Five years on
In our regular critical review, we revisit stories we identified as interesting back in 1999 – and check where they’re going now.
Where lands meet
‘Reconnecting children and environment’ is a phrase on everyone’s lips at the moment. But long before national campaigners brought their concerns to policy-makers’ attention [see ‘Kid’s eye view’, GF47], a Brighton NGO had its own plans to help urban children get their hands dirty in the countryside. The Beautiful Places initiative kicked off with a trip to a farm on the Isle of Wight, where city kids tried out ‘weird stuff’ – such as willow weaving and bat watching [‘Urban kids in beautiful places’, GF18].
The plan was to give others around the country the same opportunity.... ...Sadly, those expansive plans never really took off. The main charity behind Beautiful Places – Partners in the Countryside – has gone out of action, its funding having dried up. But the Isle of Wight pilot scheme produced some positive outcomes all the same.
The most tangible result is that groups of deprived children are still tasting the fresh air at Hill Barn Farm, whose owners decided to run the holidays as a business. And Island 2000, the other partner in the 1999 initiative, got some valuable insights into the essence of sustainable tourism on the island – which, for all its natural beauty, actually rates as one of the poorest areas in the southeast. As Ian Boyd of Island 2000 puts it, “we learnt that tourism could make more of what it has at hand. No matter how small, a site can provide a unique experience on its doorstep if it capitalises on the local – be it a species of bird or plant.” Deprived rural area learns lessons from deprived city kids – not such a bad story, when all’s said and done. – Hannah Bullock
Island 2000, 01983 822118,
www.wightonline.co.uk/island2000
Pukka produce
Buying food from the hand that pickled, brewed or bred it was a relatively new concept (or rather a long-disused old concept) when the National Association of Farmers’ Markets (NAFM) was launched [GF18, p15]. But it was clearly on the up, with 55 such markets having sprung up around the country. Today there are around 475 farmers’ markets in the UK, thanks to the impetus behind the national movement.
And FARMA – the new name for the Association – can boast happily of their proven benefits, not only for farmers but for the wider community. “Normal businesses are often wary that the market will take custom away from them. But the benefits spill over,” assures Gareth Jones. It’s estimated that Winchester’s 100-stall market – the largest in the country – draws in so many customers and tourists that they bring three-quarters of a million pounds a year to the town, and a whopping £2.3 million to the county. But the Association didn’t just aim to promote the ideal.
It wanted to ‘protect’ it too. Worried that some farmers’ markets are losing the original principles of sustainable and local food, it has introduced some certification criteria. The FARMA logo now helps customers differentiate between ‘genuine’ markets and what it (jokingly?) refers to as ‘car boot sales’.
To qualify, producers must be selling directly to the consumer; products must really be local – from within 30 miles if possible, or up to 100 miles for places harder to get to, like city centres or isolated villages; and there should be information available so customers know exactly where their food is coming from. So how do those 475 markets break down – how many are sheep and how many goats? Well, 130 markets are already certified, and another 100 or so are currently working towards it.
But FARMA can only go so far in keeping the concept pure. As Jones says, you obviously “can’t trademark a phrase that’s in the English dictionary”. So watch out for the several hundred ‘farmers’ markets’ out there that are still selling imported olives beautifully bottled in an English farmhouse kitchen. – Hannah Bullock
www.farmersmarkets.net, 0845 2302150
Saturated solution?
It was an ambitious target, but was it achievable? That was the obvious question, when Wales announced it was to turn 10% of its agricultural land over to organic farming by 2005. With a year to go, the Welsh Development Agency (WDA) has moved the goalposts.
Its second organic action plan puts the target date back to 2010, by which time it hopes to see between 10–15% of the land go over to organic. The backtracking doesn’t spring from a lack of interest from farmers, though. Thanks to conversion grants and advice from the new Organic Centre Wales, the number of organic farms increased from 120 to 610 over five years – covering nearly 4% of the principality’s agricultural land.
So why the change of heart? The basic answer is that the WDA came up against a less obvious but more important question: was the rush to conversion such a good idea? There are real concerns about the Welsh organic sector encountering a ‘boom and bust’ scenario, especially in the dairy sector.
The Agency has realised it needs to work just as much on the demand side as the supply side. So supermarkets, school canteens and young people will be at the heart of a new campaign to boost sales of Welsh organic food. And this time, the action plan includes not just a percentage target but a crucial caveat. Progress, it says, must be measured against the wider indicators of sustainable development, like public awareness and – most crucially – the financial viability of organic farms. – Hannah Bullock
Welsh Development Agency, 01686 613175
The next round’s organic
As 45,000 dedicated beer drinkers make merry at the Campaign for Real Ale’s Great British Beer Festival, it’s a sobering thought that no organic contender has yet taken the coveted title of Champion Beer. But the UK’s organic brewing industry has come a long way since Sustain’s report Bitter Harvest, Bitter Beer [GF18, p9]. The lone British organic hops grower of five years ago has been joined by at least half a dozen more, with a similar increase in organic barley growers.
