“Giving thanks for food and fellowship”

Celebrating Harvest Time

The theme of this newsletter is the celebration of harvest - and indeed we are reaping the rewards of our spring plantings, delighting our tastebuds with blueberries, sweetcorn, carrots and peas eaten straight from the gardens as we potter about. What lucky folks we are!

But, in truth, it’s not only of our harvest of delicious fruits and vegetables that makes us so fortunate, but also the harvest of all our collective efforts to cultivate relationships based on trust, respect, love and a deep passion for the land and the work that we do. It is truly a gift to work with likeminded souls.

In this edition of the newsletter you’ll see that we’ve been building connections with likeminded organisations all around Wales and also internationally, as well as welcoming visitors from near and far to our farm accommodation. It gives us great pleasure to share the beauty and abundance of the farm with those who appreciate and value the work that we do.

Our big news in this edition is the announcement of the second Pandy Farm Confest (Conference/Festival), which will take place this autumn. During the event we ask the question What is Local Food Security and Why Does it Matter? If you’re curious about why we’ve chosen this subject scroll down to the segment below on Professor Tim Lang’s report on Civil Food Resilience - it’s certainly food for thought!

Much of the philosophy of Pandy Farm is captured in the quote below by Wendell Berry, the American poet, writer and farmer, who expresses the relationship between work, place and people so eloquently. In even more simple terms our ethos is captured in the phrase which is our Pandy Farm moto “for food and fellowship we give thanks”.

Wendell Berry - Good Work

‘The name of our proper connection to the earth is “good work," for good work involves much giving of honour.

It honors the source of its materials; it honors the place where it is done; it honors the art by which it is done; it honors the thing that it makes and the user of the made thing. Good work is always modestly scaled for it cannot ignore either the nature of individual places or the differences between places, and it always involves a sort of religious humility, for not everything is known. Good work can be defined only in particularity, for it must be defined a little differently for every one of the places and every one of the workers on the earth.’

Announcing the Pandy Farm Autumn Confest!

Saturday October 4th, 2pm - 11pm

After the success of our Spring Confest (a blend of conference & festival), we are excited to announce another opportunity to celebrate the unique Pandy Farm vibe with lectures, discussions, farm tours, local food, great live music & dancing under the October Harvest Moon.

The focus for this event is exploring the question: What is Food Security and Why Does it Matter? Food is so ubiquitous that we often forget how much we depend on supermarkets to provide for our basic needs, but what would happen if the supermarket shelves were suddenly empty? What other reasons are there to ensure that plenty of healthy, nutritious food is grown locally?

We warmly invite anyone who is interested in this important topic to join us for an afternoon of conversation and celebration.

Earlybird tickets are now available for only £8 - click the button below to support local food production!

Buy our veg in Bethesda Wholefoods Cooperative

We are excited to collaborate with the Bethesda Wholefoods Coop, which is the longest running volunteer run cooperative in the country. Originally established in 1974 the co-op is run entirely by local people who care about affordable access to ethically sourced foods. As far as possible, all grains, pulses, dried fruits, herbs, spices, teas and household items are sourced from producers who pay fair wages and care for our planet in the process of making, growing and packaging their goods.

Alongside our veg bag scheme and Cosyn Cymru (the artisan cheesemaking factory and shop in Bethesda), a second outlet for our vegetables means that close to 100% of our veg is now consumed within the Dyffryn Ogwen valley. With our national food system’s heavy dependence on fossil fuels and cyber logistics, we celebrate that Pandy Farm and our local collaborators are helping to turn the tide and create local food systems that are resilient, affordable and sustainable.

The Bethesda Wholefood Coop is open on:

• Friday 4pm - 6 pm

• Saturday 12pm - 4pm

Harvest Hampers are now weekly!

A great way to help our farm is to support our veg box scheme. You don’t have to sign up to receive a box every week, but can join our WhatsApp Group group to see what’s in the weekly hamper and take it from there.

So how does our veg scheme work? On Saturday we send a WhatsApp message with what’s in the weeks hamper (and instructions on how to pay). Last orders are 10am on Tuesday. We harvest all the veg fresh that day for collection from the farm between 3pm and 8pm.

