The Feast

An exploration of the politics, poetry and possibilities of food as a catalyst for change

£200 (some concessions available)
Oct 29-31
Friday 6pm - Sunday 4pm
Facilitators Toni Spencer and Tina Sharman

• How does a deeper connection with the ‘wild’ influence the choices we make?
• Where do our eating habits contradict our personal values?
• Have you ever eaten acorns, nettles or squirrels? (or food from a dustbin?!)

We invite you to a sensual, playful and provocative weekend enquiring into the wild, the nfamiliar and the undervalued.

You will learn practical skills including: wild food identification; new recipes and processes and mindfulness techniques.

We will engage with fresh approaches and challenging questions around food culture, waste, scarcity and abundance.

Whether you are a chef or an artist, a social entrepreneur or an activist, a home maker or a professional change agent: come and play!

Different dietary choices and needs will be respected.

The Context
Our current consumption habits and global food systems are not working. As a response:

• How can we find creative responses to the complexity and urgency of our times?
• How much food do we really need?
• How much do we waste? How much pleasure do you get from your food?

This weekend will include practical skills and playful approaches. In this exploration we will also see how shifting our attitudes to food can help a wider inspiration / engagement with creating more sustainable lifestyles.

The Food

We are passionate about food; as eaters, cooks, growers and foragers. We are engaged in an ongoing enquiry that involves a dance between ideals and compromise that we are excited about sharing with you.
We are interested in using foods that are not valued, seen as weeds or waste. We are curious about whether less is more.

Ingredients will include wild, cultivated, feral, tame and glut foods*. Any meat will be wild and there will be minimal organic dairy products. This will be supplemented with some organic and Fairtrade produce from the Embercombe larder. Please let us know any essential dietary needs.

The Process

Alongside the practical journey, we will engage in deep conversation and a creative process. Drawing on Deep Ecology and embodiment practices, we’ll delve into what it feels like to meet ourselves and our food as part of an inderdependant living system.

By being at Embercombe we’ll touch on what it is to live communally, to compromise, to co-operate, and to find a sense of home with others.

Some shorter sessions will be held throughout the year preparing for this course, engaging with the seasons and particular skills. Info will be sent out nearer time. Do keep in touch with the website…

The Celebration

We will create a glorious banqueting space together. We will dress up (bring your glad rags), give thanks and indulge in the fruits of all our labours. Let’s toast the worms, the bees and the many who enable us to thrive!

The Facilitators

Toni and Tina have many years of experience trying, testing and delighting in wild and seasonal foods.

Tina is the Catering manager at Embercombe and plays an active role in the garden. She is an intuitive and inventive maker using natural or waste materials.

Toni is a facilitator, forager and artist. She is on the faculty at Schumacher College, involved in Transition Town Totnes and has been working with wild food for over 10 years. She is currently immersed in an exploration of the wild and the mundane.

The Practicals

Cost includes facilitation, accommodation and all meals from Friday evening to Sunday lunchtime.

Accommodation in shared yurts, each with wood burning stoves (bring your own bedding).

We serve organic, home-cooked vegetarian meals cooked with produce from our garden and other organic ingredients.

A collection to & from Exeter St Davids is possible.

To register or for more information contact Clare@embercombe.co.uk or 01647 252 983

Click here for the poster/flyer.

*Food
Ingredients will include wild, cultivated (from the garden), feral (self-seeded beyond the ‘garden’), tame (wild foods brought into the garden) and glut (grew too many!) foods.