by Anne MacLennan
ReRoot: Working together to create a more connected, healthy, sustainable and resilient food economy in Broadford and beyond.
ReRoot is a loose grouping of people concerned about the food system overall. That’s from soil health, production, processing, packaging, and transport, to food security, affordability and waste.
Soil health was the focus of our latest film evening, which showcased regenerative agriculture in the US, but that is different to Skye and Lochalsh! Regeneration of our land looks back to the past and forward to the future to optimise the present. We can learn from the wisdom and practice of former generations right here and from indigenous communities around the world to work with nature. We have to do that if we are to secure food supplies, restore biodiversity and manage climate for a tolerable future. We have many advantages over previous centuries though, in accumulated knowledge, collaborative networking and access to a greater range of seeds and other resources.
Scotland has many individuals and communities practising regenerative techniques. Propagate is based in the south west, but welcomes others to its network. We enjoyed their 50 minute documentary last year. SRUC, Scotland’s Rural College has produced this nice overview of regenerative farming and WWF has created a roadmap for Scotland to transition to regenerative farming. Meantime the Highland Good Food Partnership is supporting Farmer Clusters for farmers and crofters to collaborate in land management, not specifically labelled as regenerative, but largely consistent with regeneration of land and community.
Perhaps ReRoot should add Food Resilience as a concern. The European Union has recently advised citizens to stockpile at least 3 days worth of food, water and other essentials in case of food shocks, due to natural disasters, disease, geopolitical disruption or any other cause. When I lived in New Zealand, this was the norm as part of earthquake preparedness. In February a UK report found that Britain is ill-prepared to cope with food shocks. Our diets, tastes, and food supply chains have changed markedly in the past 75 years. We’ve become used to plentiful and diverse foodstuffs unrelated to seasons, relying on a system with a just-in-time approach to food distribution and logistics.
Those who have resources can individually stockpile, but how do we ensure that everyone will be adequately fed during and after a crisis? One recommendation of the report is that people should be helped (by Government) to develop their skills, capacity and confidence in their community’s resilience potential, wherever they live. How would it work in Skye? Does ReRoot have a role?
