The Hindu Faith Farm

For those of the Hindu religion, there is an important link between faith and food. That’s why, last year, a Hindu Temple in Cardiff bought a farm on the outskirts of the city, in the Vale of Glamorgan, which they want to develop into a community hub. Mariclare Carey-Jones visits Tir Aikaym Farm to meet Anoup Kerrai and a group of volunteers who together are hoping to create a thriving organic farm growing fruit, vegetables and a thriving community.

“In my community, everything we do is connected to land” says Anoup, “but we have a bit of a disconnect. We have one festival for Diwali, it comes straight after harvest, where we create a mountain of food and we offer it to deities - currently that food is bought in, we haven’t grown it ourselves”. That is why Anoup and his fellow members of the executive team at the Shree Swaminarayan Temple wanted to buy the farm, to build a cultural and generationally bridge back to farming.

Presented and produced by Mariclare Carey-Jones.