Skyline Bro Ffestiniog

There was no such thing as a supermarket when our grandparents were children. In every town there were small, specialist shops selling some imported items and lots of domestically produced ones. Almost every house had fruit and vegetables growing in their back garden. 

They made their own preserves and jams. Some even brewed their own beer or wine. They helped each other at harvest time and they shared each other’s successes and failures. There were very few chemicals in the food they ate back then, and large-scale industrial farming techniques were only just being invented. 

In short, our food systems were healthier, tastier and more robust. There was more biodiversity, and less mental health problems or food allergies.

That is the mission of the Skyline project in Bro Ffestiniog: to bring food and fuel and knowledge back to the communities in which it used to thrive. Together we are setting up a functional, efficient market garden, a sustainable, affordable firewood business and a traditional skills centre where we will teach the old ways to the new generations. 

With funding from the Welsh Assembly and in partnership with Y Dref Werdd, we will be starting work in early summer on three sites in and around Blaenau Ffestiniog. 

Volunteers will be essential to the project and will be provided with excellent BBQs and endless cups of tea, as well as the heart-warming knowledge that they are contributing to something real and positive. To find out more or to volunteer, go to