That was the question we asked ourselves in Transition Black Isle about 18 months ago. It was the group’s 10th anniversary and we were thinking about our successes during our short life to date, and how things might develop over the next 10 years. There were 4 monthly community markets on the Black Isle, which felt like a considerable achievement, but local food was still only enjoyed by a minority.
As we were mulling that over, I came across a blog post by Rob Hopkins, the founder of the Transition movement, describing the Ceinture Alimen-terre Liégoise (“Liége Food Belt” – although there’s a pun that gets lost in translation) in Belgium. This initiative was founded in the aftermath of a conference organised in 2013 by the local Transition group, asking the question, “what if within one generation the majority of food consumed in Liége was grown locally in the best ecological and social conditions?”. The result of getting the right people together to answer that question was that, by 2018 CATL included 14 co-operative businesses, including retailers, growers, a dairy, a brewery and two vineyards. These businesses have raised nearly €5 million of investment from local people.
If that approach can work in Belgium, why couldn’t it work in the Highlands as well? We already have the Dingwall Wind Co-op which raised over £800,000 in 2013, demonstrating that locals are willing to invest in worthwhile developments on their doorsteps, and there is a massive appetite (pun intended!) to support local growers and producers.
It won’t all be straightforward to get from that initial inspiration to a plan for a Highland Good Food Partnership, but for me the Liége model still gives a blueprint for what we can achieve – if the right people ask the right questions.
By Martin Sherring