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.
Eco classroom update – week 2
At the end of our second week, and we are within £100 of being at the two thirds stage in our bid to raise money and build an eco classroom here at the farm. In the process we've got to know loads of new people, and will hopefully get to meet many of them in...
A day out
Something of a busman's holdiay this, but some time ago I helped our friend Brian (of Woodhill Farm) to put up his polytunnel frame, and ever since we've been waiting for the weather to be warm and wind-free enough to put the cover on. To hope for sun wasn't too...
A unique experience
There's just something about tipis, isn't there. That iconic conical shape with smoke drifting up in the breeze, flags fluttering from the pole tops. We fell in love with tipis years ago, and knew that we had to bring one back here to Lackan Cottage Farm. Ours was...
Well done you
It was great to meet the bus full of people who arrived today with Tom Woolley, who has been running an introduction to eco building course. Some great stories, wonderful plans, and glimpses of old buildings that will hopefully be reawakened by the amazing enthusiasm...
Turning up the heat
This is a rocket mass heater - the way in which we will be heating our crowdfunded ecobuild. It is an incredibly efficient way to burn woodfuel, and extracts the maximum amount of heat energy from the fire. The flue gases heat a big cob bench, which then continues to...
Weaving a fence
Isabelle and Josiane have come from Quebec, Canada to volunteer on the farm for 3 weeks, and having spend days clearing and mulching young trees, they are turning their attentions to creating a fence from the piles of birch trimmings that have been sitting in...