The community and the sea

Seaweed is bringing hope of economic prosperity to coastal communities in Wales whist contributing to mitigating the climate emergency.

Off the coast of St David’s, the smallest city in the UK more the size of a village, two community-run trial farms growing kelp and shellfish are being monitored for carbon capture, growth rate and marine biodiversity. The first step towards a polyculture ocean farm and a visitor centre that would show the process and benefits of the yields. Câr-Y-Môr (For the Love of the Sea), the social project behind it, has now over one hundred members, from marine biologists to fishers, engineers, educators, designers, food processors… volunteering their skills motivated by the prospect of new, green and local jobs that could improve people’s diets.

It all started with a conversation between founder of Câr-Y-Môr, Owen Haines, and seaweed forager, chef and entrepreneur Jonathan Williams, who in the last 10 years has built a small-scale sustainable business that is putting laver -Welsh for nori- back in the menu. After a short lived popularity –it became the nutritious breakfast for pit workers until the 1950’s and was praised by Dylan Thomas and Richard Burton- laver almost disappeared from the Welsh diet.

With an increasing demand for this fast-growing, environmentally friendly superfood, locals also see it as a more rewarding alternative to seasonal jobs and an opportunity to keep traditional skills alive.