A few weeks ago I was privileged to spend the day with Rachel, Cis and the team working at Idle Women based in Accrington and Nelson, near Burnley. I am supporting them in setting up traineeship roles in gardening and producing for four to six women who are from local refuge Humraaz, an organisation for Black and Minority Ethnic women who are survivors of domestic abuse and all forms of Harmful Traditional Practices.

In the morning, I visited Idle Women’s community space to meet the women and consult them about the roles. A delicious lunch was then cooked by one of the women. In the afternoon, we visited the allotments in the rain to plant fruit trees and it was great to hear about some of the women’s childhood experiences in other countries of growing plants and looking after animals. The day ended with a visit to Idle Women’s Physic Garden, soon to be open to the public, where the barge the Selina Cooper is moored - named after the local working class suffragist and built by local women as an artist residency and workshop space. I am mainly working remotely on this project, but I am already looking forward to visiting in summer to see everyone again and to see how the fruit trees are growing.

Recommended reading below - Idle Women on the Water which can be purchased here