Hapag Ugnayan Potlucks
An international exchange with women creatives and land workers in the UK & the Philippines
Lead Artists: Malaika Cunningham, Mabi David, Jen Horn and Sally Proctor
Audio editing support: James Cooper
Farms: Moss Valley Farm, Darnall Community Allotment, Kiday Community Farmers Association.
The Hapag Ugnayan Potlucks are supported by with the British Council’s Connections Through Culture grant programme.
Globally, women make up a huge part of the workforce feeding us (particularly on small scale, community or subsistence farms), yet they almost never own or lead the land they farm. In the UK, a legacy of a tradition of farms passing from father to son, a sexist culture within the sector, and a history of exclusion from agricultural educational institutions means that only 23% of farmers identify as women. In the Philippines, many small-scale farmers (mostly women) have fought for their community’s rights to farm common lands at the expense of their own liberty, in the face of rapid industrialization.
Through this project, we hope to connect and celebrate the (often hidden) women in our food systems internationally, and raise awareness around the small and large oppressions they are facing.
Since April 2025 we’ve been farming alongside some of these women in the UK, whilst our partners Jen Horn & Mabi David visit farms in the Philippines. We’ve been visiting women on the land they farm, lending a hand, and hearing about their experiences as land workers.
What brought these women to this work?
What stories, techniques, and cultural practices exist around women and farming across the UK & the Philippines?
What is the first thing you remember growing?
How is the land around you changing?
We’ve noticed overlaps, as well as many differences.
In the autumn we’ll be gathering together the insights, images, recipes and sounds collected to host (almost) simultaneous potlucks in the UK & Philippines. In the future, we hope to work together to build a multi-sensory anthology of the women who feed us from around the world.
Globally, women make up a huge part of the workforce feeding us (particularly on small scale, community or subsistence farms), yet they almost never own or lead the land they farm. In the UK, a legacy of a tradition of farms passing from father to son, a sexist culture within the sector, and a history of exclusion from agricultural educational institutions means that only 23% of farmers identify as women. In the Philippines, many small-scale farmers (mostly women) have fought for their community’s rights to farm common lands at the expense of their own liberty, in the face of rapid industrialization.
Through this project, we hope to connect and celebrate the (often hidden) women in our food systems internationally, and raise awareness around the small and large oppressions they are facing.
Since April 2025 we’ve been farming alongside some of these women in the UK, whilst our partners Jen Horn & Mabi David visit farms in the Philippines. We’ve been visiting women on the land they farm, lending a hand, and hearing about their experiences as land workers.
What brought these women to this work?
What stories, techniques, and cultural practices exist around women and farming across the UK & the Philippines?
What is the first thing you remember growing?
How is the land around you changing?
We’ve noticed overlaps, as well as many differences.
In the autumn we’ll be gathering together the insights, images, recipes and sounds collected to host (almost) simultaneous potlucks in the UK & Philippines. In the future, we hope to work together to build a multi-sensory anthology of the women who feed us from around the world.
Lead Artists: Malaika Cunningham, Mabi David, Jen Horn and Sally Proctor
Audio editing support: James Cooper
Farms: Moss Valley Farm, Darnall Community Allotment, Kiday Community Farmers Association.
The Hapag Ugnayan Potlucks are supported by with the British Council’s Connections Through Culture grant programme.