Who are these crazy people? Why have they started this business? They surely don't expect to make a profit from it?

Well, yes and no.

Yes, we expect to profit by meeting new and interesting people and we already are profiting from our good fortune at living in such a peaceful and beautiful place.

And no, we don't expect to make a profit in monetary terms. If we'd wanted to be making pots of money, we certainly wouldn't have gone in for vegetable-growing. We will be content just to make a living and know that we are practising what we preach: sustainable development and living gently on our planet.

So who are 'we'?

'We' are two people, Val (manager) and Bry at Mur Crusto farm. Formerly, we worked as an informal co-operative with Jill Jackson and Mike Langley of Ty'n Lon Uchaf farm nearby. But we all found the burden of growing and packing veg for 30-35 people too burdensome and agreed that we would stop our successful box scheme in spring 2010 and downsize in a big way. So at Mur Crusto, we've agreed to take on a few of our former customers who are able to help and operate a CSA group. Mike and Jill are forming a co-op with these same customers in which they will grow only potatoes and onions in return for help with harvesting. We cannot grow potatoes and onions for the group because of (deliberate) lack of space and planting and harvesting machinery. Half our former growing area is now planted up with soft fruit bushes for our fruit pick-your-own which we started in 2010, primarily for our CSA group.

Val Lynas (Mur Crusto farm) - farm manager, weed-control and harvesting: She looks after the money and business side of our business. She is a good Welsh-speaker having attended classes for 5 years. She used to manage a large language school and is a linguist by profession and training. She is also mother of our four children, each born in a different continent and all grown up, but very useful on their visits in helping get things done.

Bry Lynas (Mur Crusto farm) - written publicity, techniques and labourer: I used to be a geologist. I cut my geological teeth on the rocks of the Migneint area, east of Ffestiniog and I've worked in Wales at various times since, mostly for the British Geological Survey. I've had extensive experience of growing organically in the various different places we've been fortunate enough to live: Canada, Fiji, Peru, Spain and parts of the UK. Each organic venture has been bigger than its predecessor. The largest one before Llangybi Organics was in Mallorca, Spain. Sadly this failed, partly because of family circumstances and partly because of lack of water and general lack of interest in things organic at that time (early 1990s). But I learned a great deal from many mistakes, one of which was not to try to do too much.

Mur Crusto farm is fully organic and is registered with the Soil Association. The Soil Association sends an inspector once a year to examine everything we have done and plan to do. The inspection takes half a day and is quite demanding. We have to keep detailed records of everything from the seeds we buy to the crop rotations we plan to use in years to come. The basic philosophy behind all this is to ensure that organic growers are doing their utmost to practise sustainable agriculture. We would anyway but it helps keep us on the straight and narrow path of righteousness!