Info, news & debate
Sheep
Building back differently: peasant economics and heritage craft
If a fair share of the planet is a couple of ‘useful’ global hectares per individual, the planet could sustain about 10 billion people living primitively.
‘Monbiotic man’ – will future food be ‘farm-free’?
Simon Fairlie starts a series of articles about whether technology will save us. He supports small farmers over George Monbiot’s ‘Regenesis’ solution.
A woeful year for wool in 2020 – and how you can support your local producers
Already suffering a downturn as an industry in recent years, the Covid-19 crisis has resulted in a particularly woeful year for wool in 2020. How have producers been faring and what can we do to support them as best as possible?
We need to completely close down industrial animal agriculture
Industrial agriculture is cruel to animals, cruel to people who work in it, it damages the environment and concentrates wealth in very few hands. I guess if you’re reading this, you know that already, and I don’t have to explain it. The problem is, it’s still there, doing its vile stuff every day. What do …
Our policy on keeping animals & eating meat
Our topics include vegetarianism and veganism, but also keeping animals (for meat, dairy, eggs, honey, wool, leather, work etc); and also fishing and hunting animals in the wild. Is this incongruous? As a sustainability / new economy organisation, should we be promoting only veganism, rather than the keeping and/or eating of animals?
The Wool Journey Part 15: the final wool yarn package and packaging
The yarn is ready to package up at The Natural Fibre Company’s spinning mill, as Sue Blacker shares the final leg of The Wool Journey.
Life on Birchwood Croft: tales of smallholding in the Scottish Highlands
Lesley Anderson learns about the ups and downs of life for crofters Beth and Tim Rose in the Scottish Highlands.
Fancy learning to spin or weave or know someone else who would?
Are you tempted to give learning to spin or weave a whirl but don’t know where to start? Or maybe you have a friend or family member looking for a new craft challenge? Our new online courses are for you!
The Wool Journey Part 11: which yarn to make?
Sue Blacker of The Natural Fibre Company continues The Wool Journey with the all of important question: which yarn to make?
Is eating meat ethical or sustainable? Interview with Simon Fairlie, author of ‘Meat: A Benign Extravagance’
We are sometimes approached by people asking why we provide information on vegetarianism, veganism and keeping animals. Isn’t that a bit incongruous? We don’t think it is
Managing an orchard floor as a wildflower / hay meadow
With careful management the orchard floor can become a thriving wildflower meadow, a habitat which is not only good for the wildlife, but also good for the soul.
The Wool Journey Part 10: using traditional carding machines
In the tenth installment of The Wool Journey with Sue Blacker at The Natural Fibre Company, we learn about the next stage of preparing wool to spin, using traditional carding machines.
The Wool Journey Part 9: the first stages of preparing to spin
In Part 9 of The Wool Journey guest blog series from The Natural Fibre Company, Sue Blacker takes us through the first stages of preparing to spin, featuring the Fearnaught machine and more.
How we escaped suburbia by embracing exchange and life on the road
Visual artist Emma Moody-Smith shares the story of how she and her partner Shawn have spent the past 9 years downshifting, swapping suburban England for life in a motorhome and, crucially, embracing exchange. Here she offers insight and advice to others looking to do the same.
The Wool Journey Part 8: wool scouring and drying
In the eighth installment of The Wool Journey with Sue Blacker at The Natural Fibre Company, we learn about the first stage of processing: wool scouring and drying.
A beginner’s guide to lambing: from tupping to lookering
Adapted from an original post over at Indie Farmer, founder and editor-in-chief Nigel Akehurst shares his beginner’s guide to lambing as smallholders and sheep farmers prepare for one of their busiest times of the year.
Fancy volunteering for the summer at an off-grid, Ecological Land Coop smallholding?
Hi – we are James and Sukamala, tenants at Wild Geese Acres, Greenham Reach, which is an off-grid, low-impact farming project established in north Devon by the Ecological Land Coop (ELC) – see website. http://ecologicalland.coop.
The Wool Journey Part 7: uses of different fibre types
Continuing The Wool Journey, Sue Blacker of The Natural Fibre Company explains the uses of different fibre types. It is said that everything of a pig can be used but the squeak and the same is true of fleeces!
The Wool Journey Part 6: grading, sorting and storing of fleeces following shearing
In the sixth installment of The Wool Journey by Sue Blacker of The Natural Fibre Company and Blacker Yarns, she outlines the crucial steps of grading, sorting and storing of fleeces following shearing.
In praise of the wheelbarrow: low-impact transportation at its best?
Perhaps these days most commonly associated with the garden, there’s more to the humble wheelbarrow than you might think. Sophie Paterson explores its potential, past and present, as a low-impact form of transportation.