Meet the Farmers
Growers, volunteers and board members relaxing together after an afternoon’s work
Tyninghame Community Farm operates with the help of our volunteers and our aim is to become part of our community, not just to sell produce. But although volunteer help is key to our success, the driving force behind the farm is our team of growers. We want to create a thriving, self-sufficient business, that in turn creates good, fulfilling jobs. And the only way to do that is by employing incredibly skilled, hard-working people who know how to plan, grow and harvest appropriate crops for our location and climate.
So we’d like to take this opportunity to introduce you to them!
David Barfoot, Head Grower
Our head grower, David Barfoot, is the single most important person at the farm. He started out working with volunteers on environmental projects and transitioned into veg growing around ten years ago. The decade he spent working at commercial market gardens has given him an enormous amount of knowledge about how to grow vegetables at scale. He has a deep love for nature and works to grow in a way that harnesses soil biology, beneficial insects and natural ecosystems to grow productively. In this way he balances the need for efficiency and practicality, with innovative agroecological practice to grow in a way that is both commercial and environmentally friendly.
Ernest Sumbo, Assistant Grower
Ernest, our assistant grower, has been working with the farm since we started in 2023, but joined as a permanent employee last year, thanks to a grant from First Port. Farming has been a part of his life since childhood and he holds a Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture from SRUC. Prior to joining TCF he worked at the Life Science Trust in Gifford as a farm hand and care assistant, helping people with special needs enjoy the benefits of agriculture.
Mari Wilson, Farmhand and Driver
Outside of the farm, Mari has been a chef, teaches yoga and as a die-hard nature lover has been growing her own food for 25 years. She does most of our deliveries and assists Dave and Ernest part-time in working on the farm.
The farm was originally founded by David Barfoot and board directors Erica Wimbush, Daniel Wight, Naomi Barnes, Rachel Blenkharn and Jacob Wright. The board help with fundraising, business planning, marketing and volunteer organisation as well as joining in with the work of the farm. Erica and Daniel own the land at St Baldreds which is of course essential for our operations! Unfortunately we don’t have a photo of all the board members together…
In 2025 Rachel left the board due to work and family commitments. But we have just welcomed three new members. Liz Macfie has taken on the role of Treasurer - she loves using data and spreadsheets and is helping to shape up our financial management. Liz is a wildlife conservationist with many years experience of managing charity projects overseas and recent experience of helping to run a local community trust in theScottish Borders.
Liz, somewhere exotic
Long-time volunteers and friends of the farm David Pencheon and Pete Felton have also come on board as Non-executive director and Board Director respectively. David brings a wealth of experience in strategy and a fantastic local network. Pete is a technology and project management expert who is helping us upgrade our systems and processes.
New board members David Pencheon (left) and Pete Felton (right)
