The PACT Food action group was invited by Nick Jones to The Watermill, Little Salkeld for our July 2010 meeting. During a lively discussion we decided that we should celebrate Lammas-Tide (loaf-mass) at the watermill by building an outdoor wood-fired bread oven or ‘cob’, which we did under Niall Wildewood’s direction.
Since then, the work of the "ovenistas" has blossomed under the stewardship of Peter Dicken and with the help of The Watermill which has received funding from the Royal Society of Arts Fellowship’s Catalyst Fund.
In the year to October 2011, the oven group have been very busy building ovens, demonstrating their use, running oven building training courses and taking the portable oven to many community events.
We would like to continue in this vein next year, building more ovens, running courses and rebuilding the portable oven to be more fire-proof! Anyone interested in this project can contact Peter or any member of the PACT Food Group, or e-mail food@penrithACT.org.uk. Our idea is to provide a community resource and education facility, preparing for a future when grid fuel supplies might not be as secure as they currently are. In the meantime the ovens provide a focal point for pizza parties and fund-raising events.
Draft PACT cob oven poster - 2.5MB PDF.
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Community Ovens Worldwide
Saint Paul Bread Club