Community supported agriculture… It’s quite a mouthful isn’t it?  And even more to get your head round.

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been asked the question: “How are your allotments going?”  Or: “What’s the latest on your veg box scheme?”

This sort of remark is kindly meant, of course.  But sometimes it makes me want to scream: “That’s not what we’re about.  We’re a community supported agriculture project.”

Which means little to 99.9% of the people I come across.

A community supported agriculture (CSA) project has very specific characteristics.  It aims to reconnect people with the land where their food is grown.  It’s a partnership between farmers and members of the local community.  The economic risks and benefits are shared between those who grow the food and those who consume it.

Local food

It’s all part of an expanding grassroots movement found across Europe, Japan, the US and Australia.  It comes in many different shapes and sizes – from large farms supplying produce to hundreds of regular subscribers to small community food-growing projects like ours at St Kew Highway in north Cornwall.

It can be hard work, as it nearly always requires some voluntary input.  But the common thread running through every single initiative is a willingness to co-operate over food production, to connect with the land and to commit to working with the seasons to produce a steady supply of local food.

And that’s why those of us who belong to Camel Community Supported Agriculture are proud to be part of this growing movement.

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