In Jan 2014 my Husband and I moved into the farm and it was the beginning of a whole new life and a crazy adventure! For 5 years we ran commercial organic and free range chicken ‘layer’ units but since having our son we took a sabbatical from the chickens. We rehomed almost all of the commercial flock so we could enjoy spending time with our son and rethink the future enterprise or opportunities that may arise?!! After almost three years off and our past experience working with both commercial free range and organic layers we have decided that we feel organic laying hens are a happier fit for us, due to much higher welfare standards under the organic certification. This has led us to the decision to set up the organic barn again for laying chickens this year. Hen and animal welfare is our priority so we not only aim to meet these higher organic standards but surpass them! Along with our existing enterprises of egg and fruit selling, we are currently building ‘glamping’ pods, so we can welcome holiday-makers to our farm as well one day. We also started our own vegetable garden this spring and although it’s in its very early days we are excited to be picking our first salads and veggies rather than buying plastic packed items! One day in the future we’d love to be growing all our own vegetables and be more self-sufficient. We live on site with lots of rescue animals; there are our two Cavaliers; Tilly and Teddy, then there is Ode and Lotte, the very soft rotties. Louis the cat, the horses, Archie, Arthur and Mattie, the three Llama and not forgetting tall of the chickens!
Because we have several projects going on at the farm, there are a lot of different tasks to get involved in. This summer and autumn the focus is on fruit picking and preparing our organic shed for the arrival of chickens. Later in the year the focus will move to pruning the trees and soft fruit bushes as well as chicken husbandry, including egg collecting. There are also on-going maintenance tasks including strimming, weeding and caring for the vegetable garden as well as helping with the building of the glamping pods. We are particularly interested to hear from people with experience relevant to one of our projects. Other useful skills would be preserve/jam making and experience with baking; to use our fruit for pies, cakes & crumbles. Also if you have experience in cider production that would be a great bonus! A lot of the tasks on the farm, especially when wwoofers first join us, will be very repetitive.
Our WOOFing accommodation is self-catering, so our WOOFers live independently in one communal static caravan which has cooking and bathroom facilities and two bedrooms. We also have one smaller two-berth caravans which function as WWOOFer bedrooms. Although we live independently, we often get together for a meal or visit to the fantastic local pub a mile away in Little Walden. As well as the pub, within visiting distance is the historic market town of Saffron Walden which has a wealth of pubs, restaurants and shops. Cambridge, a larger market town/city, is only a 30 min bus ride from the next village, Linton, and London is an hour on the train from Audley End station.
If all of this sounds good then please send us a message and we’ll go from there. Please tell us a little of your experience, how long you’d like to stay and also why you are particularly interested in volunteering with us at Little Bowsers Farm! To make it easier for all of us, please write the words: “plum trees” in the email subject, so I will give priority to read your email. This is a new way of life for us after much revaluation. Slightly worried it might be a little too big a project especially with the fact my husband has a full time job too, so we are asking for help and knowledge in all forms. Experienced people are much welcomed, but enthusiasm and a real desire to help and make a difference here are the most important things!
Certifications: O F & G
Current projects: Currently only looking for long term wwoofers to make an impact here and see the amazing difference they can make over a more lengthy stay!