Ragmans Lane Farm

Ragmans Lane Farm is a 60-acre organic farm in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, rooted in the principles of permaculture, agroecology, and regenerative agriculture. Its landscape is designed as a living system that restores soil, water, and biodiversity while producing food and livelihoods. Through hands-on courses and “learning by doing,” the farm acts as a living classroom, equipping people with the skills needed to work the land sustainably. Ragmans is also piloting innovative land-sharing and cooperative models, including the Willowbank, Market Garden, and collaborations with initiatives such as Bees for Development, demonstrating practical alternatives for resilient rural communities.

Over more than a decade, Ragmans has regenerated its land through agroforestry and biologically driven soil management, planting over 1,000 apple and pear trees that combine traditional heritage varieties with resilient cultivars suited to organic systems. The farm’s approach focuses on strengthening whole-system health by enhancing soil biology, mineral balance, and plant vitality—encouraging diversity from microbes to people. Influenced by the work of Juanfran Lopez and agroecological pioneer Jairo Restrepo, Ragmans applies and teaches biological techniques such as biofertilisers, bokashi, aerobic teas, native microorganism cultivation, mycorrhizae, and mineral chelation, all adapted to local contexts.

At its core, Ragmans Lane Farm is a regenerative innovation hub—a place of experimentation, learning, and shared knowledge. Its long-term goal is to measure and demonstrate the real impacts of biological and regenerative practices on soil and ecosystem health, while supporting farmers to adapt these methods to their own land. Now stewarded by the Ecological Land Cooperative, thanks to the visionary gift of former owner Matt Dunwell, Ragmans continues to offer a hopeful, practical model for land stewardship in times of climate uncertainty—one based on diversity, cooperation, reskilling, and a deep reconnection between people and the land.

http://www.ragmans.co.uk/home/

The main purpose of Ragmans Lane Farm is to regenerate land and people through agroecology and permaculture—restoring soil health, biodiversity, and ecosystem function while producing food, skills, and livelihoods. It exists as a living classroom and innovation hub where regenerative practices are tested, taught, and shared, supporting resilient rural communities and a deeper reconnection between people and the land.

Ragmans Lane Farm dreams of a future where land is cared for as a living, regenerative system that nourishes ecosystems, people, and local economies alike. Its goal is to deepen and share agroecological and permaculture knowledge through hands-on education, research, and experimentation, proving that biologically based farming can restore soils, increase resilience to climate change, and sustain livelihoods. By developing cooperative land-sharing models, refining regenerative techniques, and supporting farmers to adapt these practices to their own landscapes, Ragmans aims to inspire a new generation of land stewards and contribute to a wider transition toward regenerative, community-rooted agriculture.