This week we’re looking at perfect gifts for our smallholding friends and families.  Whether they are still just dreaming of finding that perfect smallholding, or are actually ‘living the dream’ there are all kinds of gifts available, that will help and encourage them in their endeavours towards self sufficiency.

Smallholding courses are very popular at the moment, whether run by colleges or other educational institutions or by experienced smallholders themselves. There are a wealth of smallholding courses available on all sorts of subjects and for all levels of experience with topics as diverse as poultry keeping, pig keeping, introductions to smallholding, willow crafts, sausage making, and many other subjects.

If you can’t decide which course to buy many course providers allow you to purchase gift vouchers instead so your chosen recipient can choose the course for themselves, just remember to pick a provider who has a wide range of courses, so your friend has lots to choose from. All kinds of skills can be learnt and the courses are often taught by smallholders themselves on their own smallholdings so you can get a taste of the real thing rather than being ‘cooped’ up in a classroom environment.

Books are another great gift and there are a multitude of great examples to choose from.  For anyone planning their smallholding or just starting out the classic The New Complete Book of Self-sufficiency by John Seymour should take pride of place in any smallholders library.  It offers a complete guide to all aspects of smallholding and is widely regarded as the smallholder’s ‘bible’. 

Also available by John Seymour is The New Self-Sufficient Gardenerfor those attempting self sufficiency on a smaller scale on an allotment or garden.

If your intended recipient already has these books, why not buy them one on a more specialist self sufficiency subject, such as:

Bread making Making Jams and Preserves Getting Started in Permaculture Making Bent Willow Furniture Recognising ailments in your livestock

As well as a wide variety of books there are a few specialist monthly magazines devoted to all things smallholding, such as:

Home Farmer Magazine
Country Smallholding Magazine
Smallholder Magazine

An annual subscription makes an ideal gift, providing your smallholding friend with an interesting and informative read for a whole year.

Click on the links below for more info on perfect courses for smallholders:

Pig Keeping Courses

Introduction to Smallholding Courses

Learn Willow Crafts

Learn Butchery and Sausage Making skills

Still looking for Your Smallholding? Visit Greenshifters for the latest smallholdings for sale, rent and exchange.

Article by Rural Smallholdings Magazine

Firstly, we would like to thank everyone at Rural Smallholdings Magazine for publishing the original article about our Eco Hamlet project in Croatia, the response has been fantastic!

Within three months of the article being published, we received over a hundred enquiries and they are still coming in each month, it certainly seems as though we have hit on an idea that appeals to many people.

By the end of October we have already welcomed some twenty people to Croatia interested in viewing the Eco Hamlet project and the first three properties have been sold, with one couple having already moved over, and several more planning to do so early in the New Year.

There are three more properties available for sale within the hamlet itself, as well as nine others very close by, so any interested readers are still welcome to get in touch.

At the moment anyone with general building skills would be of great benefit, as would those with marketing and business development experience in the rural tourism sector.

A recent development has been the opening of a small hotel, restaurant, horse riding centre and fishing lake complex, just down the road from the eco hamlet, so people are really getting on board with the Eco tourism aspect of the project.

Thanks to the success of this first project, we have now found another village ideal for creating a similar community, which we hope to get under way by the summer of 2010, just as Croatia is likely to join the EU and a very special party is sure to be had!

Thanks once again to all at Rural Smallholding Magazine, your help is much appreciated.

Keith Pierce

Please click here to visit the Inland Croatia site.

This post was submitted by Keith Pierce.

Opportunity to purchase a substantial and beautiful 4 double bedroomed family home situated on the outskirts of the village of Marshland St James.

Alder Lodge offers spacious accomodation set in 32 acres of grounds comprising approx 1 acre formal grounds and gardens and a further 31 acres of pasture, apple and plum orchards with wildlife walks and private riding. The numerous trees and orchards surrounding and within the land offer a lifetimes supply of free logs. Perfect for self sufficiency.

This is a registered small holding in receipt of the single payment and is suitable for a wide variety of uses.

Alder Lodge is a fine country residence in good order set in its own 32 acre estate with easy access by road to the A47. 8 Miles from Wisbech, 8 miles from Downham Market ( Direct train to Kings Cross London ). 12 miles from Kings Lynn also with trains direct to Kings Cross London. Short drive to Sandringham estate and the coast.

