Book Review #4: The Fight for Fordhall Farm

So far in my (very irregular) series of book reviews, all the titles so far have started with the letters co-op.... . This time, the word only appears once or twice in the whole text, but the book overflows with what Co-operation means regardless.

The Fight for Fordhall Farm concerns the trials and tribulations faced by tenant farmers of the eponymous smallholding over the last five years. They've had a fair amount of publicity during this period - I failed to notice the story until last year when I posted about them on this blog - and now that their tenancy with the community as a landlord is secured, they've written a book to tell their story

Ben and Charlotte Hollins grew up on Fordhall farm, a place made famous in the embryonic organic movement by their enlightened, if eccentric, father Arthur. The family was as much a part of the farm as the meadows and the woodland - the land had been tended by Hollins's for generations and the walls echoed to parties of years past when the farm had been a fashionable place for friends of the family to come for entertainment. Unfortunately, they were tenants not owners, and all it would take for their parents and them to be removed from their farm for ever was a mistimed rent payment and an interest in their land by the giant Muller dairy product manufacturer.

With their parents unable to fight for their farm, Ben and Charlotte took up the struggle themselves, managing to change the council's local plan to remove most of their farm from development status. This, combined with months of negotiation with the landlords led to the two of them obtaining a tenancy for themselves, but this was short-term and didn't provide the security that they required to make the sort of investment that the run-down farm needed.

Meanwhile, a fortuitous series of events led to an awareness of their plight amongst a variety of people - and slowly the idea of a community solution of their problem presented itself. The Fordhall Community Land Initiative was launched, and set about starting to raise money to buy the farm. The reason why this blog is concerned with the story, is that the Initiative was set up as an Industrial and Provident Soceity - and so this was, in effect, a Co-operative solution.

It is to the credit of Ben and Charlotte that they impressed their landlords to such a degree that they agreed a sale should they be able to raise £800,000 in a few months. Money was raised by selling shares - at £50 a pop - in the initiative; by receiving donations and asking for loans from individuals and organisations alike. Although the Tridos Bank came up with a £200,000 loan, the most of the rest came from individuals buying one or two shares, or loaning a few pounds interest free for five years - a true example of what can happen when people act in unison for a common cause. The fact that they reached their target is a testament to the farm's inspirational cause, and to the selflessness of the contributors. It was fantastic reading about this very personal story of the writers that had a happy ending thanks to thousands of others.

I actually feel very guilty that, during those last few nerve-wracking weeks in 2006 before the purchase deadline when every £50 counted, I was blisfully unaware of the drama unfurling in Shropshire! The Co-op News pointed my attention towards Fordhall in 2007, and I have now become the proud owner of a few shares. Fordhall continue to welcome new shareholders as further capital is required to help pay off that bank loan, as well as investing in the Farm to help realise its potential as an educational centre.

So Ben and Charlotte are still tenant farmers - but their landlords are a co-operative with interests pretty much coincident with theirs. Everyone concerned wants to give the plucky twosome a chance in the job that they love, and wants to turn Fordhall into an educational centre dedicated to the organic principles pioneered by Arthur Hollins. Ben and Charlotte have a secure 100 year tenancy - and it is no less than they deserve, given their dedication.

I'm not sure how the authors would take to my classification of this book as a must-read for Co-operators. Co-operation is not the star of this book - that status belongs to Arthur Hollins, his farm and its land, and his children who never knew when to give up. But regardless, this book describes co-operation as it should be like - a vehicle to let people band together in a common aim and let dreams come true.

If you want to buy The Fight for Fordhall Farm you can do so on the farm's online shop - which also sells non-intensively produced meat from the farm.

Previous Book Reviews:

1. Co-op - The People's Business
2. Co-operative Principles - Today and Tomorrow
3. Co-operation's Prophet