Tomorrow (Saturday 8 January) S4C’s popular gardener Russell Jones will embark on an adventurous journey to the African continent.
The effervescent Byw yn yr Ardd presenter will visit Kenya and Tanzania to learn how the people grow their own food and keep animals on such slim resources. His journey will be filmed for a special S4C series Byw yn y Byd which will be broadcast in February.
As he prepared to leave his wife Jen, young son Bleddyn, his vegetable patch and chickens in Rhosgadfan, Russell said he was extremely excited about the trip.
Russell said: “I have never travelled so far before, and I’m not sure what to expect. It will be a strange feeling to leave the chickens and the patch in Rhosgadfan, let alone Jen and Bleddyn. This will be the first time for me to spend more than two weeks away from home.
Russell, 30, said: “I am looking forward to see how the people grow their vegetables and keep chickens our there. I’m sure I’ll learn a lot from them.”
Joining Russell on the journey will be Branwen Niclas of the Christian Aid charity. She will take him to visit several projects which teach people how to live self sufficiently, including teaching them how to grow crops in challenging conditions and how to keep chickens.
Russell believes that teaching people to live self sufficiently is very important.
“I know that they live in very tough circumstances, and it will be very interesting to see how they cope. I hope the series will be an eye opener for us all. It’s silly that people buy vegetables which are grown in struggling countries when they have enough soil to grow their own at home!” he said.
Follow Russell’s journey through the Byw yn y Byd blog, on Twitter @bywynybyd and the Facebook page.
