Join us for this very special Members’ only community gathering on the land here to mark the Calan Gaeaf and the end of the growing season! Also knowen as Samhain, this is a time when the land is turning towards it’s winter slumber, when the leaves fall and begin to decay to become the soil fertility for the following year. - the perfect time to get together and celebrate all of the food and nourishment that the land has provided us as a community!
In Celtic regions, the night of the 31st October & passage into 1st November has been celebrated for centuries as the Celtic fire festival of Samhain, and in Wales, Calan Gaeaf. For rural folk, Calan Gaeaf marks the end of the harvest season and it’s long association with death and the Dead - though different celebrations, this is where Halloween and Calan Gaeaf, or Samhain, are similar! Samhain has always been acknowledged as a time when the veil between the living and the dead is at its most thin. For us, working the land, watching the plant material die back, the leaves fall and start to decay and as we spread compost over beds before shutting them down for winter, it is when we are in most direct contact with the dying of things, the coming slumber, the death and decay that feeds life in the next cycle of the seasons. It’s a chance to reflect on death, the dead, and the rhythms and cycles of nature that connect us with them.
The day will include talks, a tour of the project, a community feast from Cegin y Werin, as well as mini cooking, preserving, nature connection and food growing workshops suitable for all ages! We’ll carve pumpkins, cook delicious winter treats and get together for a grand community composting session. There’ll even be music and a little storytelling, too!
Exploring local traditions and heritage not only gives life to the past, it also allows us to reimagine the world around us, connect our lives with the changing seasons and explore the natural world with fresh eyes. Join us to gather on the land the way folks’ once did to mark the changing seasons and celebrate the full bounty of the harvest and of our community!
We’re offering these events completely free of charge, though donations to our solidarity fund will be most welcome! Spaces are limited so book your place as soon as possible.