I co-founded Kindling in 2007, with the aim of creating a fairer and more sustainable food system for all. My current role is to establish Kindling Farm, a pioneering community-owned agroforestry farm for the north west.

Through my Fellowship I researched the best models for increasing access to sustainable food in a city like Manchester. The lessons I learnt from the amazing co-ops and organisations I met on my trip were super-helpful for setting up a number of practical initiatives over the years. These included the first organic FarmStart training programme in the UK (in which I was also a trainee grower for the first five years), Manchester Veg People and Veg Box People co-operatives, set up to create a fairer market for the new and existing growers, and Woodbank Community Food Hub, set up to engage a wider range of people in food and increase access to all that lovely produce to all of our local communities.

My motivation stems from frustration at the destructive nature of our current food system. Gaining the knowledge to change this – creating a more ecologically and socially just food system – is possible and also offers a more desirable, hopeful way to live.