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Community Supported
Agriculture (CSA) Scheme
CSA schemes operate with the consumer sharing some of the risk with the
farmer. Consumers pay a regular fee and receive a weekly basket of fruit
and vegetables. Members often have the opportunity to help out with the
growing of the food and often harvest their own food directly.
Advantages include:
-
knowing what has (or
hasn't) been added to your food such as herbicides and pesticides
-
eating fresh food
rather than food that has been stored and transported and lost much of
its value
-
reducing the
transportation cost of food because it is being grown and consumed
locally
-
farmers
receiving a fair price for the food that they grow
According to a Nine National
News story from Monday 9th May 2005,
Australians waste 3.3 million tonnes of food annually. Not only is the
food wasted but also the water used to produce it and the fuel used to
transport it. As the article says, it's "criminal". CSA schemes
help reduce
waste because consumers harvest only what they need, the food is fresher,
and is transported and stored less.
See
http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/csa/csafarmer.htm
to find more about CSA schemes.
A CSA Scheme at SomerVille is
considered a "Core Enterprise". As such, support is available for a person
or persons wishing to take on this business.
The CSA survey launched in
March 2005 attracted 65 responses over a three week period, and helped
show the demand for such a business.
The aim is to have drop off
points in two locations down the hill to make it easy for as many people as
possible to become part of the scheme now regardless of where they live. CSA
members will have a financial incentive to contribute with some hours of
work.
 A
group of passionate potential farmers (or at least consumers!) got together
in May 2005 to further the SomerVille Ecovillage™ Community Supported
Agriculture (CSA) Scheme. People shared their expectations and experience of CSAs, the survey results were presented and research findings from elsewhere
in Australia and overseas was considered. Carmel Bainbridge from
Mimsbrook Farm
came along and inspired us with stories of running her own
CSA scheme at
Mimsbrook Farm near Armadale in Perth. After lunch, an area of land
between Walnut Cottage and the future village centre was identified as the
best area to start the scheme (see photo below). A core CSA group has been formed
to proceed with the project. You can view the
photos from the day.
Some of the next steps
involved may include some or all of the following:
-
Finding a source of
local organic food until our own scheme is productive
-
Update this web page to
keep people informed about the scheme and how they can get
involved
-
Determine cost for
families compared to singles
-
Investigate the costs
and benefits of organic and biodynamic certification
-
Recruit 50 financially
committed members to ensure we have an appropriate economy of scale to
start the scheme
-
Install fencing and
plant a green manure crop as a first step to improving the soil
-
Coordinate donations such as compost
-
Consider synergy with
other proposed businesses at
SomerVille
-
Investigate options for
making Permaculture Education available to members
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Investigate options for
external labour such as the Work for the Dole scheme, woofers
-
Prepare an information pack for
prospective members
You can register to receive the information pack
and we will send it out once it is ready.
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