Welsh organic farmer Gerald Miles has been on an epic quest to rediscover the rare black oats his grandfather grew.
For a long time it looked like his search would be in vain, and that the black oats were gone for good.
Then, after more than twenty years, Gerald met Iwan Coedfadre, a folk singer and perhaps the last farmer in Wales to have kept black oats alive into the 21st Century.
Llafur Ni - Our Grains tells the story of how Gerald and Iwan came to meet through singer Owen Shiers, the blossoming Llafur Ni Network and The Gaia Foundation’s UK & Ireland Seed Sovereignty Programme.
It explores the significance of black oats and other welsh crops in a time of climate crisis and why reviving seeds is a crucial part of a wider movement to re-value and pass on the skills, language and culture that have enabled welsh farmers and rural communities to thrive for centuries.
A film by Andy Pilsbury - andypilsbury.com/
Translation by Owen Shiers
Colourist, Matt Cusworth
Produced for The Gaia Foundation
gaiafoundation.org
2020
