Sail Trade South West brings ethically sourced produce under sail to Plymouth!
The Lynher Community Interest Company is excited to announce that the first cargo of organic and fair trade produce will land at Sutton harbour in the Barbican, Plymouth on 22nd June with the three masted lugger ‘Grayhound’ and the Tamar barge ‘Lynher’.
This new initiative is part of the Sail Trade South West project supported by the National Heritage Lottery Fund players. The project aims at educating coastal communities about the high levels of carbon emissions related to food logistics and distribution in the UK.
Around 90% of items in the average UK household have been shipped from overseas by massive container ships. These gargantuans of the sea contribute a whopping 3% of global greenhouse emissions - If the contemporary shipping industry was a country, it would rank 6th among the highest contributors of greenhouse emissions, nearly 3 times the amount of the UK (which comes in at 17th place).*
By revisiting wind power as a primary energy source, "Sail Cargo" is a growing and sustainable industry with a bright future. Lynher CIC has partnered up with fair trade brokers, The New Dawn Traders, based in Falmouth, in order to promote a new way of thinking about food which links the consumers directly to the producers.
"We bring together a network of small producers, beautiful sailing ships and passionate allies to deliver the most delicious goods from across the oceans, with the power of the wind." - New Dawn Traders
In June Lynher barge will welcome the three masted lugger ‘Grayhound’ in Plymouth Sound laden with a variety of extra virgin olive oils, olives, organic almonds, chickpeas and wine from Portugal and some delicious Colombian chocolate bars, cocoa powder and panela - unrefined sugar.
If you're excited to get involved, you'll need to act fast! Final orders for produce will need to be placed by 14th April 2023 via the online shop (details below). This is a true investment in the voyage, which makes everyone’s contribution equally valuable as it supports the farmers, the ships and provides you with some exceptional produce such as the olive oil at a price per litre that is competitive with your local supermarket. Win-win!
We invite you to collect your order from the ‘Grayhound’ and ‘Lynher’ in the Barbican on 22nd June between 11am and 6pm alongside Guy’s Quay where you will be able to step aboard, enjoy a tour of the boats and talk to the crews. If you can’t make the date, you can still collect your order at Lynher’s land base, The Gymnasium at Cremyll. If you miss the pre-order deadline, you are still welcome to come and see the boats and buy the produce on site at a retail price.
Proceeds from our shop go towards our community work and to the restoration of the historically significant Cornish Lugger, Ibis. IBIS FY519 was constructed in 1930 by respected Cornish boatbuilder, Percy Mitchell, in a traditional fishing boat style using pitch pine on grown oak frames. At the time of her launch, she was one of the largest fishing boats in Mevagissey at 42' length, 13' beam.
Upon her re-launch, Ibis will operate a regular cargo route along the south west coast, serving coastal communities with eco-conscious goods and sharing stories, skills and information about maritime heritage and the steps we can all take towards tackling climate change.Remaining funds will go towards continuing the community work the Lynher team do each year for the communities of the Plymouth waterways.
You can support the Ibis restoration and help tackle climate change by enjoying coffee from Columbia and olive oil from Portugal - all shipped by sail of course!
Visit Sail Trade South West Lynher shop here to place a pre-order
https://openfoodnetwork.org.uk/sail-trade-lynher/shop
Sources
*Worldometer:https://www.worldometers.info/co2-emissions/co2-emissions-by-country/