Degmo - Going Back to Cultural Roots (Aug 2010 & Jul 2011)

A project to support the Somali community to build a relationship with nature & rekindle old wisdom


See Leaning on the Wind

Many within Britain’s immigrant communities have lost contact with nature since arriving here.   They often settle in the inner city, have no friends or relatives in the countryside and are apprehensive as to how they will be received there. 

The Degmo project is designed to build a long-term relationship between families from Bristol’s Somali community and Degmo in Wales, the UK’s only Somali heritage farming centre.   Our first trip in 2010 spent three days rediscovering a nomadic Somali life-style and exploring the differences and similarities between British and Somali rural existence – looking at sheep rearing, foraging & food growing.

The next trip in 2011 arose out of discussions with more Somali community leaders in which they voiced their concerns around the issue of identity. Young people stated that they felt like they were in a no-mans-land, neither Somali nor British.  The objective in taking the next group of families to Degmo was to reunite them with the traditions of rural Somali culture in the hope that they would feel more grounded and thereby able to talk to their elder family members about current family and cultural issues.  Parents reported that they were delighted to have shared this unique experience with their children.  As word of mouth spreads, families are planning more trips to their new-found oasis of calm, nurturing and reflection.

 

"The kids now, they have something to know about our background. They know a lot of different things they didn't know before. For example, the animals, and the environment, the place, it looks like our country. It's amazing, everything's amazing here. I can't explain what I feel inside; it's a lovely place."
Somali mum, Degmo 2010
"It's a good opportunity to see the countryside. I've been in England for three years and a half and I wasn't aware there was an opportunity like this. It's been really interesting and really enjoyable for the group."
Somali mum, Degmo 2011
"The cities really boring, you don't get to do things like milking the goats and looking at animals, and there's not that many cars, and you don't need to go through traffic. Here it's OK, you can run around and you're free to go anywhere."
Ifrah, 17, Degmo 2011
"It's fun, like a big playground with mountains and tents."
Salman, 7, Degmo 2011