The village of Marshland St James is 1 mile from Alder Lodge and has a delightful primary school with a school bus to the high school. A Post Office, Public House, farm shop (selling locally grown produce), hardware store, van hire, village hall, Methodist Church, fishing lake, riding school and a number of small cottage industries.

The spacious accommodation includes front hall, kitchen, lounge, drawing room, dining room, rear hall, downstairs cloakroom, pantry/utility room, morning room, downstairs office, utility room, 4 double bedrooms, wc and seperate bathroom.

The property boasts many period and character features including open fires, an inglenook style brick built fire place with heavy bessemer beam over, stable doors to front and rear garden, brick arches and views of open countryside.

From inside the property a lobby with 3 doors leads to the downstairs office, utility room and the garage with loft hatch to 2nd loft area ideal for conversion to seperate living accommodation.  Next door to the garage and attached to the building there is also a boiler house which houses the oil fired central heating boiler.

There are two main gated entrances both with white five bar gates. The first as you turn into Rands Drove leads up a long gravelled carriage drive to the front of the property. There is ample parking along the drive for numerous vehicles. This first drive is through the front formal gardens laid to lawn with shrubs and mature trees and features several pieces of antique farm equipment as ornamentation set in gravel beds.

The second main entrance is further along Rands Drove and is also through a five bar gate to the rear aspect of the property opening into a very large gravelled parking area with room for a large number of vehicles with ample turning space.

Off this drive is an attractive penned area bordered with hedging that houses a large dog kennel providing sleeping area for a good number of dogs with the advantage of a big grassed exercise space all of which is fully secured with gates front and rear.

At the end of the gravel parking area a gate leads to another gravel area currently used for sitting in summer months with views across the adjacent field and surrounding land belonging to the property.

Next to the dog enclosure at the far end there is a wood shed with metal roof used to house a tractor and is joined by a small wood barn used for straw storage.

Next to this is a triple stable and tack room. Newly constructed by National Stables comprising three loose boxes and a tack room.

Adjacent is an old portacabin used for storage.

In the middle of the land accessed by a separate gated drive off of School Road are the middle buildings. These comprise of a large concrete outbuilding with metal roof and barn doors. A portacabin toilet block (plumbed in ), a small wash room and two other storage blocks made of concrete. There is also a lorry box container also used as storage.

These buildings are accessed as stated from School Road over a small private bridge and along approx 100 metres of gravel track. This double gated entrance also provides main road access to the two fields and orchards. The first field and part of the orchards also benefit from a licence from the Camping & Caravanning Club and is a certificated site for overnight camping if needed.

The two fields of good flat pasture land total about ten acres in all approx and the rest of the land comprises of walks and rides through the private orchards of apples and plumbs. There are some formal orchard areas of dessert fruits which could be used for commercial growing and also about 1 acre of Victoria Plums which are of commercial advantage.

What was formally Bramley apple orchards of about 15 acres approx has been transformed into wide pathways of country walks ideal for rambling or riding. Perfect for cross country riding and wildlife watching and country pursuits. The whole area is totally private and you are very much within your own world here.

The property easily lends itself to a variety of uses and functions and would ideally suit equestrian or smallholders or commercial. Numerous possibilities. There is a Victoria Plum orchard containing about 1 acre of mature trees producing between 3 and 5 tons per year plus apple orchards of Bramley, Jonagold, Russet, Gala, and Saturn plus a number of other types. It benefits from being licenced by the Caravan & Camping Club for touring caravans and tents. Although this has not been capitalised on by the current owners it could easily be expanded upon as could the equestrian side of things. Numerous possibilities and endless potential. Easy enough to manage and big enough to live within your own world.

The property is being promoted on Greenshifters.co.uk (view full particulars).

Article by Rural Smallholding Magazine

UNIQUE PROPERTY WITH EXCELLENT BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES!

Fancy getting your rod out at the edge of this beautiful lake? This smallholding for sale comes with a gorgeous 2 acre fishing lake.

If you want to run a manageable smallholding with income potential, then this rural property could be just what you are looking for. The smallholding is located in Yorkshire and comprises, in brief:

• 1.5 acres of land
• 2 acres of Fishing lake
• Stables and Paddocks
• Fruit gardens,veg patch and orchard
• Offers in the region of three hundred and fifty thousand (£350,000).

The property is being advertised at Greenshifters.co.uk.

View the full property details here.

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