Fairfield House News #2: new year, Christmas and Epiphany
Also this issue: meet Ras Habbakuk; Benji back from Ethiopia; Pauline and William off to Jamaica; working with Universities and the Heritage Alliance
Ethiopians gather to celebrate Christmas and Epiphany
Ethiopians of all ages gathered at Fairfield House 28 January to celebrate Genna (Christmas) and Timket (Epiphany; the Baptism of Christ). Locals were joined by community members from as far afield as London, Oxford, and Birmingham.The event was organized by Fairfield House trustees Fiesseha Combley and Abiy Mengistu.
Many wearing traditional dress, community members generously contributed food and drinks to the gathering, celebrating with a shared home-made Ethiopian feast including doro wat (spicy chicken stew), miser berebere (spiced lentils) and the sour flatbread injera followed by traditional coffee and cake.Guests heard about Ras Benji’s recent trip to Ethiopia and progress towards sustainability, and saw for themselves the renovation under way after the hall plaster collapse.
“We were especially delighted to welcome British families who have adopted Ethiopian children, as their presence adds to the joyous atmosphere,” said Fisseha. “The Ethiopian community expresses deep gratitude for the memorable experience we had at Fairfield House.”
Meet the community: Ras Habbakuk
Born 1949 in Jamaica, Ras Habbakuk lays claim to being great nephew of Leonard Howell, father of the Rastafari movement. Habakuk came to the UK 10 Jan 1967, straight to Bath, then came to Fairfield house for the first time in 1968.
“I was on a journey to find my father’s footsteps,” he says. “The first house I came to was this house, Fairfield House.” He says he was overjoyed to find it intact, has been around the house ever since. He’s proud that occupancy was secured for the ethnic monitory elders, who had nowhere else to go. “That’s why the Emperor left it: it was especially for the elders,” he says. “He left it for the Elders and for the people that gave him help, which he appreciated. So instead of selling the house they give it to the Elders and the people of Bath.”
For the future Ras Habakuk wants to see the community continue to fulfil the Emperor’s wish: “Do what is necessary to preserve the legacy,” he says.
Ras Benji back from Ethiopia
Fairfield House Operations Manager Ras Benji started the new year returning to Ethiopia on a self funded research journey. He followed the Emperor’s footsteps in Addis Ababa and returned to Lalibela to see friends and to experience Gena (Christmas) celebrations in the Ethiopian “ New Jerusalem “.
Ras Benji reconnected Fairfield with our friend Dr Takele Merid, Director of the Institute of Ethiopian Studies (IES). He was interviewed on Ethiopian national radio, visited Heritage Watch Ethiopia and Jubilee Palace which is being refurbished before opening to visitors. He also caught up with Fairfield House community members Ezra Tsegaye, Jahmike, Gerri and Biniam Lombe.
A very special moment for Ras Benji was connecting with Meskea-Hazunan Medhane Alem Monastery (also known as Sidetegnaw Medhane Alem). Founded in memory of the Emperor’s exile in Britain it is now home of the special tabot, Medhane alem, which resided at Fairfield House in Bath. Ras Benji requested and was granted baptism at this church, and returns to work at Fairfield House with a new special personal connection to Meskea-Hazunan Medhane Alem.
Pauline and William off to Jamaica
Fairfield House trustees Pauline Swaby and William Heath are off to Jamaica for a research trip in February. Fairfield has unique connections with Jamaica: it’s not just the Jamaican welcoming face Bemsca has presented for 30 years, but also that for Rastafari it is the most sacred place in Europe.
Pauline and William want to understand better just why Fairfield House is so uniquely important to these communities, and how the team can best and most realistically respond to those needs and aspirations. They hope to meet people who remember HIM’s visit to Jamaica in 1966, and plan to meet officials, academics and Rastafari Elders including a stay with FirstMan in the Rastafari Indigenous Village. Full report next issue (unless they decide to stay).
Better collaboration with Universities
Fairfield House hosted 24 distinguished University guests Jan 10th for a workshop, panel sessions, tours of the house and supper. This work builds on our greatly valued and mutually beneficial long-term agreement with Bath Spa University, and follows the recent publication of Fairfield House’s new policy on partnerships and collaboration.
The panel sessions were chaired by Dr Tigist Grieve. Sarah Galvin facilitated. Working with delegates from the Universities of Bath, Bristol, West of England and Oxford we established a clear understanding of the various dimensions of unique significance of Fairfield House. Our friends in these Universities now understand clearly this needs to be a relationship of equals and of mutual benefit. There are a series of specific deliverables Universities need in terms of the criteria for strong research bids and the need to deliver a great student experience. But budgets are pared down to the bone; Fairfield House understands there is next to no scope for discretionary spend by Universities, and that achieving more partnerships such as we enjoy with Bath Spa University will not be easy. Some Universities are physically more distant, some much larger and more complex with opaque decision-making processes, and some have specific policies against memoranda of understanding or formal partnership agreements.
We agreed that Fairfield House will have to be imaginative and flexible, offering Universities a range of easily procured goods and services of value. Fairfield House needs to make it clear that some things it’s easy for Universities to offer, such as unfunded student placements or the opportunity to be part of a specific research bid do not work for an unfunded not-for-profit startup: they just create risk and opportunity cost.
“Our first University partnership was the cornerstone of getting the CIC social enterprise under way” said Fairfield House chair William Heath. “Developing our work with Universities in the right way is of prime importance for Fairfield House.”
Fairfield House joins the Heritage Alliance
As a heritage site of unique and national importance Fairfield House has joined the Heritage Alliance. This was done at the suggestion of friends at Oxford University’s humanities partnerships team. The Alliance represents the independent heritage movement in England.
It seems a good fit. The Heritage Alliance team said they were “really enthused by the brilliant work [Fairfield does] championing community and black culture from a significant heritage site”.
The Alliance has already connected Fairfield House with potential academic partners and funding resources. We hope to take part in their Heritage Day 7 March (theme: The Power of Collaboration, very close to Fairfield House’s priorities). And, given our ties to Ethiopia and Jamaica, Fairfield House has joined the international special interest group.
We’ll report back on any concrete results this network brings.
Up & coming
Rastafari Sabbath Observance Sun 3 Feb
Race to Adwa Sat 2nd March
Celebrating Sylvia Pankhurst Saturday 9th March (free, donation)