one of the uses being mooted(!) for surplus farmland is “leisure activities”
I’ve been getting involved in a bit of this through work as we give advice to small (or embryonic in this case) charities, …
we’re helping an bloke (who has inheritedsome land) to set up a small farm project / social enterprise which aims to provide supported meaningful occupation activities for people with support needs (eg. learning disablilty, mental health problems, asylum-seekers etc).
idea being that loads of activities… small scale agriculture, horticulture, providing a cafe, administration etc will give people the chance to take part in something constructive while any money made from farmers markets etc go back into the project to cover overheads, support workers etc. the place is stunning so it would attract visitors as well
it’s got to be better than the old ‘day centres’ for LD people, ‘care’ in the community for mental health, boredom of asylum seekers (not allowed to work) etc
fuck nose how I’m going to get away with partying it :confused:
badger badger badger
we’re helping an bloke (who has inheritedsome land) to set up a small farm project / social enterprise which aims to provide supported meaningful occupation activities for people with support needs (eg. learning disablilty, mental health problems, asylum-seekers etc).
idea being that loads of activities… small scale agriculture, horticulture, providing a cafe, administration etc will give people the chance to take part in something constructive while any money made from farmers markets etc go back into the project to cover overheads, support workers etc. the place is stunning so it would attract visitors as well
it’s got to be better than the old ‘day centres’ for LD people, ‘care’ in the community for mental health, boredom of asylum seekers (not allowed to work) etc
fuck nose how I’m going to get away with partying it :confused:
badger badger badger
it sounds like an excellent project – and one for which you could probably get funding for as well…
as for partying it; its seen as perfectly acceptable to celebrate the succesful roll out of a public sector project; a celebration in a marquee which did not cause undue noise/traffic is unlikely to run into trouble (although I doubt if you could pull this off every weekend in the summer!)
my only concern is that there may be those who do not approve of the project due the categories of to those it may be helping, who would perhaps attend such an event with the intention of disrupting it, or attacking some of the resources of the centre. Also I think there is a potential danger if you have people with existing mental conditions being exposed to street drugs culture….
OK that is a cynical thought, but there are loads of similar centres like this which get trashed by local chavs due to hate and ignorance (they day centres here get their windows busted out pretty much every other weekend 🙁 ) – you also have mentioned yourself there’s a bit of a vigilanté culture in your manor – this works both for and against our scene.. I wouldn’t want to risk such a brilliant initiative just for a party…. but if you can deal with the security issues then go for it.
an annual event might not pose to much of a problem…
it’s over 150 acres, so many might not even realise what else was on the land
we’ll see how things pan out, but this could fit in with what i was saying in another thread about holding free parties as a way of raising money for small charities… evolution!
unfortunately this attitude is what is compromising the free party scene!
it gets mutated from the good robin hood stuff to much worse things like people using a party as cover to burglaries on surrounding units and houses or family cars (sometimes even other ravers cars!) in urban areas being twocced to get kids to/from parties (and the car then later burned out, sometimes at the party on the field 😡
if its taking something someone else has worked for or is still making use of, then its theft, not freedom – worse still its often those who are themselves poor who get rinsed rather than fat companies as the sort of chavs who do this don’t have brains to deal with alarms etc and look for the soft targets 😡
OTOH its amazing what useful stuff is left behind particularly by corporates when a building is vacated – and activities like liberating abandoned kitchen equipment from an abandoned works canteen in a former party venue, and distributing it to local family and student houses, or the recycling of abandoned LAN/telecoms equipment so a group of friends can share a broadband link are fine IMO 😉
In an obiviously abandoned building anything which is over 3 years old is usually written off the assets register anyway – its not costing the company anything if it walks and was probably left there deliberately because it costs money to get rid of it (particularly with the new EU recycling laws!)
it’s over 150 acres, so many might not even realise what else was on the land
we’ll see how things pan out, but this could fit in with what i was saying in another thread about holding free parties as a way of raising money for small charities… evolution!
fair enough – plenty enough room then,with good planning some fences and security patrolling (not Devon’s guantanamo bay, just what is needed for safety – people will go on missions, and you wouldn’t want them getting sliced by agricultural implements, chased by goats or falling into the muck heap etc ) all can be safe and everyone will win in the end 😀
i reckon we need 2 respread the word get the ideals of the free party back out to the masses….the way ped skum do it up here is cut the music at 6am an go look were skint giv as a £1 if u can cheers. but we dont seem to hav the problems you mention the worst ive herd of is some1 gettin there bags nicked a 1 of the rig crews caught the guy told him 2 fuck off an he just left gave all the stuff bak an all.
as for the fencing idea should make a track down to the muck heap with a sign sayin “do not go this way” then it serves them right when theyre neck deep in shit…next party an theyll do wot u say
yes! mate 😀
glad to hear this lack of problems.
