Seed Gathering 2025

We're excited to offer tickets for the Seed Sovereignty Programme's 2025 in-person Seed Gathering at the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) in Machynlleth, Cymru, on the weekend of the 17th - 19th October. Our theme this year is centred around ideas, inspiration, and hope for the future of seed: Sowing Tomorrow's Resilience.

This will be a jam-packed conference weekend filled with workshops, demonstrations, panel discussions, presentations, art and celebration, co-created by the Seed Sovereignty Team, and you, our wonderful seed network!

We are able to offer limited accommodation at CAT and at the local Corris Hostel - if you would like to book one of these please select relevant option at checkout. We have also listed some other local accommodation options below, including a campsite right by the CAT entrance. 

We're super excited for you to join us for this exciting seedy gathering created by and for agroecological seed communities!

Venue

The Seed Gathering is being held at the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT), an award-winning venue with outstanding sustainability credentials. Situated in the UNESCO Dyfi Biosphere in mid-Cymru, the venue is on a hillside overlooking a wooded valley.

Sessions will take place inside modern lecture theatres, the largest of which is built from rammed earth. Designed for low energy consumption in use, electricity contributions come from on-site renewable energy sources including solar photovoltaic panels, hydro and wind turbines.

Visitors have access to the CAT organic gardens and woodland walks. Attendees should bring sturdy footwear for exploring the outdoor areas.

The conference building is a wheelchair accessible venue with ramps, lifts, and accessible toilets. Some of the outdoor paths around the site can be accessed by wheelchair / mobility scooter.

Food

Lunch, dinner, snacks and hot drinks are included in the Seed Gathering ticket price. The menu will be vegetarian (with vegan options available) and will feature local ingredients.

We are planning an additional ‘regional bakes’ menu, offering flavours of diverse grains from around the UK and Ireland.

Breakfast is available in the CAT cafe for those staying at CAT, and those staying in the Corris Hostel. See the accommodation options below.

Accommodation

We are offering a selection of accommodation options for the Seed Gathering...

Bed and Breakfast at CAT: twin en-suite rooms at the conference venue, with breakfast in the vegetarian cafe. Please book via our Ticket Tailor page. For sole use of a room, please select two beds at the checkout. 

Hostel beds at CAT: bunk beds in a basic bunk house on the conference site. Rooms are shared and mixed gender. Breakfast is included at the CAT vegetarian cafe. Please book via our Ticket Tailor page.

Hostel beds in Corris: bunk beds in a nearby traditional hostel in the village of Corris. Situated 3 miles from the Seed Gathering - 8 min drive / 1hr walk on quiet lane. A shuttle bus will be provided to take you to the conference venue in the morning and back to the hostel in the evening. Beds are in mixed gender dorm rooms, with breakfast provided at CAT on Saturday and Sunday morning. Please book via our Ticket Tailor page.

Camping: there is a campsite right by the entrance to CAT, a 5-minute walk from the conference venue. Riverside spots, showers available, tents and van accepted. Please book direct with the Llwyngwern Farm campsite on 01654 702492.

Hotel rooms at Wynnstay: traditional inn, in the village of Machynlleth. Situated 3 miles from the Seed Gathering - 8 min drive / 1 hr walk on a quiet lane. En-suite rooms with hearty Welsh breakfast included. Book direct with Wynnstay, use discount code ‘SEEDS’ for 10% off with the Seed Gathering.

Hotel rooms at Plas Dolguog: nearby 16th century mansion, offering lavish hotel rooms. Situated 4.5miles from the Seed Gathering – 11 min drive / 1.5hr walk. Book direct with Plas Dolguog, a 15% discount has already been applied to all bookings in October.

Transport

The closest train station is Machynlleth. We will provide a shuttle bus from Machynlleth train station to the Seed Gathering on Friday afternoon, with return shuttle bus on Sunday afternoon. Please book this via our Ticket Tailor page.

For those travelling light, the Seed Gathering can be reached on foot from Machynlleth train station in 1hr via a quiet country lane. For cyclists, Sustrans National Cycle Network Route 8 passes via the rail station, right up to the entrance of the CAT Visitor Centre. This is a very pleasant, albeit a little hilly, route. The journey takes less than half an hour by bike.

For those arriving by car, CAT is clearly signposted from the A487. Car parking is available on site.

Noise

CAT is generally a very peaceful site, surrounded by woodland. However, occasionally there are military planes flying over on training routes during the daytime. These planes are extremely loud for a short time and can be alarming to those with aversion to loud noises / trauma related to military planes. Please be aware of this occasional interruption and bring ear plugs if you are particularly sensitive to loud noises.

Dogs

Dogs are welcome to walk around the outdoor areas at CAT, but unfortunately, we cannot accommodate dogs inside the Seed Gathering venue.

Bursaries

You can join the waitlist for bursary tickets by completing this application form. Subject to funding, we hope to be able to offer travel bursaries for those that need them. 

Online Tickets

In order to make this conference more accessible, we will be live streaming some of the sessions. In each programme slot we will likely be running three sessions live. We hope to stream one session from each programme slot. Workshops and discussions will not be streamed. 

We are super excited to welcome you to the Seed Gathering 2025!