Education and Training

The first step for many people who want to return to the country-side is to join WWOOF*. This provides opportunities for visiting groups and holdings, meeting a whole range of other people with similar interests, and getting some experience of the sort of life and work that rural and community living involves. What it doesn't provide is training, though on some WWOOF holdings (not all) you can pick up a lot of information and some skills if you take an interest and ask a lot of questions.

However, there will come a time when you may feel you want more, systematic instruction than you can gain from these informal contacts; you may wish to undertake some sort of formal training.

Many of the people concerned with rural settlement are committed to organic methods. This refers to a system which depends on maintenance of the soil in a state of natural fertility by return-ing all waste matter in the form of compost or manure. They believe that to obtain health in the soil, crops and in whatever eats the crops, be it animal or human, it is necessary to maintain as far as possible this natural cycle by means of which the fertili-ty of the soil has been built up through the ages. They do not therefore advocate the use either of chemical fertilizers or of chemical pesticides.

For these people the number of training facilities is very limited. Details of organic courses in this country are contained in a newsletter put out by COMET (Combined Organic Movement for ' Education and Training*).

However, many courses which are not specifically organic are ' still of great value to organically-minded people.

In many areas, courses are put on by Further Education or the Workers Educational Association and it is worth finding out what is available from your Further Education Centre or Technical College. In addition if you can get together a group of people (usually a dozen, or mote) who want a particular course, there is a good chance that it will be put on for you, either by Further Education (County Council) or by the Workers Educational Association.

Short courses on matters of interest to rural resettlers are held from time to time at:

* Lower Shaw Farm, Shaw, Swindon, Wilts. Nurtons Field Centre, Tintern, Chepstow, Gwent. Alternative Ways, Napier Cottage, Lower Hergest Kington, Herefordshire.

John Butter, Field Centre, Parracombe, N. Devon. New Mills, Luxborough, Watchet, Somerset. For information about them send a 9" x 4" sae to the centre concerned.