[Georgie_porgie]

Hi all

I'll post this here as I'm not sure where exactly to post...

I really want to start a smallholding and am right at the bottom of the ladder in regards to both money and experience!!! It's been an ongoing "dream" if you could say that.  I'm almost 30, live in a city and work part time in a shop so I am nowhere near smallholding at the moment.

I am saving and my other half grew up in the countryside and we regularly visit relatives there, we are also "outdoorsy" people so have no rose tinted spectacles about country life and the outdoors.

What I really want to know is where to start, obviously I need to buy some land and hope I can get a mortgage  but apart from that I am totally clueless about how to turn "dream" into reality.

I mainly want to keep alpaca (for fleece and possibly breeding), dairy goats, chickens (for eggs and possibly breeding for meat) and then grow vegetables.  One day I also hope to plant an orchard.  I know all of this costs money to start up so I was thinking of starting small and over the years build it up into a business.

Any advice on what steps I can take would be greatly appreciated!  I'm thinking of trying to get either some work experience or a job in a farm/smallholding setting although this also seems difficult (maybe I'm not pushing hard enough there!).

Anyway, that's quite a long post so sorry! (I'll shut up now) and don't hold back on the "hard reality"....I'm interested in the warts and all advice!

Thanks

Georgie

[mojocafa]

Where are you based? Someone on here local to you may be in need of an extra pair of hands

[Georgie_porgie]

Oops, forgot to mention that bit, I'm in Canterbury, Kent.

Thanks!

Georgie

[JMB]

I've just googled and found kent smallholders association. We have a smallholders association here in central Scotland which is great for advice, lambing courses, land management courses etc.
Have you tried your local one?
J xxx

[Dan]

If you want work experience on smallholdings and farms have a look at WWOOF - http://www.wwoof.org.uk/

It'll give you an opportunity to work at the various ventures and find out which give you the most pleasure/satisfaction as well as which might be viable business for you. It's hard to make a living from a general smallholding - most who earn their main income from it will specialise in one particular area.

This report is good reading if your ultimate aim is to make a living from a small acreage:

http://ecologicalland.coop/projects-small-successful
(Report PDF here: http://ecologicalland.coop/sites/ecologicalland.coop/files/Small_is_Successful.pdf)

Hope this helps. Good luck with it, and keep us posted on your progress. 

[suziequeue]

Yes - agree with Dan. WWOOFing is a good way to get an idea of the crazy, delightful world of smallholding. We take WWOOFers and would be delighted to have you. We are in mid-Wales.

[Tudful Tamworths]

One of my boars went to live in Canterbury. If you like, I could dig out the details of the (very nice) buyers and ask if you could pop along to their smallholding and give a hand/learn about the highs and lows.

[HesterF]

I'm just down the road from you (Brabourne, between Canterbury, Ashford and Folkestone) so you're welcome to pop over here although I have none of the four legged variety (and have decided to steer clear for now). We moved in last year and I've got chickens, ducks, geese, veges, fruit trees old and new and bees coming soon. We've just had planning permission for a holiday cottage approved (yay!) and to be honest the income from that will eclipse everything else! I've just been doing my sums and the eggs are still costing over £2 each, ignoring the initial set-up costs of the run and housing. Given that I'll be selling them for £1.30 a half dozen, I'll make over £11 loss per pack which gives you an idea of the financial challenges of living the dream. Best way to start is buy a place with a bit of land and gradually build up, imho. I have the luxury of a husband working hard in London to finance our 'dream' so we may not be a typical smallholding - we're still quite capital rich until we spend the rest on holiday cottage and vineyard and by then we'll poor as church mice for several years.

I also have copies of various books you might want to borrow...

Just PM me if you fancy coming over (would suggest after the school holidays if you want to keep your ear drums in tact).

H

[HesterF]

Meant to say as well that I've not been in contact with the Kent Smallholders but they are active. They meet at the other end of Kent though - Tonbridge area - early evening once a month so impossible for me to get to (up and round the motorways at rush hour makes it a long journey).

H

[benkt]

Start small and simple and work up. Almost everyone should be able to get hold of an allotment to grow some veg and if you're lucky they'll let you keep chickens too. You can learn so much from just running some pigs or store lambs through the summer and off to slaughter in the autumn - possibly on rented land which will give you a good idea of if you really like the work and commitment whilst still leaving you warm and dry over winter. We got started in a large back garden, then squatted some pigs on an abandoned patch of land for the summer before finally finding our current place at auction for next-to-nothing!
We've also had a chap volunteering for a day once a week over the winter to get some experience before starting his own holding this year - I can't believe anyone would turn down an extra pair of hands for the day!

[thenovice]

Im in kent, and land can be at a bit of a premium because of (dare I say it) pony paddocks. It tends to be not what you know, but who you know, and if you speak to the right people, and don't be afraid to ask, there are usually a few bits of unloved land about to rent, sometimes for free. Don't think that buying livestock is expensive, we got our chickens for free as chicks in a cardboard box from a friend. If you know where to look, pigs and sheep can be bought at bargain prices. Keep pestering and don't give up 

[Georgie_porgie]

Hi all,

Thanks for all the replies, wasn't expecting so many! Just a message and run tonight just to let you all know I intend to read    and reply when I have more time...super busy tonight.

Georgie

[Georgie_porgie]

Hi all,

Bit more time to reply this morning!

JMB - I haven't been in contact with Kent smallholders, I will look into this but as HesterF mentioned that they are in Tonbridge, that could be a bit difficult for me.

Dan and Suziequue - WWOOFing sounds like a great idea, and I have looked into similar ideas about working on a farm with room and food although these are more "holiday" type ventures so I don't think you would get the whole picture.  As I work WWOOFing for me would have to be one offs here and there really, but if I can find places that are happy with that, that's a great idea!

Tudful Tamworths- Thank you, that would be great if you could PM me their details or even I'll PM you mine and you can pass them on if you think they would prefer that?

HesterF- Thanks!  I will PM you about popping over at some point.

I think starting small is the only way to go for me, so I'm thinking starting with the things I really want as more of a hobby than an income and go from there. 

Will keep you all posted, thanks for the advice!

Georgie

[lachlanandmarcus]

Also look at help x similar to w woof but not solely organic

[scarlettoara]

i moved to scotland as land was cheaper up here. 
have you tried renting some grass and putting alpacas or sheep on it?
i remember that smallholding farming programme last year - cant remember the name - but the presenter told the lady who kept alpacas that there are places who do livery for them. that woyld get you going straight away to see if you really like it.