Homestead/Smallholding Questionnaire

I am posting this on all of the forums that I read so I apologize to those of you who read the same ones of me. I am doing this to get the most responses I can, not to annoy everyone.

I have a small farm with 6 holiday Bed and Breakfast rooms, offering a farmhouse holiday experience. This is limited to the summer time and I am thinking about offering some homestead/smallholding courses to people who may be interested. We have noticed there are a lot of people who want to get beyond the city limit but do not know haw to. Our idea is to point people in the general direction and give them a taster of what farm life can be like. A weekend visit or two may be enough to put them off all together of it may fire them up to take the plunge without hopefully making too many mistakes. Lots of families would like to get out of the fast lane, but do not know how big a pig is, let alone what they smell like, but love to eat bacon.

Please could you answer the following, based on the location being in the area you wanted to live (location not being the prohibitive factor, rather the type of information and experience received)

1. If you are a wannabe, or when you were first looking for your place in the country do you think a weekend activity holiday would be useful to you? 2. This could include help with the best estate agents/realtors in the area, things to look out for in a property, septic tanks, solar, living off the mains/grid etc. What other practical things would need to be covered? 3. Animals play a huge role in the self-sufficient lifestyle. Basic animal handling with a diverse selection of animals. Nothing in great detail. Taylor make the weekend to the peoples needs and wants that are attending. Would this be of use? 4. Preserving the harvest. A demonstration of some preservation techniques. I guess not too many families do this. Which forms of preservation should be covered? 5. Basic vegetable gardening techniques. SFG, raised beds, lasagne gardening, how to utilize a greenhouse, rotating the vegetable crop. Would a taster of these be of use? 6. Some practical experience of dairying; making cheese, butter yoghurt, milking; other self sufficient crafts; soap making, candles etc Would these be better as a hands on experience or just as a demonstration? 7. Are there any other things people can think of?

Obviously I am at the beginning phase of this project but I felt that if we have to have people staying here they might as well be people who we may have something in common with.

Thanks for your time and responses.

Alison

-- Anonymous, January 07, 2002

Answers

Alison,

Your idea has potential. Might I suggest that if you haven't already seen them, rent the movies "City Slickers" (1 & 2). Even though they are comedies, they actually show how to effectivly set up recreation for townies.The movies depict a dude ranch, however the same technique could be implemented to operate a "dude homestead". IMHO, I would suggest not so much doing "workshops", but more hands on summer camp style stuff to give the slickers a introductory taste without it being intensive summer school kind of stuff. Intensive study is good for those of us already immersed in the philosophy, however greenhorns need just fun titilation before returning to that condo or suburbia ranch style tract house ( gag me like a hairball :>) to make their decision on if they want to come across the sidewalk. You could always offer more intense workshop classes around the money making dude 'stead sessions. The guy I helped to get into running a working ranch got his start with 4 yearly vacations to a dude ranch.

-- Anonymous, January 07, 2002

Hi Alison, I have been thinking about your question for several days now. Went to post my answer yesterday and the forum was down.

If I were doing it I think I would just have the holiday rooms, advertized as rooms on a "working" homestead, serve great meals from the products of your hands and provide opportunities to interact with the animals and observe what ever project was going on at the time. Perhaps if you had sort of a schedule posted of you planned activities people could chose or not chose to participate. (like what time milking was and egg gathering etc.)

By virtue of the fact that you would be advertizing as a working homestead, you should attract people interested in it. If you were always looking for ways to please your guests by asking them what experiences each one would like to have, you could try if possible to provide it for them.

Mind you I am not much of a "course taker" sort of person so my answer would be different. I would be one that would most like to tag-a-long if something interesting to me was on the agenda, or have a walk-about with the animals and gardens.

-- Anonymous, January 10, 2002

Alison,

Just think, you could be the new John Seymour! My husband makes fun of me when I get out the Seymour books because he is such an idealist. I still find it very useful. Kim

-- Anonymous, January 10, 2002