Two Cultures, One Mission

This week brought an important step. Chay and the Crops Not Shops team have relocated closer to the farm, and they’ve begun helping us physically on the land.

On Wednesday morning we sat together as one team and looked at how we each work. We named strengths and weaknesses. We spoke about what we hold dear. It was honest and needed.

Here’s the truth: we share the same objective of food sovereignty, dignity, and community but our cultures are different.

• Crops Not Shops live together. They hold full-team circles twice a day around the fire. They are unpaid in the conventional sense; they contribute daily labour to a shared project, hold space, and pray. It’s a grassroots rhythm that prioritises presence and community care.
• My Little Farm is more formal. We meet around a table, we plan in spreadsheets, and our team are paid for the hours they work. We hold legal, financial, and farm-operational responsibilities in a way that must be auditable and compliant.

Neither way is wholly right or wrong. Both carry wisdom. CNS remind us to slow down, to tend spirit and community. MLF holds the formal backbone that keeps standards high and facilitates are community of members. Coming together will take care, but it will also make us stronger.

We also want to name the obvious: mixed feelings exist in both teams and among some members, as we plan this closer partnership. That’s normal when two cultures meet. We’ll continue to work with it transparently.

How we’ll weave this, simply and clearly

• Members first, quality first. MLF will continue to lead farming, food production, and formal operations with a focus on producing the highest quality food with exceptional welfare.
• Impact with dignity. CNS will focus on social impact and grassroots community to deliver the outreach we believe in (including the 20% ring-fenced output from 2026 as capacity allows), plus learning, wellbeing, and care.
• Shared ground, clear lanes. We’ll keep defined roles and responsibilities, joint weekly coordination, and simple decision paths so nothing falls between.
• One standard, two gifts. The same food and same care for members and for outreach. CNS bring holding, presence, and community activation. MLF brings systems, compliance, and farm craft.

What does this mean in practice? You’ll feel more hands on the land, more meaningful ways to learn and contribute, and a clearer line between production and impact, so both can thrive. Where there is tension, we will name it and design around it. Where there is overlap, we will test and learn, together.

If you have concerns, bring them. If you feel hopeful, say that too. Your voice matters as we braid these strands into one rope.