About
Trees are good…
But trees that people have a lasting relationship with are even better. As access to food becomes an increasingly vital issue, it’s essential that we have strong, resilient orchards in our communities. That requires good knowledge and an understanding of key skills like grafting and pruning.
We’re really excited to see the big wave of tree planting, and the tide is changing when it comes to us recognising the importance of ecological local food systems for humans as well as other species. We want to support people to ensure that planted trees become loved and cherished trees. Fruit trees offer us an abundance of food when we care for them well. We have an incredible opportunity to leave a lasting legacy, and that depends so much on how we treat the trees we share our city with.
We’re a workers coop, which means that we don’t have a boss, and we make decisions democratically.
Our StoryCombining care for people and care for land
We are both unpaid carers, which means that we are responsible for the wellbeing of severely disabled family members. Unpaid care work is one of the largest ‘invisible economies’ in the UK, accounting for millions of pounds in lost wages. While ‘Carer’s Allowance’ exists, it is so meagre that its practically impossible to support a family with. At the same time, this extra unpaid work can make it hard to hold down a ‘normal’ job.
With MFTC, we wanted to find a way of working that accommodates for this challenge, making sure that we are paid fairly for work when we can be, and giving each other the flexibility and understanding necessary to juggle care and jobs.
While we make every effort to be professional in our communication with you, sometimes we may have emergencies that require our attention. We want to be open about this, not to excuse a poor standard of work, but to be honest and straightforward with our clients. We are very grateful for the understanding and empathy we receive from people. We will always try to reciprocate this kindness by seeking to give as much notice of changes to appointments, and working with clients to ‘make it right’ if we are forced to cancel or delay.