By Anna de la Vega
After more than two decades of being held at North Carolina State University, USA, the first International Vermiculture Symposium in Florence was a huge success with attendees spanning 41 countries and 6 continents, with speakers from New Zealand, Mexico, Belgium, Italy, Holland, USA and the UK.
By Anna de la Vega
If you had to think of one of the most unlikely locations for a worm farm, perhaps a military site would probably be it – but times are evidently changing. If you’d told us 10 years ago we would be nurturing worms and making earth on military sites we would be hard pressed to believe you, particularly as our motto is Worms & Peace.
By Anna de la Vega
Worms (and microbes) are the great connectors, they open up the world through our shared understanding of the sanctity of the soil. Bringing the opportunity to have connection with saffron farmer Lin Ducker through the global Soil Food Web network, we were welcomed on a visit to Zahour Saffron Farm in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains.
By Anna de la Vega
After a long and emotional relationship we are finally saying goodbye to the world of social media: it was great while it lasted but the time has come to step away. There is no denying that these platforms played a significant role is establishing The Urban Worm, for which we are eternally grateful to our followers for sticking with us down the years.
By Anna de la Vega
If you thought Amsterdam was cool before, we might just be able to convince you it’s actually a whole lot cooler still. Although famous for its coffee shops and red light district, what Amsterdam is lesser known for is its flourishing worm culture with over 300 community worm farms or ‘Worm Hotels’ dotted around the city.
By Anna de la Vega
Whilst as individuals we can certainly address our own personal household waste, the hospitability industry is another mountain to climb, and we are beyond thrilled to be working in partnership with Urban Planters Ltd & McArthurGlen Designer Outlet West Midlands
By Anna de la Vega
Situated in 70 acres near the picturesque market town of Dollar, Clackmannanshire in central Scotland, Dollar Academy is home to 1,300 pupils aged 5-18, and 12,000 Tiger worms.
By Anna de la Vega
A changing climate, lifeless soil, endless costly synthetic inputs, fragile global markets and the desire for perfectly shaped produce presents a mountain of obstacles for our farmers. There are however remedies to these tribulations, and the Soil Food Web holds the answer.
By Anna de la Vega
Whilst the practical outcomes of community composting are evident, it is the demonstrative power of the collective, sharing resources to seed the foundations for new life to spring. Collaboration and cohesion could not be more important during these troubling and uncertain times we find ourselves in.
By Anna de la Vega
Life is sacred, and by bringing the process of worm farming into our lives we are directly connecting with the divine and building the foundations for the sovereignty of our health. And the topic of health could not be more relevant during these unprecedented times.
By Anna de la Vega
In case you happened to miss the hype, hydroponic farming is now the hippest technology heralded to save humanity from starvation – but everything comes at a price, and it’s a big price to pay. Hydroponics replaces sunlight and soil with LED lighting, AI technology, lots of plastic, lots of chemicals and lots of cash.
Who needs nature?
By Anna de la Vega
Despite being relatively unknown in the United Kingdom, Effective- Microorganisms (EM1) Technology is being used in 103 countries, revolutionising industry worldwide and contributing to progress in environmental management, agriculture and human health.
By Anna de la Vega
Anyone who has had the pleasure of reading Kristin Ohlson’s wonderfully inspiring book The Soil Will Save Us will understand firstly that there is hope – reversing catastrophic climate change is possible; and secondly that ultimately it is the farmers that hold the power to save us: the ‘stewards’ of the soil.
By Anna de la Vega
The history of synthetic fertiliser is laden with suffering, its invention prolonged wars, and it is responsible for the destruction of the living soil that sustains us. Anna explores the relationship between the development of synthetic agrochemicals and the history of modern warfare: war on humanity, and war on all living organisms. We will have no world to speak of if we continue to dishonour and poison the land and those that work upon her.
By Anna de la Vega
Whilst western governments, and especially the UK, have neglected to make themselves aware or even recognise the potential of vermiculture as a significant contributor to food security and soil health the government of the Philippines is going so far as to financially supporting the industry. Anna recently visited the South East Asian archipelago to discover that whilst the government of the Philippines is not without its criticisms, when it comes to worm farming there can be no question of its commitment to the development of regenerative farming practices.
By Anna de la Vega
Cuba’s worm farming revolution is not as well known as her political one. Often heralded as a nation that has already survived a peak oil crisis, by necessity Cuba has come to be known as a global leader in the organic movement. Worm farming played a key role in that remarkable story. Whilst undertaking my Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Travel Fellowship in 2016, Cuba was naturally the number one destination to explore, representing the possibilities and ability of a nation to thrive in the face of adversity with a little help from the humble but mighty earthworm.
By Anna de la Vega
Worm farming, otherwise known as vermiculture (vermis from the Latin for worm) is the process of harnessing earthworms to convert organic waste into the world’s most nutrient-rich fertiliser; worm manure. Worm manure – also worm castings or vermicompost – is teeming with minerals, nutrients and beneficial micro-organisms essential for healthy plant growth, root development and disease suppression. Due to the nutritional superiority of worm manure, farmers and gardeners often refer to it as ‘Black Gold’, with one tablespoon enough to feed a small plant for three months.
By Anna de la Vega
Jose Casimiro, the legend of permaculture in Cuba, has created a blueprint for low impact self sufficiency, and naturally he has lots of worms. Founded upon the principles of cooperation, community and care for the land, the 24 acre farm located a few miles from Sancti Spiritus provides a powerful insight into the potential for off grid living, the importance of integrated systems and the ability of the sacred earthworm, with the help of the sacred cow, to regenerate the land.
By Anna de la Vega
Teaching our children the value of the earth, and thus the earthworm, could never be more vital. Earthworms are the best teachers, and the integration of worm farms into education serves not only as a tool for curriculum enrichment, it connects our children to the cycle of life, where our food comes from, and more vitally the practicalities of worm husbandry. At one school in the UK, school dinners come from homegrown produce fed with manure from their own worm farms.
By Anna de la Vega
Zoos in the UK should be cashing in on the ‘zoo doo’ and harnessing the power of the earthworm. A zoo is the organic gardener and worm farmer’s dream, supplying a steady mountain of nutrient-rich exotic manure, and Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo is cashing in on the custom.
By Anna de la Vega
The humble yet mighty powerful earthworm has never quite received the due respect, recognition and adoration it so deserves, until now. Darwin heralded the earthworm with the upmost importance and famously said “worms are more powerful than the African Elephant and are more important to the economy than the cow” – much to the amusement of his peers, receiving both criticism and acclaim for his work.
By Anna de la Vega
The penitentiary system in the United of States of America is famously questionable for it dubious relationship with corporations and the exploitation of free labour. However, The Worm Farm inside Monroe Correctional Facility in Washington State is exemplary of the potential for prisons to serve the community whilst providing rehabilitation and meaningful activity. Anna visited with the inmates in 2017 and describes the inspirational enterprise in rehabilitation and restoration through the power of the worm.