Propagate is a small social enterprise working across South and West Scotland delivering projects that develop skills and knowledge and facilitate education and learning for sustainable food and farming. Propagate works with schools and colleges, communities, farmers, public and private sector to co-produce impactful projects that meet real regional needs.
The ‘Soil and Soul’ initiative has engaged school children, women in supported accommodation and young people in refugee groups. ‘Soil and Soul’ brings the microscopic world beneath our feet to life, and connects food, health and equality with the environment. This was initially in partnership with the British Society of Soil Science and funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Propagate organises farm walks and social events for communities and also produces a weekly e-bulletin which includes links to a variety of learning resources. Similarly, the ‘Skills for Resilience’ workshops cover topics including ‘Drystane Dyking’, ‘Herbs for Health’ and ‘Seed Saving’ and are open to anyone living in Dumfries and Galloway.
In 2023, Propagate released the film, ‘Rooted: Growing a Local Food Ecosystem’ which questioned how people could work together to create a fair, healthy and sustainable food system. Through a series of interviews with nature friendly farmers and food producers in Dumfries and Galloway, the film visits community projects inspiring good food citizenship and explores ways to access local food. First shown at multiple screenings across the UK, the film is now available to watch on YouTube, where it can be freely accessed by anyone interested in the project. Propagate engages with schools and community groups via their educational resource packs that cover topics including home economics, rural affairs, and science. The ‘Regenerative Farming Network’ increases awareness among farmers and land managers in south-west Scotland of nature friendly farming, soil health, biodiversity amongst other skills. Propagate has made access to these resources more widely available through running sessions at GO Falkland (Scotland’s regenerative farming and forestry festival) and Oxford Real Farming Conference as well as working with SRUC and Glasgow University (Dumfries Campus) to support learning for students. In addition, Propagate works in urban and peri-urban settings to engage communities and discuss rural issues, and organises events to bring folk together to learn about sustainable food and farming, rural skills and environmental education.
Environmental standards underpin everything Propagate does. They are explicit about facilitating and leading work that drives forward transitions to sustainable and regenerative food and farming systems. Owing to this, Propagate aims to address the climate and nature emergencies by providing close attention and support to Scotland’s rural economy. Propagate’s ‘Galloway Food Hub’ is a dynamic local supply chain which enables farmers and food producers to sell their produce directly to local communities, setting a fair price for their food.
Since being founded in 2016, Propagate’s services have been in high demand, especially since the majority of courses are free-to-access. Accordingly, running the enterprise sustainably is a major challenge despite the enterprise having access to funding. Despite this challenge, Propagate remains well-positioned in the rural sector with its projects spanning the entire food system. Propagate acknowledges that there has never been such a need for the type of work they offer and the projects they facilitate.