Swansea Vegans

USEFUL LINKS

Eat Out Vegan Wales
Listings of places to eat out in Swansea and elsewhere

History of Swansea Vegans
by George Barwick
(the group's founder)

Other vegan groups in South Wales (Facebook pages)

NOTMAD 'No to Meat and Dairy', Carmarthen area (website also)
Cardiff Vegans
Pembrokeshire Vegans ('Vegan Dreaming' website also)

National groups (UK)

Vegan Society
Vegan Organic Network
Vegan Village

Local vegans are active in the groups below

Vegfam
Vegan Views magazine
MCL Movement for Compassionate Living

SWANSEA VEGANS

A social, educational and campaigning group formed in 2002

We're also on Facebook, with over 150 members at present, and much lively discussion. Vegans, vegetarians, or anyone interested in the vegan way of life, are all very welcome at any meetings or events. If you'd like to go on our EMAIL LIST to receive news of future events please email us at

Events, News, Notices

Thursday 20th June 2013 6-10pm Another vegan/vegetarian food evening at D'Lish Cafe at 2 The Kingsway, Swansea SA1 5JQ (part of the YMCA building at the western end of The Kingsway). Booking advisable (tel: 01792 463838) - see here for the menu poster. This time it's a Mexican menu, and it follows on from their two successful evenings held in May.

3-17 August 2013 Vegan Camp, this year near Bude in Cornwall. Social gathering for singles, couples and families - you can go for a short visit or the full fortnight. A few people from Swansea are going (contact Dave Martin via Swansea Vegans if you'd like to link up, or know more about the Camp).

Saturday 31st August 2013 Vegan street market in Carmarthen, with stalls, entertainers, taster tables etc, organised by Absolute Treats (a vegetarian boutique bakery).

Saving the World with your Knife and Fork About 35 people attended the talk and cookery demonstration at the Environment Centre in Swansea on 6th March 2013. Tony Wardle from Viva! gave the talk, and Helen Rossiter and Jane Easton the cookery demonstration. Many people commented on how much they enjoyed the evening! Photos by Dave Martin.

Lots of Nice Things is Helen Rossiter's blog, packed with new vegan recipes. Helen moved to Swansea last year from Bristol (where she worked for Viva!).

Fruits de la Terre have a stall at Swansea's indoor market every Friday/Saturday, selling vegan pies, burgers, etc. They are proving very popular! See Helen Rossiter's review on her blog.

Cakes

Naturally Kind Food is a new small business in Swansea selling delicious vegan cakes and treats. Also very highly praised! See their Facebook page or contact Andrew Norton 01639 699185. The cakes are on sale at the D'lish Cafe located in the YMCA building at the western end of the Kingsway in Swansea. The photo (by Robyn Godfrey) shows some of their cakes at the 'Saving the World with your Knife and Fork' meeting in March.

Eating out in Swansea Eat Out Vegan Wales list many places for vegans to eat out in the Swansea area and beyond - please email them if you can help by updating or adding to any of the information they give. See also Vegan Café 4 the Day below.

Vegan Views The Spring 2013 issue of Vegan Views is now out and available free online. It includes an interview with vegan dietitians Jack Norris & Ginny Messina (authors of Vegan for Life), articles by Teresa Bergen on her visit to see the amazing animals in the Galapagos islands, and Zion Lights on gardening the vegan way ... and much more.

The photos below were taken at the Vegan Café 4 the Day event in Mumbles on Saturday 14th July 2012, organised by Eat Out Vegan Wales, where Swansea Vegans had a literature stall run by George & Shirley Barwick (photo on right). Around ten volunteers from the Eat Out Vegan Wales group worked hard all day, serving an estimated 200-300 people (mostly non vegans) with free food and drinks. This was their fourth Vegan Café 4 the Day event, following on from successful days in Bangor, Aberystwyth and Llangollen in 2011/12.
They also produce a free Vegan South Wales guide, and on their website (click on the link above) there's lots of helpful info about where to eat out in the Swansea area, or elsewhere in Wales. They have also produced a very detailed guide to organising free vegan food fayres, based on their experience over the past ten years. If you'd like a copy, or if you know anybody who might like one, email them for a free guide (21-page pdf, print version also available).

In the recent past Swansea Vegans have put on a variety of events - the usual social meetings with pot luck meals, occasional discussions/talks, picnics/walks in the summer, and so on. And now and again we've tagged along with other existing environmental-type events, or connected with other local groups. In 2011 we also showed the new Vegan Society film Making the Connection at the Environment Centre, and visited a forest garden at Ystradgynlais.

At the moment we're arranging fewer meetings, but if anyone has suggestions about future events (or anything else), or would like to organise something, then please do get in touch.

SWANSEA VEGANS CONTACTS

Malcolm 01792-792442 or Christina 01639-844992 (mobile 07939-684817)
Email:

Information

Some local vegans are also active in national groups. Vegfam ("feeds the hungry without exploiting animals") is a charity based near Llandovery. MCL (Movement for Compassionate Living), who promote environmental veganism, are based in Ystalyfera. Vegan Views magazine is now printed, and partly produced, in Swansea - copies can be downloaded free from their website.

The UK Vegan Society is the place to go for basic and more detailed information on veganism - see for example their booklets/leaflets page (which includes a useful catering guide for hospitals should you ever find yourself in one). The noticeboard at the Vegan Village site is excellent for all sorts of vegan-related adverts: accommodation, events, projects, and much more.

The Vegan Society's film Making the Connection can be seen online at the
Environment Films website. It's 30 minutes long, and features a variety of vegans talking about their diets and lifestyles (a chef, MP, dietitian, athlete, young mother, and several others). It's also on YouTube, where it's split into eight chapters. If you're interested in showing the film to a group of people you can get a free DVD from Environment Films (or from the Vegan Society).

Veganism is a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude - as far as is possible and practical - all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of humans, animals and the environment. In dietary terms it denotes the practice of dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly from animals.