It was like this down south – TBH I reckon people got overconfident to an extent as there have been so many large outdoor parties they thought “well, parties will happen no matter what” and forgot the basics of respecting those who put the resources into events (and the wider community as a whole)
shutting off the genset to raise donations is a good idea – down south the whip-round usually only happens after the thing runs out which is usually around 6am anyway – doing it your way means you aren’t running the dregs through the tank and risking blocking the fuel system (a practice I warned against in USEs thread asking for tech advice). People do seem to forget that gensets do not run on air..
another good one (seems like old skool country sort of thinking, oo arr,) but knowing what people are like when they get out in the countryside I reckon you would still need to keep people out of areas where crops are, and if there are any livestock prevent them from straying.. they could get access to poisionous plants, or end up in someone elses holding which could mean everything has to be disinfected…
you could always put up a sign like some church did which said
“Please do not vex the goat”
although I’m not sure how you were supposed to work out whether the goat had been vexed or not, or was just bleating ;D
WoW, WoW and double Wow!
i’ve been trying to work out what to say about this thread, but cant hold back any more..
this just sounds amazing, and makes me wish that i had a car so bad, i’d love to come and check it out, all aspects! sounds like you’ve found a well sound guy with lots of land, i have recurring dreams about that! i’ve been designing a creative centre for ages, and once the infrastructure is ready, the growth possibilities are neormous, depending on how far people are willing to go.
land is one of those things that is so underestimated (but not undervalued, if you get me) and 150 acres is a proper wedge!
i have so many fantasies of what u could do with the place, i dont know where to start, and dunno if you want to hear a load of impossible sounding stuff, when in fact you want to just setup and get running, which is hard enough…
what exactly is the function of the place to be? i get that it employs peopel in need, but what will they be doing? workshops or working?? if there’s a link to a website, gimme, if not, let me make you one…
see nativebeats and ambient picnic sites for demo’s.
there will be a number of ‘functions’…
quite a bit of the land is so ancient that even the grass is protected (rare devon grass!)… so the function of that is simply to let it exist and be conserved
the owner has already repaired a leat and wear
the land that has been farmed in recent years should be given the seal of approval by the soil assoc
but the main purpose of the aspect that I’m assisting with is about providing meaningful occupations (e.g. working, with support, in agriculture, horticulture, providing a cafe / healthy living centre, guided walks around the conservation areas, administration etc) for people that are excluded from mainstream society…
at present many learning disabled people are frustrated with the limited life offered by day centres (another game of darts, anyone? oh, that’s right, the darts were taken away from us cos of health and safety)
or given up on (care in the community = you can have some welfare as long as you take these pills)
or denyed a place altogther (asylum-seekers live in £44 / week and are not allowed to work, except as a volunteer..)
this will be an integrated project by providing opprtunities to take ownership of the project (joining the management committee, selling produce at farmer’s markets etc)
and that’s as far as we’ve got on this part… a trust needs to be set up and registered… which is the part that I am helping with at the moment
the owner is willing to donate several acres to this… not the full 150… for the reasons above (conservation and other purposes) and I’m sure he’d like to enjoy at least some of it himself
which is all very well… but i want to party the bastad 😀
quite a bit of the land is so ancient that even the grass is protected (rare devon grass!)… so the function of that is simply to let it exist and be conserved
the owner has already repaired a leat and wear
the land that has been farmed in recent years should be given the seal of approval by the soil assoc
amazing. i’ve done a fair bit of conservation in newcastle wiv me bird, and here in surrey. great fun, so satisfying and back to ur roots type thing. one of the best ways of helping people understand and appreciate nature, which if their is a god, is it. nature that is.
at present many learning disabled people are frustrated with the limited life offered by day centres (another game of darts, anyone? oh, that’s right, the darts were taken away from us cos of health and safety)
or given up on (care in the community = you can have some welfare as long as you take these pills)
or denyed a place altogther (asylum-seekers live in £44 / week and are not allowed to work, except as a volunteer..)
this will be an integrated project by providing opprtunities to take ownership of the project (joining the management committee, selling produce at farmer’s markets etc)
and that’s as far as we’ve got on this part… a trust needs to be set up and registered… which is the part that I am helping with at the moment
the owner is willing to donate several acres to this… not the full 150… for the reasons above (conservation and other purposes) and I’m sure he’d like to enjoy at least some of it himself
which is all very well… but i want to party the bastad 😀
its prolly worth getting some art in there, what with all the nature to draw and the thereputic qualities of creating..also the govt love handing out money to art, especially community based art.
check out nesta.org, theyve got stacks of cash to giver to projects such as yours. and just google “arts funding” etc, there are loads of bodies out there, if u can find a student, and actually get them to apply for the uni list of sponsors for expeditions, they’re all there. my girlfreind got £10,000 to go to mongolia and catalogue rock art with her mates, unrelated i know but goes to show it can be done!