It’s not an easy path to take, as Peter Scholey points out. The brewer of the 2003 Soil Association ‘organic beer of the year’, he knows what’s involved. “Organic malt is generally poor,” he says, “because good malt requires uniformity of barley, and uniformity is what organic does worst!
Fortunately the flavour doesn’t suffer. Organic hops on the other hand seem to be better than their non-organic cousins. They look worse, but have a better and stronger aroma, although hops are notoriously hard to grow organically.”
However difficult, more organic hops and barley means more breweries can make organic beer. Ian Loe, research and information manager at the Campaign for Real Ale, believes the trend can only increase. “Although it’s mostly small breweries with a tiny market share brewing organic beer today, consumers are becoming much more interested in raw ingredients and brewing techniques in general. Organic beers are craft brewed beers with original flavours, so it’s not just green foodies who want them.”
But such distinctiveness comes at a price, and Loe is not sure whether most consumers understand this. “In many places, distinctive British cask-conditioned beer competes with mainstream international brands. Smaller brewers need to promote their product quality, so that customers are prepared to pay more than £1.40 a pint.”
As they do at Singh Boulton’s London ‘gastro pubs’ The Duke of Cambridge and The Crown, the only pubs in the world to have full organic certification. Founder director Geetie Singh has seen a sea change in product availability since opening. “When we started out in 1998 there was only one organic draught ale available in the UK and no draught lagers.
We worked hard with Pitfields brewery who have now become certified and brew a range of beers and lagers exclusively for us.” It has been worth it, as Singh explains. “Our customers are keen for us to be adventurous by choosing smaller suppliers over the big brands.
They appreciate that the booze tastes better because of the brewer’s personal attention.” As an independent chain, Singh Boulton can sell any beer they want, but it’s a different story for publicans tied into the terms of their lease with a big pub-owning chain. Down at the Sun and Doves in Clapham, Mark Dodds is keen to improve the pub’s environmental performance across the board, but feels his ambitions are being frustrated – on the renewable power front, as well as on organic beer.
The idea of using micro wind turbines and combined heat and power (CHP) has run into supplier problems. “Accredited suppliers aren’t interested in a small business, and mainstream plumbers and heating engineers just don’t get it. And I can’t stock organic beers because Scottish Courage doesn’t supply any.” But Dodds remains optimistic, especially as the DTI’s select committee is currently examining the relationship between pub companies and tied tenants. One way or another, organic beer may yet make it to his bar. – Esther Maughan
www.singhboulton.co.uk
Drive time sharing
The most ardent advocate of the car sharing concept [GF18, p18] could hardly claim it has taken this country by storm. But, five years and a few learning curves down the road, there’s still mileage in it. The recent Leeds launch of the shiny hi-tech WhizzGo scheme provides further confirmation of its tentative progress out of the ‘alternative green ghetto’ towards the commercial mainstream.
So too does the recent revision of the Carplus network’s car club toolkit. Initially aimed mainly at voluntary groups, this is now more tailored to local authorities, housing developers, housing associations and employers – all of whom may be receptive to the idea of fewer cars, better used. For prospective car club members, the attraction is access to a clean, up-to-date car when needed, without the heavy overheads of ownership.
With WhizzGo’s Leeds scheme this translates into a £25 joining fee, an hourly rate of £3.95–£4.95 under a choice of price plans, 10 miles free for each hour, and 20p per mile thereafter – including petrol. Members can pre-book by phone or internet to pick up a Citroen C3 at its specified reserved parking bay, and swipe a smart card to trigger the onboard computer to unlock it. Should the booking system let them down, a free taxi back-up arrangement will bale them out.
Aimed at a niche market of city dwellers who prefer mobility with more flexibility than they’d get from owning a car (or a second car), WhizzGo operates in Leeds under a 10-year contract with the city council. It has what it describes as “a unique partnership with the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (Metro)”, and is keen to be seen as an integrated element of the city-wide transport network. Members qualify for discounts on Metro season tickets, and are predicted to tie in their car club usage with more public transport journeys than the average car owner, but still halve their travel costs.
(According to recent RAC research, the average motorist is massively in denial about the costs of car ownership, reckoning to spend just £2,100 whereas in reality it runs out at £5,335 a year all told – for a vehicle that will, on average, be actually driven for just one hour in every 24.) About 125,000 people use car clubs in continental Europe, and another 60,000 do so in North America. Despite our city congestion and parking problems, we Brits seem more hesitant. Of the UK’s couple of dozen car clubs, most are tiny and just three (all run by the Smart Moves organisation) can boast more than 10 cars.
Edinburgh’s council backed scheme is the largest, with some 20 cars and 350 members, followed by the London City Car Club launched last year (initially in Kensington and Camden, expanding to five other boroughs) and the 12-car Bristol scheme. WhizzGo aims to change the picture. It launched in Leeds with just eight cars, but expects to expand to 100 by 2006, serving 2,500 members – and also plans to launch its own London scheme next spring. –Roger East WhizzGo, 0870 446 6000, www.whizzgo.co.uk
Smart Moves, 01484 483061, www.smartmoves.co.uk
Carplus, 0113 234 9299, www.carclubs.org.uk
8 September 2004
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