The Dyfi Biosphere is about developing a thriving connection between human activities and ecosystems, and nothing shows this better than food. We need to produce this from farms, gardens and fisheries that are well managed, and ideally nearby so that we can build the vital cultural connections that underpin a healthy economy.
Our Tyfu Dyfi project is getting to grips with that challenge in a very direct way, by training more growers, supporting existing growers to sell more vegetables in the Biosphere and promoting agroecological methods. Tyfu Dyfi is supported by the Shared Prosperity Fund and spans Powys and Ceredigion local authorities.
But we also need to grow the markets, and one way we are doing that is the Dyfi Taste accreditation. This is available to any business that signs up to the charter which means:
Primary producers commit to following agroecological methods
processors commit to using a high proportion of local ingredients;
cafes, hotels and restaurants are expected to feature and promote local, Welsh, and seasonal produce.
Thanks to funding from Welsh Government earlier this year we have been able to sign up some more businesses to the scheme, including several in Aberystwyth. These include the wholefood shop Maes y Meysydd who sell a wide range of local produce, and the cafes Y Gornel, Little Devils and Baravin whose menus have a local flavour.
Between them they show what a variety of foods the area produces or processes, from Jenkins Milk to Dyfi Distillery gin, and from meats and vegetables to bread, honey, eggs and coffee. Not all of this is from within the borders of the Biosphere, as some comes from adjacent areas of Ceredigion, Powys and Gwynedd, or imported for processing here, but a great deal of it is.
Then there is Aberdyfi Icecream, who have a dairy in Aberdyfi and sell through their own shops in Aberdyfi and Aberystwyth.
Worth a special mention is Bwyd Dyfi Hub, part of Aber Food Surplus in Aberystwyth. This is an online shop for selling local produce, where customers order online once a week and collect a box from a central point. The Hub was developed as part of our Tyfu Dyfi project and its purpose is to provide a market for local food producers – mostly fruit and vegetables, but also dairy, and more recently meat and mushrooms as well.
Along with Mach Veg Boxes in Machynlleth, the Hub is stimulating more vegetable growing in the area. Just this month Menna Williams, who farms near Machynlleth and trained on the Biosphere’s Pathways to Farming course as part of Tyfu Dyfi, supplied her first batch of purple sprouting broccoli to local customers. Another new supplier is Madarch Tŷ Cynan Pendinas, in Penparcau.
A strong food culture is essential to supporting a food economy, and that goes beyond buying and selling. It’s about the people who shop and sit in the cafes, and also the community meals that are a feature in Aberystwyth and Machynlleth. The Pay as You Feel café at St Paul’s Methodist Church in Aberystwyth receives a free bag from Bwyd Dyfi Hub every week, along with produce from Laudato Si and other community gardens.
“Market gardeners and others are struggling to make a livelihood at the moment, so we offer another way to get their produce out there, for a fair price,” says Cathie Thurgate, one of the Hub employees.
“By creating a food loop, businesses in Ceredigion and Powys can support each other by sharing delivery and infrastructure costs, sell to a wider market and create a more connected and resilient local food system.”
Would you like to see more agroecologically produced food in the area, and a stronger food culture? Then support these businesses, look out for others who are farming and growing in environmentally friendly ways, and visit the local markets.
Images: Tyfu Dyfi, Menna Williams
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