Kim Stoddart speaks to a couple who are showing that you can aim for a degree of self-sufficiency without having your own smallholding
How do you live ‘the good life’ without a smallholding of your own? Dave and Gill Eustace have achieved this around their home in the Peak District.
Dave explained that they have a mixed economy lifestyle which is realistic, achievable, and indeed ideal for those who want some self-sufficiency but can’t afford, or don’t want to commit, to a pure smallholding life.
What Dave and Gill do have is a large back garden and an allotment plot in the field next to their house which the neighbouring farmer lets them use. They are growing lots of their own fruit and vegetables, making their own beer, baking their own bread and also operating a small natural soap and skin care business, Hayfield Holistics, which they run from their kitchen.
The couple met in 2008 by way of a newspaper dating website and sold up their respective houses to buy a bigger place together. They did consider moving to Wales or even France, but Dave had close ties to his community in Hayfield and the village was convenient for his commute to work in Manchester, so he was reluctant to move. Gill, being a country girl at heart, was happy to move across the Pennines from Sheffield, so they pooled resources and bought a larger Victorian house on the edge of the village.
A new business
Gill had worked as a primary school teacher for 25 years and had become very stressed and ground down by the job, so with the move she gave up her work and spent the first year enthusiastically focused on doing up their property. Whilst deciding what to do next, the couple took a holiday in Lyme Regis and came across a handmade soap shop which became the inspiration for her future business.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة Spring 2017 من Country Smallholding.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة Spring 2017 من Country Smallholding.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
The Secret World Of The Honey Bee
Who knew that honey bees are the best builders? Nicola Bradbear from Bees for Development reveals how they build their parallel wax combs with extraordinary accuracy
Tip the light fantastic
The latest offering from Ifor Williams Trailers is the Single Axle Tipper, which is simply perfect for small-scale farmers
The legacy of The Good Life
The Good Life captured the public’s imagination when it first aired in 1975. On Country Smallholding’s 45th birthday, Jeremy Hobson looks at this and other programmes with a self-sufficiency slant that have captivated urban and rural dwellers alike over nearly half a century
‘The hens took shelter under the pig trailer in the paddock'
A tree Armageddon frightens poultry diarist Julian Hammer’s flock and leaves him with a mammoth clear-up job
Tools of the trade
In the second part of his mini-series on tools that are useful around the holding, Kevin Alviti takes an in-depth look at the iconic scythe, a thistle paddle and forks that were once virtually indispensable to small-scale farmers
The nightclub bouncer of the sheep world
Adam Henson waxes lyrical about the Texel, which boasts such a stocky body that it resembles a box of muscle on four legs
Buying on a tight budget
As demand for smallholdings increases and prices continue to rise, is there a way to achieve your dream without forking out a fortune? In the first part of a new mini-series, Liz Shankland explores the possibilities
Crazy for crafts
In an ordinary back garden and single paddock near Kidderminster, Kay Dalloway has created both a thriving smallholding and a successful fibre business — all while working full time for the NHS. Helen Babbs drops by to find out about her ventures
Game on
A little preparation in the autumn months will help to make the transition into winter smoother and put your garden and tools on a better footing come the spring, says Stephanie Bateman
1975 And All That
Country Smallholding is 45 this month. To celebrate, Jeremy Hobson takes a look at some of the changes — both good and bad — to small-scale farming over that near half-century
