Last weekend I was invited, as a trustee of the Permaculture Association, to deliver a workshop about permaculture and sustainable economics, at the Radical Routes and Rootstock conference, at Conway Hall in London. The title of the conference was Practical Economics - and the general theme of the workshops was radical alternatives to a failed economic system. You can download a copy of the presentation from my workshop here on the Roblog.

BBC Radio 4's Food Programme recently broadcasted an excellent programme called Can Britain become self-sufficient? The programme explores the changing global food environment, and the role of the supermarket economy, verses the prospect of a healthy, local food economy. It asked the questions, "Should Britain Feed Itself?", and Can Britain Feed Itself?" As if in answer to the BBC's inquiry, Unicorn Grocery in Chorlton has recently purchased 21 acres of horticulture land near Warrington, on which to grow its own fruit and vegetables.

A short video clip from when East Salford project Grow Cook Eat visited Glebelands market garden in Sale, to pick up tips for their 'urban guerilla' gardening plans to transform the alleyways of Salford. According to the Soil Association, Glebelands is the UK's only peri-urban (on the edge of the city) organic market garden, which is a very worrying statistic. The video features Lesley Bryson, who co-ordinates Glebelands, and Kevin Coakley from St. Sebastians Community Centre in Salford.

Cuban visionary Roberto Perez will be doing a public talk in Manchester on September 24th, about how Cuba made their rapid transition to a low energy, sustainable society. During what became known as their 'Special Period', the people of Cuba transformed their urban neighbourhoods into green, food producing environments. With oil supplies peaking, UK citizens are being forced to pay increasingly higher food and energy bills. As part of his UK tour, Perez will be sharing his experiences with Manchester people, about how communities can work together, to be more self-reliant, and develop solutions to global food insecurity by growing our own food around the City.