David Graham 1932 – 2023 I was saddened to learn of the recent passing of David Graham, a lifelong campaigner for peace and social and environmental justice, and founder of the Vegan Organic Network in 1996. I was put in touch with David by Kathleen Jannaway of the Movement for Compassionate Living shortly after he had proposed the idea, and in spring 1997 he drove down from Manchester to attend the first ‘VOHAN South East Regional Gathering’ held in my front room and on local allotments (see attached write-up from the ‘VOHAN News International’ issue one, now Growing Green International Mag ..read more

Reducing your intake of animal products is a powerful and positive step towards a more compassionate lifestyle, and greatly reduces your environmental impacts. Yet even a vegan diet can have a high carbon footprint if still reliant on processed foods from industrialised agricultural systems. These often remove trees and forests from land in order to grow fossil fuel-dependent annual crops, or rely heavily on imported products, cash crops and exploited labour. The Veganic way combined with permaculture design can create a world that is not just ‘sustainable’ but truly REGENERATIVE, restoring f ..read more

We are pleased to announce that the first issue of our new publication GLOMALIN launches this Monday 16th January, in collaboration with our friends at South East Essex Organic Gardeners and Trust Links. Glomalin is an occasional publication combining text, art, ideas and actions from the realms of collaboration, mutual aid and new/old ways of doing things. Named after a carbon-capturing glycoprotien produced by the synergistic nutrient transactions occuring between plant roots and certain mycorrhizal fungi, the publication takes its cue from the premise that ANOTHER WORLD IS POSSIBLE, r ..read more

A few weeks ago I was interviewed by my old friend Gerard Evans for his regular ‘Zen 23’ podcast. Gerard and I go back many, many years, first getting to know each other when we used to meet up at gigs by the likes of Crass and the Poison Girls, as well as his own bands The Anabolic Steroids and Flowers in the Dustbin, plus being involved with the whole ‘anarcho-punk’ scene in early 1980s London. Gerard and I were very influenced by the ‘DIY Culture’ of that period, both being inspired to start not only bands but our fanzines, ‘Ability Stinks’ and ‘New Crimes’ respectively. Four decades on we ..read more

Announcing 2 free places available for people on low incomes/excluded communities on our next Online Vegan Permaculture Design Course beginning next month! We are very pleased and excited to announce that we are able to offer TWO free places on our next Online Vegan Permaculture Design Course! This is due to the generosity of the participants of our 2021 online course, who have very kindly made a ‘pay it forward’ donation enabling us to subsidise a place for a person on low income (eg, receiving Income Support, Job Seekers Allowance, Council Tax benefit, Housing benefit, Pension Guarantee Cre ..read more

Spiralseed are pleased to be collaborating with Focal Point Gallery and The Old Waterworks project space in Southend on Sea for this fruity event!   Apple Pressing Day at The Old Waterworks, North Road, Southend on Sea. Bring your apples along to The Old Waterworks in North Road and learn how to turn them into delicious juice with our apple press. Just bring your apples, a container for your juice if you’d like to take some away or just come along and have a go! This event is presented as part of the Associated Programme to accompany Tip of the Iceberg, a group exhibition that explo ..read more

Over the last few months I’ve been working with Focal Point Gallery in Southend on Sea on ‘Roots and Branches’, a large scale charcoal artwork for the ‘Tip of the Iceberg’ multi-artist show opening this weekend. This exhibition “explores the relationship between art and alternative growing practices, which are increasingly coming together in pursuit of climate action and social justice. New and recent works by local and international artists explore three key themes: the notion of the ‘commons’, i.e. our common right to the earth’s natural resources (air, water, soil, land); how plants can be ..read more

For several years folks have been asking me to publish a collection of my artwork, maybe in a format suitable for mindful colouring activities. I’ve bounced the idea around for ages, but the challenges of winter of 2020 made it feel like the right time had come to work on it, particularly as so many of the physical community projects I’m involved in can’t be accessed right now, and folks are looking for therapeutic alternatives. Following the permaculture principle of multiple functionality, I wanted to produce something that was more than simply an adult colouring book, but also offers oppor ..read more

One of the many effects of the Corona Virus has been to bring into sharp focus the fragility of our current global food production and distribution systems – shortages and queues in our supermarkets and shops for even basic food items have shown that there is a fundamental need to redesign the way that we feed ourselves and our communities. Part of the solutions-based picture is about re-localising food production and learning how to grow more of our own produce in our own gardens, allotments or whatever spaces are available to us: Just think how much food growing land is potentially availabl ..read more

VON will be hosting a series of talks and panel on Sunday, as well as having a stall with information on veganic growing and fresh veganic veg across the event weekend. Ecological Veganism is about more than plant-based sausage rolls when these are still part of the corporate global food production system, causing soil degradation, global inequality and contributing to climate change. Join Graham Burnett at Plant Powered Expo this Sunday in exploring the question “What food solutions offer futures that care for the Earth, care for People and are truly fair for all?” Full Event Details The Ve ..read more