Kindling Farm co-op has launched a community shares campaign as it tries to raise £650,000 to buy a site on the outskirts of Manchester.
The co-op says it will use the pioneering practices of agroforestry, growing wildlife-friendly and organic fruit, veg, cereals and pulses.
Co-founder Helen Woodcock said: “We have launched this community share offer – to establish a farm owned by you, its community. Kindling Farm is about coming together to find practical solutions to the ecological crisis we are in. It is about hope, it is about social change and it is about creating a farming blueprint for our future, right here in the north west of England. We hope you will join us.”
The offer has attracted more than 180 investors, commiting more than £410,000 in less than two weeks, with the assistance of Co-operatives UK, Power to Change and their Booster Programme, which matched the first £100,000.
Kindling Farm says it is “founded on strong ethics and values which all co-operatives share, of social benefit and co-operation by giving voice to communities, and supporting people by providing a localised, democratic and community-owned food production system.”
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Kindling – small organisation based in Manchester, “focusing on challenging the industrialised food system”, has been working to make Kindling Farm a reality for over a decade.
It adds: “The impacts of Covid on the wellbeing of our society has shown us that we need to support communities more than ever and improve the food system upon which we all rely.
“The uncertainty of Brexit has further highlighted our lack of food sovereignty in this country, and how much we need to build resilience in our agriculture to face these uncertainties as well as a changing climate. Resilient methods of farming, localised power for communities, and greater access to healthy produce is what the future of food looks like, and Kindling Farm is set to be a huge part in that.”
The share offer closes on 3 July, with a minimum investment of £200. It offers interest in shares of up to 3% – with the standard warnings of capital risk and non-guaranteed returns.
For more information on the share offer email [email protected], or visit Ethex.org.uk/invest/kindling-farm
You can find out more about the Kindling at: https://kindling.org.uk, or by calling them on 0161 818 8384.
