C O M P O S T Ï O - January 2026
We recently held a series of workshops called COMPOSTIO - Composting, to look at the process of making soil as a parallel process to the work of systems thinking. Why are we talking about compost? We’ve been using the idea of the garden and growing an ecosystem to talk about the systems thinking work we are undertaking in Carmarthen. A permaculture lens applied with a specific focus, to see the work that is already flourishing, to feel the gaps, or edges (zones of creativity or biodiversity) and to see where attention, or companion planting (collaboration) may help new ways of working to flourish.
What will we carry forward?
What will we leave behind?
How will these things improve our ‘soil’ and grow the work ahead?
Carmarthen is a place where the rural edge of the town is blurred, and our economy and culture is deeply rooted in the soil. So, these metaphors offer a useful tool in demystifying / de-jargonising this work with a local connection. This doesn’t mean we’re simplifying things but moving into a complex and collective way of getting deeper, to embody the connection to nature and climate, making this a more accessible and tangible experience for our communities and partners. Things can get complex if we need to – and it does, but we can also come back to the idea that what we invest into our ‘social soil’ is our leaning, our relationships, our ideas.
As we leave the fallow period of the year, and with the recent passing of Imbolc, the Gaelic and Pagan festival marking the start of spring and the midpoint between the winter solstice and spring equinox, what better time to look at our soil system and see what needs attention and nurturing. Starting 2026 with a grounding in the emergent, informed by our learning.
In January we welcomed Jen Parkin from the School of Systems Thinking, who is also our learning guide, and Lisa Clarke from Practical Governance Collective and Lankelly Chase Foundation to work with local co-facilitator and applied theatre practitioner Ali Franks and our team to explore this analogy of the garden, and composting through a process of constellations and physical embodiment. In St Peters community hall, a ‘garden’ with zones for composting and nurturing was created. This was our set for the day as we embarked on the process of moving around the space, responding to testimonies and reflections on the work we have been holding together. Powerful and emotional connections and moments were made when individuals spoke from the themes in the first person.
Turning Poverty, Justice, Climate, Culture, Young Voices into a new reality. One that met your gaze, challenged your perceptions, or offered a new perspective. It is unavoidable to acknowledge that we do this work in fraught political times where division is a tool used to polarise and make false binaries. We live in complex times, we need new (and old) language, images and ways to gather and to do this work. This is ongoing (perhaps never-ending) work we take this learning into our next workshop later in February where we will gather again in our metaphorical garden to see where we are, who is missing and what needs help to grow, in order for new leaders to emerge, so that we can support and learn from our partners, and that we can challenge and advocate for a fairer future in Carmarthen in 2026.
Owen Griffiths 2026