Oxford Real Farming Conference Reflections
Photo by Natasha.
The Oxford Real Farming Conference (ORFC) brings the grassroots food and farming movement together around agroecology and food sovereignty every January.
Words by KIN’s Event Producer and Communications Lead, Natasha.
Nearly a month after attending the conference, I still find myself energised by the conversations within the space. This is due to several sessions where the wisdom and energy shared with and between fellow attendees have stayed with me. The highlights include the Community, Food, Land, Nature; Local and Global Perspectives panel where the conversation moved between allotments as utopic spaces where we can build community power, how teachings from the Global South - specifically Masaai land traditions might be applied to land reform in Scotland, and access to farmland across the UK. Panelist JC Niala reminded us that the land is our ‘common ancestor’, whilst the whole conversation prompted us to hold the importance of tending to the land, to acknowledge the trauma that might exist between the land and its people, and how creativity can be used to encourage or further connections between communities and land.
Following on, the From Ubuntu To Kapwa: Earth Wisdom And Regenerative Design In Food Systems session continued some of these discussions through an intergenerational conversation from a global and indigenous perspective. The contributors spoke to alternative economic practices where ‘food is the love economy’ and ‘coming together is the economy of love’. This was practiced as we were held through rituals involving seed sharing, conversation and movement together and with our ancestors. We were encouraged to set intentions for the seeds we had been given and to share with the person sitting next to us how we might honour these intentions once we leave the space. I intended to love abundantly.
On the final day, I attended the workshop Where Liberatory Gardens And Farming Meet, part of the Justice strand. Described as a ‘soft space for conversations about working towards liberation through tending the land’, we heard from land workers Shama Khanna, Rae Hippolyte, Idman Abdurahaman who each work on various growing projects. This space felt different from the rest of the conference; floor cushions, candles burning, music and a deep breathing exercise facilitated as we arrived into the session. I was grateful to experience some softness amid a conference. In groups, we discussed prompts to Imagine what a liberatory growing spaces would look like. My group spent time sharing various care practices we felt were needed which included; modelling rest practices for each other, collective decision-making, creating healthy boundaries, and centering joyfulness as an act of liberation.
As someone with an emerging and evolving land practice, I found the conference a much-needed space to develop my passion for land and food sovereignty in an embodied way. With an acknowledgement of the ongoing crises and injustices across geographies, I left feeling more hopeful about the future - and with tangible methods for practicing liberation now.
I would like to give a mention to Dee Woods and Josina Calliste who shared their work at the conference and who are part of the Kinfolk Network. You can learn more about them here and here.
Finally, I want to shout out Solidarity Across Land Trades (SALT), a new grassroots trade union organising for fairer conditions, solidarity, care and justice. You can find out more about SALT here.
This blog is part of our strategy to create and share resources which are radical and irresistible. By doing so, we hope to make a space for co-learning and collective knowledge between Black activists.
Further Resources:
The Sankofa Report - British Colonialism and the UK food system
