We have around 40 acres of agricultural land in our care.
We believe that farming should be about holistically restoring and enhancing the natural fertility of the soil, which in turn boosts the health of the ecosystem and the well-being of the community.
We believe that our farm is not only a place to grow food sustainably but also to cultivate a sense of community through connections with the land that inspire discovery and learning.
Our original farming partner, the Apricot Centre, will be leaving the land in May 2025. There are more details of the thinking behind their decision in this joint statement.
We have responded to these changed circumstances by looking again at how we think about this land and what might happen on it, in a project we call The Honourable Harvest.
This asks two fundamental questions:
How might we improve our relationship with the land by viewing it as kin, rather than just a resource?
What might be best suited for the land as we understand its needs better?
We’ve looked at the first question through a series of workshops in July 2024, and are planning to start our conversations around the second one in the autumn. If you have any ideas for land-based activities that meet our aspirations for regenerative agriculture, align with our wider vision for the project and might help to secure our longer-term financial security, then please let us know.
The Apricot Centre will be leaving the land at Bowden Pillars Farm at the end of May 2025. This has not been an easy decision, nor is it what either the Apricot Centre or Bowden Pillars Future would have wished for when the project began. However, in the months since the share offer it has become clear that a long-term agricultural tenancy on 33 acres of farmland, which is what was originally envisaged, won’t now meet the wider financial needs of the project as a whole.
Bowden Pillars Future may in future want to allocate some of the farmland to other regenerative farming partners to generate income. However, without guaranteed long-term use of the full 33 acres at Bowden Pillars it isn’t possible for the Apricot Centre to commit the investment needed to put its own farming plans into practice, so with regret we have jointly agreed to a 12-month notice period and are finalising the details of an exit plan.
The Apricot Centre has been a key partner in the Bowden Pillars Future project since shortly after the idea of buying the farm for the benefit of the community was first mooted. Bowden's Core Group acknowledges the enormous amount of time and enthusiasm that the Apricot Centre, particularly Marina O’Connell and Bob Mehew, gave so freely to the project. We record our deep gratitude for their contributions. Bob has now resigned from the board of BPF Ltd.
The Apricot Centre will continue to look after its 33 acres until spring of next year, by which time the conversion to organic status will have been completed. It plans to keep cattle in some of the barns over the winter to help it to recoup its initial investment in green manures, and aims to leave Bowden Pillars farm without making a financial loss on the venture.
In the meantime, both organisations will be exploring other options and alternatives. The Apricot Centre is seeking suitable agricultural land to farm on a long-term tenancy where it can grow grain for Dartington Mill. Bowden Pillars Future is looking for other partners who will work with us and the land within our care to create a place where nature, community and farming can grow together.
For further information please contact Ian Hague at hello@bowdenpillarsfuture.land or Marina O'Connell at info@apricotcentre.co.uk.