The Greenslate virtual cafe sprung from an idea the Greenslate Farm Reconciliation Committee came up with.

Large organisations with many participants get pulled in different directions. We all have strong ideas about what Greenslate Farm could and should be. It means many things to different people.

Over time conflicts can arise and different groupings of people can end up taking sides. Ultimately, this can stifle an organisation and leave participants drifting and feeling left out.

One common problem with nearly every organisation I’ve ever been involved in is COMMUNICATION. People talk a lot, but communication doesn’t always happen. Let’s face it, it’s impossible for everyone to always know what is going on and what is being planned.

The virtual cafe is an opportunity for people to keep talking and to exchange ideas. We all have busy lives and often don’t have time to talk and form relationships. But, one thing we’ve learned from the Pandemic is, although we can’t always be together in a room, we do often have opportunities to keep communicating through technology and live-streaming over the internet.

Initially, the virtual cafe started as an idea to just get talking and then we thought it would be nice to have themed talks that give people the chance to exchange ideas in more depth.

So, to get the conversation going, we are inviting people who want to exchange ideas about the farm or other related subjects to give short – up to 20 minutes – TED-like talks about things that are important to them. Questions can follow and then more open discussions.

The intention in the future is to hold these conversations both in the Straw Bale Cafe and simultaneously run them on Zoom and/or live-stream them out on Facebook so even more people can join in the conversation.

Here is a recent talk given by Imelda Mc Quaid about nature and wellbeing. Check it out here.

If you have an idea for a talk you would like to give, please get in touch through neil@greenslatefarm.org.uk.

Neil Hickson – Greenslate Community Farm