Hadau - sowing the seeds of Spring and celebrating Welsh seed stories
On the first Saturday of each month, we welcome a gathering of folks to the farm for a Community Farm day - a blend of practical community work on the land, a bring and share lunch and, thanks to support from the National Lottery Community Fund ‘Awards for All’ programme, a rich afternoon programme of free taster sessions, workshops and speakers. There is often activities for children, fire and plenty of opportunities for connecting, sharing music and stories and getting to know the beautiful 134 acres of Lords Park farm. Each month, we gather around a different theme, tied to the season and what is happening on the land - and in March our theme was seeds, hadau.
We are so glad that our friend and long-term collaborator, photographer and filmmaker Jason Elberts from A Great Alternative was again on hand to capture the day and all of its most magical moments. So what follows is a photo essay of a day of celebrating the seeds and Welsh seed and food stories…..
Musician, storyteller and historian of Welsh agriculture and foodways, Owen Shiers (Cynefin) asks “What’s in a seed…?”
To hold a seed in the hand is to hold something far greater than a future crop; it is to cradle a living thread of memory, culture and possibility. Open-pollinated seeds, shaped not in laboratories but through wind, insect and time, carry within them a genetic generosity - a capacity to adapt, evolve and belong — making them vital in an age of ecological uncertainty . When these seeds are saved and shared locally, they root themselves ever more deeply into the soils and seasons of place, becoming attuned to the particularities of Welsh rain, wind and light, and strengthening the resilience of both land and community . Heritage varieties, passed hand to hand across generations, are not relics but living archives: each one carrying stories, skills and flavours that risk being lost in the wake of industrial agriculture and the erosion of biodiversity .
In Wales, these seed stories matter profoundly — they are part of a wider cultural remembering, reconnecting people to language, landscape and lineage, and affirming a quiet sovereignty over our food and future. To save seed, then, is an act of care and resistance, a commitment to carry forward not only diversity in our fields, but the stories, relationships and belonging that make a culture whole.
And that’s what our Community Farm day in March was all about.
Laura Lumsden, Glasbren director and coordinator of the Incredible Seed Library, shares seeds and information on why open-pollinated, local seed is important…
Volunteers sow the seeds of pollinator plants, flowers and vegetables for the growing season ahead, whilst learning about seed breeding and selection from our head grower, Sam.
Head grower Sam coordinates a group of seed sowers, and shares knowledge about seed breeding and how we choose seeds here at Glasbren…
Sowing seeds can be delicate work for nimble fingers…
Small hands are often the best! All generations gather on our Community Farm days, all learning from each other….
Doing seasonal farm tasks as a group offers so many opportunities or conversation, knowledge sharing and connection…
Roving community seed spreaders introducing diverse grasses, herbs and wildflowers to the pasture at Lords Parc….
Bring and share lunches mean the spread is always varied and delicious!
Lunchtime is a great chance to catch up with old friends or meet new ones…
Gathering at the fireside to hear music, poetry and stories of Welsh seed and foodways…..
Our guests for the afternoon, author Carwyn Graves and musician and oat grower Owen Shiers, take questions from audience about how we can better connect with Welsh food, Welsh seeds and Welsh land, in front of a rousing call to action from Martín Prechtel (see below)…..
Welsh language poems help keep the stories of Welsh food, seeds and agricultural life ways alive…. Carwyn shared some beautiful ones with us all.
Where is your 'Cynefin’?
Carwyn Graves, author of ‘Tir: The Story of the Welsh Landscape’
Owen Shiers of Cynefin shares songs that hold the stories of Wales’ oat and wheat growing past….
How can simple ritual reconnect us with the seeds, foods and land of Wales?
What can we learn from the stories of the past, and from the seeds themselves about how to live with the land in our times….?
“Turn that worthless lawn into a beautiful garden of food whose seeds are stories sown, whose foods are living origins. Grow a garden on the flat roof of your apartment building, raise bees on the roof of your garage, grow onions in the iris bed, plant fruit and nut trees that bear, don’t plant ‘ornamentals’, and for God’s sake don’t complain about the ripe fruit staining your carpet and your driveway; rip out the carpet, trade food to someone who raises sheep for wool, learn to weave carpets that can be washed, tear out your driveway, plant the nine kinds of sacred berries of your ancestors, raise chickens and feed them from your garden, use your fruit in the grandest of ways, grow grapevines, make dolmas, wine, invite your fascist neighbors over to feast, get to know their ancestral grief that made them prefer a narrow mind, start gardening together, turn both your griefs into food; instead of converting them, convert their garage into a wine, root, honey, and cheese cellar—who knows, peace might break out, but if not you still have all that beautiful food to feed the rest and the sense of humor the Holy gave you to know you’re not worthless because you can feed both the people and the Holy with your two little able fists.”
Join us in April for our next Community Farm day, themed Gwanwyn - Spring - when we’ll be doing a big communal Spring planting, planting our Caseg Fedi in ceremony and enjoying some extra special Spring workshops with our very own Lottie and Chloe (see below).
Our April Community Farm day will be followed by an extra special Dawn Birdsong walk early on Sunday morning with nature-connection guide and founder of Glasbren, Abel, and local ecologist and birdsong expert Tim Hollis. If you’d like to attend both, we are offering people to book camping spots here at the farm. Book your ticket and camping spot for that here.
