th December: The Old Library, Muller Road, Eastville, Bristol BS5 6XP
Buried Sunshine A dramatic play about coal, courage and criminals.
Thursday 5th January 7.30pm – 9pm at Gasworks Studio, 27 Narroways Road, St Werburghs, Bristol, BS2 9XB
Keep an eye out on the full calendar here: http://www.shiftbristol.org.uk/events
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