On Your Farm - 13/09/2009

Caz Graham meets Hamish Wilson, a former camel boy in Somalia. He now runs a Welsh hill farm helping inner-city Somali communities learn about their heritage. 'I just come alive when I come here' is the response of one visitor to Hamish Wilson's Welsh hill farm. He has adapted the farm in Radnorshire to become a 'Degmo'. Based on nomadic settlements, his family host Somalian families and community groups from inner-city Britain. While camping in the countryside, they learn about the way the farm is run, how its produce can be used and compare this with Somali methods. For the very young, many of whom have only lived in the UK, it's a way to learn about their heritage and for the elders a chance to show off their skills and reconnect with the past. For Hamish, though, the 'Degmo' was also a fulfilment of a long-standing friendship and commitment to the Somali people which goes back through his family for several generations. And, as a former camel-boy, he has first-hand knowledge of the Somalian countryside and traditions. Caz Graham visits along with a large group from Ocean Somali Community Association as, despite the cold, they fall in love with the Welsh hills.