Category Archives: COCA general

So COCA will have its final member volunteer session  for 2016 down at Caerhys. This time we will be painting inside Cartref (straw bale building), sorting furniture there and maybe doing some basic carpentry for those skilled enough to have … Continue reading →

Say hello to Pembrokeshire’s freshest social enterprise…Torth Y Tir…a new bakery based out of St Davids. They bake the tastiest and most honest bread around. What’s more it’s a community supported bakery which means anyone can become a member of … Continue reading →

This is the wonderful season of max produce …..the GLUT!  The veg shares are worth far in excess of what we are paying for them, and there are TOO MANY COURGETTES AND CUCUMBERS!!   But we all know this is … Continue reading →

5 is the number of acres we rent from Caerhys Farm. 10 is the number of volunteers who make up the ‘core group’ that run COCA. 52 is the number of member households that share the harvest every week. 0 … Continue reading →

Everyone should have access to locally grown, healthy food and know who grew it and how. Agree? Then maybe you’d fancy getting involved in running Caerhys Organic Community Agriculture (COCA)… COCA is a community supported agriculture project and one of … Continue reading →

On Tuesday we took a step closer to finishing our new community building Cartref COCA. We spent the day laying the floor which was compacted limestone aggregate – fortunately we were indoors as the weather was typically unpredictable for March … Continue reading →

‘Red mustard leaves in the polytunnel’ was the winning photo for February. It was taken by one of our new EVS volunteers Agnes Pautrel. Our oriental salads are growing well at the moment and the photo captures the colours and … Continue reading →

‘The field of dreams’ was January’s photo of the month. In between the wind and rain, the sun shone for a moment over COCA’s growing field. Although there may not be much growing at the moment, come the summer it … Continue reading →

On 6th January we had fantastic news from our friends at UNA Exchange…thanks to their support we will be welcoming two new arrivals to the COCA team on the 5th February. Agnes and Hugo – both from France – will … Continue reading →

‘Flying dog with wind blown sprouts’ was the winner of COCA’s photo competition for December. The photo was taken during some of the worst of the winds that we had during the month and in the distance you can see … Continue reading →

From tomorrow (1st December) we will be launching COCA’s new monthly photo competition. Whether you’re a novice or a seasoned photographer, it will be open to all (members and non-members). It will run from this December to November 2016 and … Continue reading →

 November 2015 A busy growing season!      Increased membership : COCA , based at Caerhys Farm near Berea, overlooking Abereiddy,  is coming to the end of its sixth growing season., and looking back over a very,  very busy year.  The … Continue reading →

This Saturday 7th November from 10am we will be working on the last big thing which will make our new community building Cartref COCA watertight – the lime rendering. We will be going at it from 10am and hoping to … Continue reading →

On Saturday 24th October COCA will be hosting Cassandra again and this time with a Staked Shopping Basket Workshop (photo below). Make a medium sized round basket with a handle suitable for a big load! Using willow grown at the … Continue reading →

From this Thursday (1st October) through to the middle of next week we will be building the straw bale walls for Cartref COCA and putting the roof on. On Thursday, Friday afternoon, Saturday and Sunday we will be working on … Continue reading →

Cassandra Lishman is once again running courses at COCA for those interested in willow basket making. They are proving popular and we only have three spaces left for the Large Frame Basket workshop on Saturday 26th September and five spaces … Continue reading →

Bathed in September sunshine the straw bales for our low impact community building were baled today down the road in St Davids. They are all now safely tucked up in the barn at Caerhys ready to be made into the … Continue reading →

After the success of the car tyre foundation volunteer day in June, this past weekend saw the construction of the carpentry elements for the straw bale walls. On Saturday and Sunday our talented members Andy Gill and Ben Hughes transformed … Continue reading →

We’re delighted to be welcoming back Cassandra Lishman to COCA this autumn to lead two Willow Basket Weaving Workshops. Saturday 26th September:Large Frame Basket Workshop (photo below)   In one day make a large basket suitable for carrying all your veg! … Continue reading →

After last year’s epic event we will once again be hosting our Harvest Party on Saturday August 29th at Caerhys Farm, Berea. This year we will be kicking things off much earlier with the farm gates opening at midday and … Continue reading →

Urgent appeal from the Growers group: we need scarecrows to defeat pigeons! Are you (and your children) free to help with a morning of scarecrow making this Saturday, from 10am? Straw and poles provided, but bring any old clothes to … Continue reading →

  Last Saturday 27th June we had a great turnout to build the car tyre foundation for our new community building. Almost thirty people turned up during the course of the day and the help of everyone was greatly appreciated. … Continue reading →

