ITS all about horse power for a pioneering West Devon community market garden scheme, as it prepares to plough into another successful year.

Chagfood is the first project in Devon based on local food marketing, known as Community Supported Agriculture (CSA).

The scheme, based on land at Parford, near Easton Cross, provides residents with their own weekly vegetable box, which is delivered by working Dartmoor Welsh Cob, Samson.

Three-year-old Samson has also been trained to plough the fields and pull up weeds and is a major attraction for the scheme, which was granted planning permission in March this year.

The project is run by two paid growers and two volunteers.

Volunteer at Chagfood, Annkatrin Hendry, who also trains Samson, said the scheme had got off to a flying start.

She said: When Samson enters the town laden with vegetables, its the best way to advertise  he must bring in one new subscriber a week.

At the moment, two people have to be with him when he works, but in the long run he will only need one person.

Members will also have the opportunity to help work on the project, to educate them on food provenance and help with harvesting.

The soil we grow on is so fresh, its very good and it makes a big difference to what we produce.

We went on a course this year in France and learned how to use all the equipment and how to conserve the moisture in the soil.

It really makes a big difference and we hope to run courses next year, on using different machinery and working with horses.

The scheme also encourages communities to actively support farmers who are producing their food.

Grower Ed Hamer, who works on the land four-and-a-half days a week, said: Im really proud of what weve achieved, its nice to have an idea and see it happen.

Having Samson with us is great, he works very hard and has come on really well.

The feedback we have had from local people and farmers has been really encouraging.

Mr Hamer said the original idea for Chagfood came out of a community meeting held back in February 2008.

He added: A few people were really enthusiastic about doing it and we applied for funding the same month the Lottery brought out their food grant.

It took a year to hear back from them and in the meantime we looked at sites.

Last year the project finally secured funding for £36,000 from the Big Lotterys Local Food Fund, subject to obtaining planning permission.

Ed said: Our target this year was 25 boxes a week and weve hit that  next year it will be 40.

Weve already got a waiting list and are taking on subscriptions.

Chagfood hopes a third polytunnel will soon be added to the two sheds and two larger polytunnels already on the land.

Chagfood currently has 25 members who pay an annual subscription fee in return for a share in the harvest, which supplies enough food to feed a family of two or three.

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