Jemima Roberts
Email: jemimaroberts@hotmail.com
A bit about me
I always seem to crawl out of the back of pigeon holes so please bear with me!
I live in Brighton - the country mouse's city compromise - and grew up in lovely West Wales, the hills and mountains of which I still pine for.
Currently taking time out from an Anthropology degree at Sussex University to do lots of other things, by default rather than design basically because I have never quite learned the lesson of how many hours there are in a day and what, actually, you can really achieve in that time, never mind what you would like to achieve!
Cryptic analogies aside, let me explain. On the back of having organised an Organic Clothing and Textiles Show on behalf of the Soil Association at their annual conference in January, I started thinking. A lot.
I am not an events organiser, I have never done it before (neither do I work for the Soil Association) and so to cut short the very long story of how I found myself at the helm of such a big event, all I can say is that I volunteered myself because it was something I believed should happen.
The pertinence of raising awareness of the importance of extending the ethical choices we make with food (that ball is beginning to roll...) beyond and into all areas of our life just seemed so glaring and stark to me. Fashion, clothes even, are widely held as being at the zenith of all that is deemed utterly wrong/unethical/wasteful in our society alongside much else too.
But to dismiss attention to clothing and fashion as something which is frivolous and throwaway and thus jarring with a 'green' lifestyle or ethical choices, is not only short-sighted but naïve too. Fashion is a huge industry (we all wear clothes for starters) and for that reason alone, to ignore or dismiss it would be both misguided and irresponsible. In fact, we ignore it at our peril.
So as you can see, it became a bit of a ranting, noisy bee in my bonnet and ultimately how I, by proxy, said 'yes, I'll do it'.
Where was I and what was it I got to thinking about? Well, post steep learning curve, sleepless nights, midnight panics etc I came away thinking 'this is what it's all about – doing things, making things happen'. I was hugely inspired, energised and full of ideas.
But ideas are one thing, making them happen is another. I would like to organise more events, not necessarily fashion related, but the kinds of events which I myself would like to go to/see happening/think are important and which are life-affirming, fun, creative, outside-the-box, aware, have a conscience and a consequence, are accessible and inclusive and many more things too.
So that is why I applied for a place on the Little Big Voice weekend.
Apart from that and aside from the time I spend ranting earnestly I love being outside, doing just about anything – currently spending large chunks of my free time growing flowers and vegetables on a balcony the size of a postage stamp. I have inadvertently started a giant sunflower competition in my neighbourhood by innocently growing some last year which did a fair amount of nodding and showing off from my balcony to neighbours and passers by. I may need to raise the bar this year ;)
I also love cycling, walking, swimming in rivers and the sea, pottering, reading, writing - with some freelance dabbling here and there, socialising (people are great), music and painting (with Frida Kahlo aspirations but playschool realities!).
I find it nigh on impossible to be definitive at any time of the day but I am a huge nut fan and if pushed my current favourite is a close call between walnuts and cashews, both versatile and both yummy raw or roasted too. Peanuts were an early choice but have since been relegated to bottom of the league perhaps through over consumption through my teens.
One last thing (I promise!) which is hugely important to me: I am passionately committed to working with a group of young people and older too, under the broad strokes of 'Organic Futures' which arose out of an event a few years ago. The aim of our group is to raise awareness but also chiefly to address and dismantle the barriers hindering young people entering into organic horticulture and farming.
For many reasons - lack of adequate training, finance, unviable, serious image problem ('uncool') etc there has been a mass exodus from the land to the extent that today, the average age of a UK farmer is 49... a very worrying trend. Want to sign up to our newsletter/get involved? Email me at the address at the top.
My thoughts on the weekend
I have spent an awful long time wondering how exactly it is you do things. Does that sound simplistic, vague even? Well, when you have an idea and you think it is a good one, or at least it gets you fizzing with enthusiasm and passion, how do you actually start it? Well quite.
There is the small matter of promoting yourself, building a website when you are about as cyber-friendly as a cup of hot coffee poured on a keyboard, then there is the thinking outside the box bit, reversing and subverting things to get the best from the seed of an idea and my oh my... the list is endless.
My experiences and all that I learned over the Little Big Voice weekend mean so much to me. All of the above and more that had previously seemed lofty, unattainable or baffling was suddenly transformed into simple, soluble information which was readily offered by all the wonderful people who offered up their experiences, expertise and insights.
But the weekend felt more than just a one-way information-feed. What was formed over the weekend was a circle of exchange, a network of people from many walks of life all fuelled by a shared passion and commitment to making things happen and making things better.
It was an absolute privilege to meet you all and to be able to participate in such a wondrous weekend.
Simon W and I met up today in Infinity Café in Brighton. A few more of us are meeting up the same time next week (11am, Wednesday 2nd April)... do email if any of you are around about and would like to come along. Thanks for the idea Russell ;)
Let's go!
Next listener: Luce Choules