At this years AGM, members voted to increase the monthly minimum cost of a share. Following on from that vote, as of the 1st July, large shares will be £47 a month (up from £42), and small shares will be … Continue reading →

Next Saturday 27th June we will be making a start on the car tyre foundation for our exciting new building – Cartref COCA. It will be a straight forward task – putting the car tyres into position on the ground … Continue reading →

A film crew, for Welsh program on S4C – Boomerang, will be at COCA’s harvest this Friday 15 May filming for harvest action and interviews, it would be great to have as many members and families as possible on the … Continue reading →

Work to build our eagerly anticipated new home – Cartref COCA – will start this Saturday 16th May in advance of building the car tyre foundation in June. The site is currently being used for storage and it all needs … Continue reading →

The AGM is postponed (again!) to Thursday April 23rd 2015, still at 7pm for 7.30pm start, at Llanrhian Village Hall.  Having postponed before to avoid clashing with the campaign to save Ysgol Dewi Sant, they then changed their meeting date … Continue reading →

This Good Friday we’re holding a special activity morning for members – wild flower seed planting! From 10am until 1pm, we’ll be preparing some raised beds (COCA style) and planting seeds to encourage more biodiversity on the farm. We’ve been … Continue reading →

Bee workshop this Saturday 28/02/2015 10am sharp till 4pm. This is the first beekeeper workshop run especially for COCA members with intention to share knowledge and mentor us throughout the year. Our mentor is Robert Jones his honey is sold … Continue reading →

Do you buy anything online? If you do – anything from shopping for books to booking trips away – did you know you could be raising a free donation for COCA? One of our members – thanks Adam! – tipped us … Continue reading →

  A belated Xmas pic of heroic Caz, Gerald and Lesley at the end of the pre-Xmas harvest with some glorious surprise cauliflower heads they found.  Not enough to share with everyone, unfortunately (…. caulis always seem to keep us … Continue reading →

Happy New Year on behalf of the COCA core group! The start of the year is traditionally a time for reflection and new resolve, so it seems appropriate to share a summary of our 2014 survey of members that was … Continue reading →

Hi to all members Caz Miles here just a short message to let you now what’s in the Christmas box on the 19 of December we will have from COCA veg Potatoes Red onions Leeks Cabbage red and white Kale … Continue reading →

As usual we’ll be harvesting for two weeks just before Christmas and missing out the week between Christmas and New Year. Here is the schedule over the period: 13/14th December – normal 20/21st December – pick up two weeks veg … Continue reading →

Have you seen the pumpkin risotto in the Recipe section of the COCA website?  check it out if you are wondering what to do with the large orange slice in your share this weekend!

Use it or lose it It’s not a pretty phrase, but in this case it is entirely accurate. The recently announced option of having C&M Organics deliver fruit to Caerhys to pick up along with your COCA veg share has … Continue reading →

Feel-good music, sweet apple cider, wholesome cob-oven pizza – is there a better way to spend the last Friday evening of August? The Harvest Party this Friday will be a celebration of all things Pembrokeshire; here is a taster of … Continue reading →

Hi everyone, Just in case you missed it or found the price list confusing, the new option to have organic fruit ready to pick up with your veg share on Fridays is really easy. I just emailed C&M Organics with … Continue reading →

You already knew that eating fruit and vegetables was important, but did you know they help make you happy too? To find out why, you may be interested in a public lecture on ‘Understanding Human Happiness’ that is being given at … Continue reading →

Tickets now for sale for COCA’s Harvest Party on Friday 29th August 7pm at the Barn at Caerhys Farm, Berea, St Davids. There will be live music from two fantastic Pembrokeshire groups – Little Arrow and Daisyb. Little Arrow, who … Continue reading →

Hello All, We have our monthly workday today, out in the sun. We have our third UNA exchange work party here from all over Europe, so come for some or all of the day for a cultural exchange over weeding … Continue reading →

  Wales CSA Gathering Sept 2014   When: Friday 12 September to Sunday 14 September Where: Cilcain, Flintshire Calling all Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) schemes in Wales and all those who would like to inject some trust and solidarity into their … Continue reading →

Last Saturday 5th July our second UNA international volunteer workcamp of the summer came to a close and it proved to be just as successful as the first one. A BIG THANK YOU to Pelin and Toralp from Turkey, Tatiana … Continue reading →

Organic pest control at its best on Saturday as we built five new scarecrows for the field which will hopefully keep those pesky pigeons at bay! Click on the pictures for a bigger view: Thanks to Stuart, Heather, Emily, Karen … Continue reading →