You've read it here first....
Site confirmed!...
We are very please to announce that the Duchy of Cornwall have granted us a lease on 2 acres of land at Parkway Farm to the South of Weymouth College Construction Centre at Poundbury to establish a community garden and farm for Dorchester residents.

We are just finalising details from the Duchy about any site constraints and then there will be an on-site open day to launch the project, gather volunteers, support and ideas.

As yet we do not have a formal management group for this project, so we are looking for people to take on this exciting opportunity as well as getting involved in practical things.

Get your thinking heads on and ready the working boots!

To keep up to date with what's planned or to volunteer please email Ian at: -

food(at)transitiontowndorchester(dot)org


Steve

The Local Food Database for your perusal is up and running but expect a few hiccups until it's established. There are, however, precious few entries on it. It's your turn to help now.
If you happen to use any supplier of Locally sourced food e.g. eggs, veg, preserves, purchased from the roadside/farm gate, but not restricted to these please can you let me know. Maybe you know a Farm Gate meat/poultry supplier. Then I can enter the details on the database. Essential is a location (postcode, GPS co-ordinates) so we can find them, and desirable is a phone number and name.
If he hasn't done it already the database will be linked from the TTD website by Steve, Otherwise have a look here.
There's some good suppliers out there. Let's use them

Call me sad (many do) but whilst guzzling my midmorning cuppa on Sunday I had the box on. You see, it was too cold to do the garden. My excuse and I'm sticking to it!
Country Tracks was on and one item was all about the West Yorkshire town of Todmorden. I'd read about their success of creating an "Edible Town" from elsewhere - and it got me thinking. Check their project out here and here.
We've got loads of tiny pockets of land in and around Dorchester that could support herbs and salad veg for anybody to use - either planting their own or harvesting others work.
I'd love to see it happen.

Anybody fancy a bit of Guerrilla Gardening?

Ian

Above: a new kind of handy-craft is learned at our first workshop in May

Above: firing up the oven for yummy pizzas – hot stuff!

-

This hands-on workshop covers the building process, and includes all the natural materials required to make an earth oven….(and it doesn’t just end there)….pizzas will be baked in the earth oven for tea!

-

Earth ovens are simple, low-cost and fun to build. Ideal for baking delicious bread and pizzas, they can be rustic, beautiful and functional, making wonderful additions to any home garden

-

This workshop is a great introduction to earthen construction and how natural building techniques can be used to transform your world. The same technique has been used for centuries for making ovens, walls and houses

-

It aims to inspire/ to make exciting structures from free natural materials you can find locally. Be the envy of your friends and neighbours!….welcome to the ultimate Transition consumer must have!..

• Happy days!
• START: 9am with a nice cuppa tea
• FINISH: tea time, at dusk
• To give everyone a ‘hands on’ experience we have decided to limit numbers to 12 people maximum
• PRICE: £10 per person paid in advance (this covers costs)
• Donations to Transition Town Dorchester are welcome which help to provide further events

To book a place on this event, please register your interest by emailing : info(AT)transitiontowndorchester(DOT)org

-

Map of the venue: