Fri 2 & Sat 3 Oct 2026
Stroud, Gloucestershire
Festival 2026 Programme
Two days. Two nights. Two community meals. 21 contributors. 8 venues.
Registration opens at 9:00-10:00 Friday at St Laurence Church.
The festival ends at 18:00 on Saturday. For people wanting to stay longer, eat and chat together, there will be dinner on Saturday at Trinity Rooms.
Scroll down for more details about individual sessions
Limited-capacity sessions
Some of the sessions require you to book onto them because of limited capacity The booking for these sessions can be done on this website
until midnight on Wednesday 30th September.
You will also be able to book in person when you register at the event
Find Guide on how to book online here
Having trouble booking these limited space sessions?- Don't worry!
Please contact us on hello@festival-of-commoning.org
and we can help or book for you
Friday 2 October
Saturday 3 October
Session Information
Friday morning
Arriving Together
Goldie Chaudhuri,
Festival of Commoning
St Laurence Church
10-11:30
Come together to discover more about each other, the festival, and what Commoning means to each of us. We’ll walk away with a few different invitations for deeply engaging with the programme.
Transforming Neighbourhoods
East Marsh United & Positive Carrickfergus
St Laurence Church
11:45-12:45
Meet these two grassroots groups that are transforming their neigbourhoods addressing the issues that matter to their communities most: from a community-owned greengrocer to community-led housing -- sprinkled with art and music events that make a place a truly great place to live.
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Claude Hendrickson MBE
Lansdown Hall
11:45-12:45
Claude is a community-led housing advocate and campaigner, with over 30 years’ experience in community development, housing and regeneration. He was instrumental in the pioneering Frontline community self-build project in Leeds and continues to champion community ownership, self-build and housing justice.
*** Lunch 12:45 - 14:15 ***
Hot, vegan and gluten-free
Friday afternoon
From the Ground Up
Jaqui & Lou from
Paganhill Community Centre
Lansdown Hall
14:15-15:15
This interactive session will hear from Jaqui and Lou of Paganhill Community Group, a community hub based at The Octagon in Stroud. Following a short film, they will share their experiences of building community, supporting local people, and applying asset-based community development principles that focus on people's strengths, skills and relationships.
Conflict, Collaboration & Collective Power:
Joining together for the common good
Paul Kahawatte,
Navigate
St Laurence Church
14:15-17:00
*Spaces limited: reserve a place*
Conflict can divide us at every level, from difficulties with those we work or live beside, all the way up to huge social & political tensions. It could also offer a path to joining together to become something more than we can be alone.
This session will look at some practical ways we can prepare for and engage with tensions, disagreements and difficulties, in order to work together, more powerfully, for a better future.
Cooperative Networks
Cecosesola
Lansdown Hall
15:45-17:00
Join members of Cecosesola, Venezuela’s pioneering cooperative network, for a video- linked session featuring a short pre-recorded presentation followed by a live Q&A. Discover how their non-hierarchical, community-led approach has built resilience, provided affordable essential services, and adapted to decades of economic and social challenges.
Tending our Common Land
Heavens Valley Community Benefit Society
The Heavens Valley
14:45-17:15
*Spaces limited: reserve a place*
Come and see the beautiful Heavens Valley. Spend the afternoon in the fresh air, tour the site, and hear the story of the community who bought it, aiming to balance the needs of both nature and people.
*Meet outside St Laurence Church at 14:15 to walk to the Heavens Valley together. This session is not accessible to wheelchair users as the paths are steep and uneven in places*
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Leisure Commons
Chik Shimasaki,
Stroud Commons
Stroud Climbing Commons
15:10-17:10
*Space limited: reserve a place*
Visit Stroud Common’s brand new Climbing Commons. A community bouldering facility at half the price of conventional facilities. Hear Chik Shimasaki tell the story of how we turned it from an idea into a reality. This is a proof-of-concept project, demostrating how the funding and governance ideas can be used for many other projects, not just in leisure. Chik will answer all your questions and you’ll get a go climbing too! Places limited.
*Meet outside St Laurence Church at 14:15 to walk to the Climbing Commons along the canal together, or meet at the Climbing Commons at 15:10.*
Crafting the Commons
Periscope
The Long Table
17:00-18:00
Join periscope to co-create a collaborative textile piece exploring what our commons are and what they could be.
Periscope will be popping up between 5-6pm on Friday 2nd at the Long Table, and between 10am-2pm outside St Laurence Church.
You are also invited to help carry the fabric in a celebratory procession up to the Trinity Rooms for the closing event and meal, where sections of the fabric will be sewn into tote bags or offered as kits to make yourself.
Join us for a pay-what-you-can meal at The Long Table in Brimscombe. Food is hyper local and seasonal.
It's a lovely 50 minute walk along the canal. If you have access needs, please let us know and we can arrange lifts to the venue.
Party
Black Ark Media
Stroud Brewery/Balcony Bar
19:30-23:00
*Reserve your free place*
if you haven't attended the Festival, you can buy a ticket at the door (pay-as-you-can)
Black Ark Media presents The Collective, drawing on the best of contemporary hip hop, dance, spoken word in celebration of Black History and culture 365 days a year. Music specialist DJ Robbie Duncan and artists Jussara Nazare, encapsulating dance and spoken word, Southwest rapper Griz-O, and creative dancer Kameel will bring joy, great vibes and togetherness on Friday evening at the Brewery.
19:30-20:00 Robbie Duncan (DJ)
20:10-20:40 Jussara (Dance & Spoken word)
20:45-21:30 GRYZBY (Rapping duo)
21:30-22:45 Robbie Duncan (DJ)
Saturday morning
Rehearsing the Future: Community Imagining as Practice
Ruth Ben Tovim
Lansdown Hall
10-11:15
A deep dive into creative participation methodologies from Town Anywhere, a large scale time travel community visioning process. Explore conditions that enable people to come together across differences, work and make decisions collectively, and build trust, agency and a sense of belonging quickly. Imagination is an essential social skill for bridging divides and navigating uncertain futures.
(Un)common alliances: The power of partnerships in community led housing
Rowan Mackay,
Community Led Homes
Lansdown Hall
11:30-12:45
In this interactive session we’ll unpack key questions on delivering community led housing projects and introduce some models you may not have heard of.
Do you always need money to start a project?
How to partner with a system you’re struggling against?
Come with a question or just a curiosity.
Assembly Culture: Finding common ground in a polarised world
Humanity Project
St Laurence Church
10:45-12:45
Join the Humanity Project to hear how neighbourhood assemblies help communities across the UK build trust, share power and drive change together by finding common ground in times of polarisation. Through listening, deliberating, and storytelling, neighbours rediscover their collective agency.
Community Living Room
Maff Potts,
Camerados
Bank Gardens
10-16:00
Wander outside to join our Public Living Room, hosted by Maff Potts of Camerados: people who believe that the answer to our problems is each other and who create places where people can get together and have a bit of company, with no outcomes needed. You might get a chance to try and explain what Commoning is all about to curious passers-by!
Commoning Land
Rachael Forster,
Landmatch England
& Ama Valentine,
Common Soil
Common Soil
10-12:15
*Spaces limited: reserve a place*
Can (re)-commoning our food system address the meta-crises? What do community farms offer and what would it take for this currently piecemeal network to bring life back to the land, bring people together, and improve public health at scale. Get your hands in the soil and explore the big questions together.
Meet at Common Soil at 10:00. Walking back to the main Festival area together for lunch.
*** Lunch 12:45 - 14:00 ***
Hot, vegan and gluten-free
Saturday afternoon
Community energy: Taking control of our renewable abundance
Platform,
Stroud Area Community Energy Network (SACEN) & ResNet
Lansdown Hall
14:00-14:50
Who owns our energy? And who currently profits? Join Flick Monk (Platform), Jess Farr (SACEN) and Iris Partridge (ResNet) to explore how the community energy movement is putting communities in control of our renewable resources, why that’s good for people and our planet, and how you can join the radical movement of energy commoning.
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Cooking for Community
Trinity Rooms
Community Cafe
Trinity Rooms
15:00-18:00
*Spaces limited: reserve a place*
What better way to learn than by doing? Come and join the Trinity team and get stuck into cooking. You'll be making a meal for 100+ Festival contributors and participants. In the process, you'll learn what it takes to run a successful community cafe and to create hearty, healthy meals for hundreds using surplus food along with bought-in ingredients.
*Meet outside St Laurence Church at 14:40 to walk to theTrinity Rooms, or meet at there at 15:00.*
Financial and economic commons
Dave Darby,
Stroud Commons
Lansdown Hall
15:10-16:00
A new commons movement is developing, with new and revamped financial and economic tools, that can federate to form the basis of a new economy, owned by communities, rather than by banks and corporations. Dave, who is one of the founders of Growing the Commons knowledge bank, will explain the basic ideas, and their inventors will be present to answer questions.
Open Space
Kat Child,
Festival of Commoning
St Laurence Church
14:00-16:00
Open Space is a participant-driven workshop method. There are no pre-planned speakers or rigid schedules. You will be able to co-create the agenda on the spot around a shared core theme. Anyone can propose a session, host a discussion, or move between groups freely. This format unlocks collective wisdom, active collaboration, and self-organisation.
Closing Ceremony
Festival of Commoning
St Laurence Church
16:20 - 17:20
Come together to reconnect, reflect, and share your highlights from the festival.
We'll take a moment to collect any hopes for the future...
We'll gather outside for our procession towards our community dinner.
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Dinner at Trinity Rooms
Trinity Rooms
18:00-22:00
*Reserve your place*
*Pay-what-can*
Finish the festival with a feast cooked up by fellow participants. It'll be a chance to deepen connections you've made over the Festival, and get chatting to people and projects you want to learn more about.
BOOK ONTO LIMITED SPACE SESSIONS BELOW
FoC 2026 bagMon 02 NovStroud- Festival of Commoning 2026. This event is now finished.Friday 2nd & Saturday 3rd October 2026Stroud
Saturday Dinner at Trinity Rooms Community HubSat 03 OctTrinity Rooms
Cooking for CommunitySat 03 OctTrinity Rooms
Commoning LandSat 03 OctCommon Soil Community Farm
Friday Party at Stroud BreweryFri 02 OctStroud Brewery & Taproom
Friday Dinner at The Long TableFri 02 OctThe Long Table
Leisure CommonsFri 02 OctClimbing Commons, Brimscombe Mill
Tending Our Common LandFri 02 OctThe Heavens Valley
Conflict, Collaboration & Collective Power with Paul KahawatteFri 02 OctSt Laurence: Stroud Centre for Peace- PowerstationSun 06 SeptTrinity Rooms