'Soil-idarity'
We’ve been on your side since 2013
persevering to make Leith a better place for everyone.
Here are some of the things we have done, and why we need a little help to keep delivering for the community.
A place to meet and helping local businesses
During the pandemic, Leith Community Croft gave people a safe space to meet, and our market helped small local businesses.
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Also during the pandemic, with the help of over 70 of you, we provided regular meals to local people who found themselves hungry, and some of the ingredients were grown by us too. Solidarity and soil-idarity?
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Super-duper happy
We have worked with local schools, planting fruit trees and running gardening sessions, and we received feedback such as: ‘Muddy, super-duper happy, amazing!’ and ‘This is better than PE!’
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Positive risk-based play
Our Minecroft outdoor adventure-play/survival-skills/storytelling programme has been enjoyed by scores of young people over the years. Scottish Adoption wrote: ‘The natural space makes you view behaviour differently. What inside is difficult to manage, outside can become positive risk-based play.’
Food-growing opportunities and nature haven
With the support of the people of Leith, we campaigned for permission to create Leith Community Croft on wasteland, and together we did it. It’s open to all and it belongs to all. Here, amongst other things, we offer accessible food-growing opportunities for a fraction of the cost of allotments. About 100 Leithers (and their families) grow their own food here every year, and it’s a haven for pollinating insects.
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International solidarity
In 2023 we launched our Loss and Damages Fund to support partners in the Global South (specifically Malawi) – for those who are not responsible for the climate catastrophe but whose lives are already being devastated by it – initially allocating a fifth of Croft organisational membership fees to it.
‘Populus’: our community hub
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We consulted the people of Leith on plans to renovate and modify the old pavilion on Leith Community Croft to build a multipurpose community hub, and we battled for years to raise the funds and see the project through.
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The new building was launched at last, with a big party in September 2023. Since then, we have hosted many meetings and events for individuals and organisations, and our café and farm shop have been open for six days a week, most weeks.
We have now named the building ‘Populus’, which is a reference to the genus of the cottonwood tree which soars above it, as well as being the Latin word for ‘the people’.
After a long period of being closed down during the building project, we are now depleted. We pay our staff team well and we keep our food at affordable prices, and we are not immune to all the economic shocks of late. Our very young social enterprise needs help. If we do not get more investment we may have to drastically cut back what we do. This would be tragic, because we are doing our utmost to develop our services and maximise the benefits of the new building for the community. Our vision for a multifunctional model urban croft, complete with a symbolic home for the community at its centre, is now so near realisation. The light at the end of the tunnel is tantalisingly close!
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We have some excellent advisers helping us with our plans, but we need a little more income to keep our hardworking staff for the next crucial months, so that we can achieve sustainability and emerge into the light of day/summer.
What you can do
If you’d like to help us help Leith, there are few things you can do:
Join us
Sign up for Supporter Membership of Earth in Common. It’s currently only £15/year for individuals and you get several benefits, including a 10% discount on everything in our café and farm shop. Membership is also the first step to becoming a fully-fledged Crofter and growing food with us.
Make a donation
We are extremely grateful for any donations made, no matter how small. Many a mickle makes a muckle! Just go to our donations page.
Visit us
Support our café/farm shop. We are striving to offer affordable, tasty, healthy and sustainable items here, including organic vegetables, and we are always working to improve our offer. Please come along and try us out. Feedback is welcome!
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Café and Farm Shop
Opening Hours
9-3 pm Tuesday to Friday
10-4pm Saturday and Sunday
CLOSED MONDAYS
Learn with us
We are currently developing a programme of green skills and creative workshops on site. You can sign up for our workshops via Eventbrite
