Tuesday 24th May, 7:00pm to 9:00pm
Herb Garden Café
Free admittance includes hot drink and cake served at 7pm.
All are welcome!
We invite you to a talk by TFSR Cymru Director and Trustee Ian Jones to hear about their work and how you can get involved.
TFSR Cymru collect unwanted hand tools and sewing machines from all over Wales. Volunteers refurbish them and send them to community groups in several African countries. They also sell Fair Trade tools made by Blacksmiths and Leather workers in Tanzania.
Over the past 30 years they have sent almost half a million tools to Africa.
They recycle tools of every description and nothing is wasted! Broken tools are repaired; blunt tools are sharpened; broken handles are burned in their wood burning stove in the winter to keep the volunteers warm, and unwanted metal sold as scrap. They have won awards from Powys Zero Waste and have a very low carbon footprint.
You can download a poster and a leaflet to help promote the event.
Read more about May 2016 Meeting: Tools for Self Reliance Cymru
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with Clive and Philippa Hedger
7.00pm, Tuesday 22nd March
Herb Garden Café
An illustrated Talk on Natural, Sustainable, Bee-Centred Beekeeping and Bee Guardianship
Clive and Philippa currently look after 14 colonies of naturally kept bees in Builth Road.
In this talk they will share the wisdom and insights gained from their own experience and stress the importance of having the 'right relationship' with the bees. The talk will also include practical information on first steps, equipment and skills needed to set up a hive and specific approaches to managing naturally kept hives. They believe the heart of this is supporting bees as pollinators rather than honey producers.
Over the last 8 years they have helped many people to set up and keep bees in their gardens, and given on going mentoring along their journey as beekeepers. They promote a simple and easy, low maintenance approach to natural beekeeping.
They created a Sussex based natural beekeeping group that still meets regularly every month, with over 100 members and In 2014 successfully set up a British Black Bee sanctuary as part of a Sussex school, with 8 hives and an area for the creation of a bee friendly garden.
They work specifically with promoting a world where bees can thrive.
Clive and Philippa will be happy to answer your questions.
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A talk by Tao Wimbush, Lammas Eco Village
Tuesday 26th January from 7pm to 9pm
at the Herb Garden Café, Llandrindod
The Lammas Eco Village in Pembrokeshire received planning permission in 2009 under the Welsh Government's One Planet Development Policy. The policy essentially allows development in the open countryside provided that applicants can demonstrate that they are living a sustainable lifestyle, achieve greater productivity of the land than its former agricultural use, and use low carbon natural building materials.
Tao Wimbush, one of the original founders of the Lammas community, was a guest speaker at the recent Powys REconomy conference organised by the Powys Transition and Low Carbon Communities Network (PTLCC). In this video of his talk, Tao describes the planning process and the experience of living sustainably and answers questions from the audience.
We'll also show a couple of short videos showing how Lammas has developed over the past six years.
Free admittance includes cake and hot drink served at 7pm.
Further reading:
The Welsh Government One Planet Development Policy
The One Planet Council
Lammas Eco Village
A poster to help promote this event is available to download.
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Free Film Night - Short films on UK Permaculture projects
Tuesday 24th November from 7pm to 9pm
at the Herb Garden Café, Llandrindod
Produced by Permaculture People for Permaculture magazine, these 9 short films showcase a number of projects in the UK that demonstrate ecologically sound and regenerative land based practices. The film on Natural Building is presented by Grand Design's Kevin McCloud. The films were released to coincide with the 12th International Permaculture Convergence held in London this September.
Discover how regenerative agriculture can rebuild soil and repair damaged farm ecosystems, see urban permaculture in action with permablitz and watch natural buildings being made from local resources in front of your eyes. Get informed, get inspired, and get involved! (Read more below for details)
Admission to the meeting is free. A donation will be requested to contribute to the costs of refreshments.
A poster to help promote this meeting is available to download.
Read more about November 2015 meeting: Living with the Land
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Guest speaker: Tony Davies
Tuesday 27th October from 7pm to 9pm
at the Herb Garden Café, Llandrindod
The uplands of the Elan Valley has areas of an under-utilized grass, 'Molinia caerulea' (Purple moor grass, Molinia). Molinia is a dominating species, and the spread of Molinia is having a damaging effect on species diversity, habitat quality, fire risk, access for recreation and agricultural productivity.
A project funded by the Welsh Government has been completed to look at methods of reducing the dominance of Molinia and the improvements to the habitat created by this removal. Experimentally processing the harvested biochar into Biochar has also been part of the project.
Biochar is produced through a process called pyrolysis that heats biomass with limited amounts of oxygen present. The carbon rich biochar resists degradation and can lock up carbon in soil for hundreds or even thousands of years.
Soil rich in biochar has improved water and nutrient retention and has potential commercial usage within the market garden and other growing sectors.
About the speaker
Tony Davies is a tenant farmer at Henfron Farm in the Elan Valley with a passion for renewable energy and sustainability. Tony is the fifth generation of the Davies family to farm at Henfron Farm, his ancestors having first moved to the farm in 1860. For more information please visit the Henfron Farm website.
Admission to the meeting is free. A donation will be requested to contribute to the costs of refreshments.
A poster to help promote this meeting is available to download.
- Details
