A co-op which runs a regenerative farm in north Wales has launched a community share offer with a £80,000 target, towards the £400k it is looking to raise for its development plans.
The team at Tyddyn Teg – which means ‘fair farm’ in Welsh – says it wants to farm “in a way that is fair for nature, our workers and the community we serve”.
Since 2015, they have been building the skills needed “to grow high quality vegetables consistently and reliably in a way that doesn’t destroy land or water, and to function as an authentic power-sharing co-operative”.
The co-op now serves about 180 local families who are subscribers to its year-round vegetable scheme, runs an onsite farm shop that is a sales hub for other local regenerative producers, and supplies shops in Bangor and Caernarfon.
Minimum investment in the share offer is £100, with interest rate on shares projected to be 3%, paid annually from the first year of investment as shares which will accrue to an investor’s share account. Withdrawals will be allowed after three years on a first-come-first-served basis.
“In nature, diversity is resilience and we want to be resilient,” says the co-op, “so we are diversifying the ownership of the farm through the community share offer while we diversify the management of the farm through being a workers’ co-operative with flexible membership.
“This means that the future of the farm does not depend on the commitment and resources of only a few people. If someone needs to cash in their investment, they can and nothing is derailed because there are many people with shares.
“If a worker wants to move on and put their energy somewhere else, they can because there are many workers. We can replace both shareholders and workers over time because our system is stable and diverse enough to deal with change.”
The co-op is looking for £400,000 so it can transfer ownership of the land and business to the community, and upgrade its facilities – fixing pot-holed tracks, building a site office and accessible customer toilet, making a new farmyard and extending the car park and upgrading tracks and public rights of way..
Investors will become a member of Tyddyn Teg with the right to attend its AGM and elect representatives.