Since last year we’ve changed the system so that all the veg is presented in large crates. Simply bring a bag with you and select exactly which vegetables you want. If you don’t need much then there are options to take smaller quantities.

The cost is £12 per week for 6 items, there are also lots of extras available on the day including eggs and frozen berries.

New Farm Stall Coming Soon!

It’s been exciting to see our old tractor shed taking new shape and the front porch will soon become our self-serve farm stall where you can buy our lovely vegetables, hens eggs and frozen fruits seven days a week.

All the beautiful wooden cladding for our new building has been locally sourced and milled into planks right here on the farm. A special thanks to all the dedicated tradespeople who have worked so hard over the last few months to transform the building. Watch this space for more farm stall updates!

Landworkers Alliance Summer Gathering at Pandy Farm

This weekend a bunch of friendly faces braved the wind and rain to come together at Pandy Farm for the summer gathering of the North Wales branch of the Landworkers’ Alliance (LWA). They were rewarded for their efforts with lively conversation, good food and this beautiful rainbow at the end of the day!

The Landworkers’ Alliance is a grassroots union of farmers, foresters, and landworkers who are united by a vision: a world where everyone has access to healthy, affordable food, fuel, and fibre from trusted, local producers. The organisation campaigns for policies that supports small-scale producers, ensures living wages and safe working conditions, and a system that works in harmony with the natural world.

Workshops at the gathering explored membership services and political engagement, strategising to community organising, and climate resilience.

The gathering served not only as a learning opportunity, but also as a powerful reminder of what is possible when communities come together. With climate change, rising inequality, and an industrialised food system at the forefront of public concern, the work of the LWA is more vital than ever.

Just in Case: The State of Civil Food Resilience in the UK today

A report published in January 2025 by Professor Tim Lang is an inspiring call to action for UK citizens to build appropriate civil food resilience. Civil food resilience, according to Proffesor Lang, is “the capacity of people in their daily lives to be more aware of risks to food, more skilled in reducing unnecessary risks, and more prepared to act with others to ensure all society is well fed in and after crises. This cannot be left to the people to activate in an ad hoc way or on their own. It requires a process of learning, capacity-building and preparation”.

This important report is a sobering reflection of our nation’s vulnerability in the event of any major crisis that impacts the food logistics system on which we are entirely dependent. There is only three day’s worth of food in the UK at any given time, and currently no national storage of food.

As the recent cyber-attack on Marks & Spenser and the Food Coop showed, our supermarket shelves can empty very quickly if the ‘just-in-time’ logistics technology is interrupted. If we take into account our utter dependence on trucks and fossil fuels to transport food to feed us, it doesn’t take much imagination to see a worse-case scenario of empty supermarket shelves and national panic in the event of a major crisis.

You can read Tim Lang’s report here and if you’re inspired to take action please consider attending the Pandy Farm Confest this October where we will explore the question “What is Local Food Security and Why Does it Matter?”

Pandy Farm Joins Global Network of Ecosystem Restoration Communities

Pandy Farm has become the latest site to join the global network of Ecosystem Restoration Communities (ERCs), marking a significant step in its commitment to ecological regeneration and community-led environmental action.

As an ERC, Pandy Farm is now part of a worldwide movement dedicated to restoring natural systems and creating regenerative solutions for human and environmental well-being. These communities act as “living labs,” where volunteers, experts, and local residents collaborate to rehabilitate ecosystems and share knowledge globally.

Supported by the ERC Foundation through communications, knowledge exchange, and education, Pandy Farm aims to inspire both local and international visitors to take part in the growing global restoration movement.

With its new role, Pandy Farm is helping lead the way in building a future where people and planet thrive together. Those interested in starting their own ERC are encouraged to complete the self-assessment and join the movement of earth restorers.

Pandy Farm Stays

This year has been busy with visitors coming to the farm from all over the world. Our accommodation has been fully booked with families, hikers, city-folks and students coming from near and far to enjoy the wild beauty of Pandy Farm.

If you have friends and family coming to visit the area why not consider booking accommodation with us on the farm? It is a great way to support us and a wonderful way to give your guests a taste of rural life and regenerative farming.

Top attractions for kids have definitely been our happy hens closely followed by PYO blueberries and the big red tractor!

You can check out our accommodation options on our website or contact us directly to inquire.

“For food and fellowship we give thanks”