"Grain is so interconnected. Pick at any thread - soil health, food poverty, climate change, job satisfaction, wheat intolerance, genetic diversity - and you realise that it’s entangled, conceptually and practically, with every other thread. That entanglement is the whole point.” - Katie Revell

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In collaboration with Alex Goodman (artist and head grower at Purple Patch, Bristol), we have been growing a test bed of 5 different grains (April Bearded, WSU Purple, Marigertoba, Black Oats and Amaranth) . This project is exploring the growing of heritage grains and population wheats as a way of reconnecting us to the land, to the seasons, our food systems, and to what we eat. 

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As the project progresses, our aim is to bring local people and communities together to celebrate and take part in the growing process, the harvesting, the milling and the eating. Drawing on traditional craft techniques and rituals associated with growing practices, we will we create costumes and made objects from the straw and left over fibres from our harvest. 

 

With thanks to Rosie and Fred from Gothelney Farm for supplying us with wheat seed, to Gerald Miles for the Welsh Black oats, and to Purple Patch for the growing space. 

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photo credit - Cecile Pojul

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