another worthwhile focus for research to integrate is sustainability, which everyone loves hearing these days. if you run the centre as a sort of “living diagram” of how a building should be run/maintained theres way more money in it. plus you should do it anyway…grass rooves look phat. i found Brighton Center for peace and ecology well helpfull in trying to do the green makeover of the bass fayre in brighton, im sure u have an equivelent..
to make it work, you’re gonna have to integrate with the existing infrastructure, all the trusts and local conservation groups etc. threat them as colaborators, not competition and you should avoid treading on anyone toes.
im sure the youth in ur area could do with summat to do, verywhere in britain has the same problem. so a band practice room for the kids might be a good, sly venue you could hide away at the end of the property…
if theres anything i can do, gimme a shout.
quite a bit of the land is so ancient that even the grass is protected (rare devon grass!)… so the function of that is simply to let it exist and be conserved
the owner has already repaired a leat and wear
the land that has been farmed in recent years should be given the seal of approval by the soil assoc
amazing. i’ve done a fair bit of conservation in newcastle wiv me bird, and here in surrey. great fun, so satisfying and back to ur roots type thing. one of the best ways of helping people understand and appreciate nature, which if their is a god, is it. nature that is.
at present many learning disabled people are frustrated with the limited life offered by day centres (another game of darts, anyone? oh, that’s right, the darts were taken away from us cos of health and safety)
or given up on (care in the community = you can have some welfare as long as you take these pills)
or denyed a place altogther (asylum-seekers live in £44 / week and are not allowed to work, except as a volunteer..)
this will be an integrated project by providing opprtunities to take ownership of the project (joining the management committee, selling produce at farmer’s markets etc)
and that’s as far as we’ve got on this part… a trust needs to be set up and registered… which is the part that I am helping with at the moment
the owner is willing to donate several acres to this… not the full 150… for the reasons above (conservation and other purposes) and I’m sure he’d like to enjoy at least some of it himself
which is all very well… but i want to party the bastad 😀
its prolly worth getting some art in there, what with all the nature to draw and the thereputic qualities of creating..also the govt love handing out money to art, especially community based art.
check out nesta.org, theyve got stacks of cash to giver to projects such as yours. and just google “arts funding” etc, there are loads of bodies out there, if u can find a student, and actually get them to apply for the uni list of sponsors for expeditions, they’re all there. my girlfreind got £10,000 to go to mongolia and catalogue rock art with her mates, unrelated i know but goes to show it can be done!
another worthwhile focus for research to integrate is sustainability, which everyone loves hearing these days. if you run the centre as a sort of “living diagram” of how a building should be run/maintained theres way more money in it. plus you should do it anyway…grass rooves look phat. i found Brighton Center for peace and ecology well helpfull in trying to do the green makeover of the bass fayre in brighton, im sure u have an equivelent..
to make it work, you’re gonna have to integrate with the existing infrastructure, all the trusts and local conservation groups etc. threat them as colaborators, not competition and you should avoid treading on anyone toes.
im sure the youth in ur area could do with summat to do, verywhere in britain has the same problem. so a band practice room for the kids might be a good, sly venue you could hide away at the end of the property…
if theres anything i can do, gimme a shout.
whoops…im a plum ::)
one of the projects that I have been thinking of getting of the ground for a long time there is a farm in zone six that we ended up partying afew years back.well seemingly the farm was just falling into a state of disrepair.Yhe guy that owned it5 rented it to mod to carry out testing of chemical warfare drugs on pigs during the war,consequently the ground became contaminated and of no use so he cant farm it and noone wants to buy it.I thought we could get licence to live there and set up an artists community where people who needed to get outof london to detox etc could come,recover and learn new skills.Another one of my pie in the sky ideas that never seem to get of the ground for some reason
under the freedom of information act you may be able to find out just what the MOD did there to the unfortunate porkers, and therefore how just much contamination remains. (try the london borough first, they must have had some details of what was there as part of emergency planning/community safety operations – also lobby residents around the area who TBH have a right to know this!)
Some of the chemical agents used are particularly nasty and the poison can remain for a considerable time – OTOH the war ended 60 years ago and the danger level may well have decreased somewhat.
On the eastside of Reading there is a large gasworks; before north-sea gas was piped in in the 1970s coal was roasted here to provide “town gas” (the stuff full of carbon monoxide that people regularly used to top themselves with!). Making this gas produced by-products such as tar and napthalene.
These (often useful and valuable) by-products were stored in tanks and the contents drawn off for further processing elsewhere; but naturally some of the tar and other chemicals leaked into the ground around the gasworks due to leaks, spillages etc – it was discovered in the 1980s that much of this stuff may is bad for you if exposed to it constantly (it was often poisonous and carcinogenic).
Much of that area was deemed contaminated for many years; however fairly recently developers managed to buy the land, get permission to build on it (they still need to get environment surveys before this can be done) and there are now several housing estates on this land.
so its still worth a go – perhaps before some developers get it at cut price and turn it into yet another “london overspill sink estate” which just shifts the squalor and despair ever further…
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