A Space to Grow Food and People

Olly and Keesje met at agricultural college a very long time ago. Let us introduce you to the wonderful animals who put up with us:

Our sheep are called Jacob sheep. We bought our two original ewes, Gertrude and Jeckyll, in lamb in January 2016. They both gave birth to twins completely unaided. We got to see a couple of nights of Northern Lights when we checked on them. We sell meat as well as wool and rovings for crafting, as well as host felting courses.

We have geese, which are just pets - and not very friendly. One of them does lay in the Spring time but hasn't yet managed to actually hatch any goslings.

We also have a range of chickens and ducks. Here is one of them reminding me to feed her. They are quite an independent lot – in particular they refuse to lay their eggs in one place or where we can find them. Very annoying!

And of course there are our dogs. Inja is our gorgeous but ageing and grumpy English Shepherd dog. He will be your best friend if you throw his soggy ball. Nkosi is a young dog and very friendly but still learning his manners.

On the plant side we planted an orchard of apples, nuts and plums thanks to the generous help of our friends and family who sponsored trees. We have started growing a small amount of flowers and vegetables as well as herbs for cooking and teas and experiment with edible flowers. We are high up and quite exposed though so the growing season is very short! We are also planting trees across the smallholding for shelter, habitat, soil retention, carbon fixing and tree fodder.

We couldn't have done anything without the help of our wonderful volunteers. Every few months we have a Wwooffer or four to help us with the weeding, planting or just organising. It is quite phenomenal how much more can happen with an extra pair of hands. Have you heard of Wwoof? Have a look at their website for more information about how you can get involved.