Rough Trade Books Presents… is a new series of events exploring contemporary topics in an atmosphere of idea exchange, conversation, and connection. Brought to you by Exeter UNESCO City of Literature, Devon & Exeter Institution, and Rough Trade Books.
For the first event in this series, we start things off with food grower and writer extraordinaire Claire Ratinon, who will be chatting to Shillingford Organics Farm School founder Fatma Sabet about growing food, ancestry & land, decolonising horticulture, and the impact of climate change.
Cost: Pay What You Can Afford*
*If choosing a paid ticket, please select ‘Card offline’ and ring the DEI on 01392 274727 to make the payment. If you don’t want to book in advance, you can get your ticket at the door on the day, but it’s first come first served. Thank you.
Bookbag bookshop will be selling books at DEI before and after the event.
Claire Ratinon
Claire is an organic food grower and writer of Mauritian heritage. After a chance encounter with a rooftop farm while living in New York City, Claire discovered her love for growing vegetables. She returned to London, where she left her career in documentary production, and has been pursuing her passion for plants ever since.
Claire has grown organic vegetables for the Ottolenghi restaurant, Rovi; delivered workshops to audiences from East London primary schools to community gardens; given talks for organisations including Whitechapel Gallery, The Garden Museum, Charleston House and the Royal Botanical Garden Edinburgh as well as presenting features on Radio 4's Gardeners' Question Time.
Her writing has been featured in Waitrose Food Magazine, Bloom and the New Statesman and her first book, How to Grow Your Dinner Without Leaving The House, was published in 2020. She lives in East Sussex.
Fatma Sabet
Fatma is a land-based educator, and a social and climate justice advocate. She is the founder of the Shillingford Organics Farm School and has published a book of poetry in Arabic. As a post-doctoral research fellow at the University of Exeter, Fatma is on a mission to transform our food system, so it is more equitable, sustainable, and healthier for people and the planet.
Accessibility Statement: The Institution is committed to improving its accessibility, and we welcome all visitors to our public events. However, we are transparent about the access limitations that the size, location, and historic nature of the building can occasion, and readily acknowledge that we are in a period of transition.
The main entrance to the DEI, (facing the Cathedral), has double doors, and is accessible for most wheelchairs. From this entrance there is level access to the foyer, and to the inner and outer libraries. We apologise for the current lack of lift access to the South Range rooms on the second floor.
As we are a small building, parking is limited, but a space can be pre-booked by contacting the office by phone: 01392 274727, or by email: office@devonandexeterinstitution.org. Priority will be given to blue badge holders. The side door into the inner library should be accessible for most wheelchair users reaching the DEI from the driveway, or the front entrance can be reached through the side door at the end of the driveway. Please do contact us if you have any further questions about your route into the DEI.
There are toilets on site, though the nearest fully accessible Changing Places toilet can be found in the Princesshay Shopping Centre, at the back of Nationwide.
The library is usually a quiet space, though can be louder during events. A timetable for events can be found on the website. If you require a quieter space, please ask a member of staff.
If sounded, the fire alarm makes a repeated sound of two tones, and flashing lights will go off in the reading room and the toilets. On an ordinary day, ringing phones and door buzzers might also be heard.
Lighting is soft throughout the building, and may be low in certain areas. Assistance dogs are welcome, and staff will be happy to provide water for your dog.