Reclaim the Fields Spring Gathering 2012 - details & updates

Reclaim the Fields Spring Gathering
@ The Wilderness Centre, Mitcheldean, Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, GL17 0HA

Pre-Gathering Help needed:

Anyone interested in helping out with the running/ setting up of the event, should come to the Wilderness asap. If you're interested in giving a talk, or demonstrating a skill - get in contact, or just show up and arrange to use one of the "spaces" available with one of the Protect The Wilderness Crew.

The provisional timetable includes:

Thursday 9th:

*Introduction to Reclaim the Fields - where we've come from and recent action, including feedback from the European Gathering.
* Wilderness Centre introduction & housekeeping
*Open Introductions; introduce your self & your projects & continue networking with our noticeboard

The remainder of the day is designed around open spaces, giving people a chance to work & communicate around these suggestions so far:

*WWOLF (woofing with teeth) and Reclaim the Field Trips
*Seed Sovereignty & grower-to-grower seed distribution networks
*Carrots session e.g. RTF internal structure/sharing workloads
*Using the food sovereignty principles as a strategic framework - (in a UK context)
*How to organise & maintain effective land occupations
*Composting gender
*Planning for International Peasants Day of Struggle on April 17th
*Legal options for accessing land
*Protecting bee populations

Friday 10th:

*Session on general Reclaim the Fields strategy and focuses for 2012
Workshops and talks:
*An introduction to land rights 
*History of Land rights struggles in the Forest of Dean

Followed by a consensus based guerilla gardening action... remains open to suggestions!
(ideas so far...)
*Food forest, in an abandoned quarry
*Care home for the elderly
* Clear-felled Forestry land
* Victorian walled garden

Saturday 11th:

Protect The Wilderness open skill-share day!
Seed swap, Community bring and share.
Gardening the organic community garden, and walled garden.
Music and feasting!

Not forgetting gardening, charcoal burning, baking in the cob oven, seedbomb making, cobbing the round-house, and chopping wood through-out!

£5 suggested donation per day, no one will be turned away for lack of funds.

Items to bring:
 Warm clothes, two sets (if you mind being muddy) 
bedding, camping mats
tools for g-gardening [spades, forks, mattocks, billhooks]
Instruments, dancing shoes,
 seeds for seedbombs, 
home-grown veg, pickles, jams, whole foods

More info about the Wilderness Centre:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Protect-the-Wilderness-Centre-Forest-of-Dean/321890141176064
Who to contact for more information: use the RTF UK email list or email  frankynecklace@yahoo.co.uk

Gourds work be done,

Protect The Wilderness, 
Reclaim the Fields!

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Background info: Reclaim the Fields is a constellation of people and collective projects willing to go back to the land and reassume the control over food production. We are determined to create alternatives to capitalism through cooperative, collective, autonomous, real needs oriented small scale production and initiatives, putting theory into practice and linking local practical action with global political struggles.

You can find more about us, our struggles & more resources such as downloadable zines here: www.reclaimthefields.org.uk