Roots and Froots

It's Sunday afternoon, two days after the third Roots and Froots Food Fair (the second time it's featured as part of the D Festival), and now that the fatigue and relief have subsided, I am able to reflect on the huge sense of pride, camaraderie and belonging that I am feeling.

Friday's activities not only included the throughly wonderful Roots and Froots, its wonderfulness I shall explain shortly, but also our "Decade of Change" photographic exhibition and the valley heritage tour, conducted by our inimitable historian and venerable social animator, Tom Marston.

The Roots and Froots Food Fair was once again a masterclass in local trade and sustainability, with stall holders as diverse as handcrafted jewellery, Indian saris and cuisine, and meats and cheese as fresh as you can get. For the second time it was held at the Sarn Helen Community Garden, an idea that has proved to be inspired, although there was an almost audible sigh of relief at the distinct lack of precipitation this year! The level of localism on display was commendable and unique; the Sarn Helen Garden Team work hard all year to espouse and foster the principles of sustainability, and it has become a mantra to talk about food 'feet' rather than food miles. These principles are never better demonstrated than during such a community-focused event, during which residents were able to purchase high quality, affordable produce, the least local of which had travelled all the way from the farthest reaches of exotic Llandeilo. A special mention must also go to the staff and children of Maesmarchog Primary School and their enterprise club, who, during their summer holidays, spent the whole day supplying fresh and delicious smoothies; I hope they managed to turn a profit!

The biggest success of the day, in my humble opinion, was the solidarity and flow between staff, volunteers and attendees alike. The event, including the history tour and photographic display, was organised and executed by several different organisations, and a difficult feat at best. Nowadays, this is often called partnership working, and whilst it is indeed an honourable pursuit, variable factors like personalities, egos and different organisational structures and policies, often make a recipe for disaster. However, I believe we like to do things differently in the Dulais Valley, and Friday's activities were delivered with exceptional professionalism and textbook 'partnership working'. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all those who helped make it what it was, including the stall holders and volunteers and community, but particularly the staff of Dove Workshop and Cwmdulais Uchaf Communities First, doing, as always, whatever it takes to make things work.

DC