Birch Cottage has a new website of its own
Visit the Birch Cottage website to bookWelcome to Lackan Cottage Farm
We’re Steve and Claire Golemboski-Byrne, we live here off grid with our daughter, our dog, cats and horses. We make all our own energy using wind and solar, grow as much of our own food as we can (it varies widely) and have used permaculture design principles to help us create a great place to live.
Here on the website you’ll find stories about the projects we’ve undertaken – what works, what doesn’t. You can come stay in our guest cottage – Birch Cottage and we will show you round, or maybe you just want to find out how to do some of this stuff. Either way, welcome.
An epic climate journey
Today we were inspired to meet Morgan and Garrett, who are undertaking an epic journey from New England to Paris, via Canada, Iceland, Scandanavia, and the UK by bicycle. Their destination? The COP21 Climate Change Conference in Paris in December. Along the way they...
Energy independence
For those who can't already claim some form of payment for generating their own energy, or who will face vastly reduced incentives from 2016, there would seem to be few reasons to invest in renewable energy such as solar PV. Recent coverage of the Tesla home energy...
Are you a Good Worker?
Well, here we are again. I'd love to regail you with tales of how our veg are coming on (fine, by the way), but I've spent the last couple of weeks being fascinated and horrified by our political masters. This isn't supposed to be a political blog, but when those...
What a summer
As we come to Mabon - the Autumn equinox, our busy season draws to a close, and the place has quietened down as our band of volunteers head off, and we host the last events before we take a break. Last weekend's course - 'Finding You - A Journey Home' with Micheal de...
A weekend of permaculture
Last weekend saw the second Permaculture course to be run here at Lackan Cottage Farm, with tutor Hannah Mole, and guest appearance by Heiko Vermeulen who came to lead a foraging walk on the Saturday. After an opening circle and a session to get to know each...
Refugee crisis – how you can help
Sometimes it is astonishing how a single moment defines a tipping point in our lives. This week it has surely been the heartbreaking image of the body of a three year old boy washed up on a beach as his family flee Syria. That it took such a thing to happen is...