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.
Little house
So nearly ours....Solicitors are doing whatever solicitors do, but not terribly quickly - with any luck it will be ours by the end of the month. (We said that last month). Anyhow, 6 acres and a couple of little cottages will hopefully soon be our home, and we can set...
New adventures
Last year was certainly an eventful one - living in the truck-house, working at Lammas, trips to Wales, our Wedding, roundhouse building, being off grid, and so many other amazing things that the list could go on forever. This year isn't going to be any different....
Wind generator ups and downs
For a seemingly simple setup, the wind turbine certainly involves a lot more that I ever thought it would. A lot of folk with 'big' turbines certainly view the small, chinese made end of the market as very suspect, but my view has always been that at least if the...
The earth is full
If only Paul Gilding's message that unlimited growth is totally unsustainable could be heard by more people, and that rather than putting their heads in the sand, they would act now to change the way we live.He sums up the reasons why I have chosen the lifestyle I...
Hydraulic Ram Pumps
Ram pumps are fantastic things - no external power required, and they can shift water over fairly large heights. Ideal if you want to pump from a stream up a hill. This video demonstrates really well just how they work -
An extension?
Headed off to England this week to get our latest addition in the form of this ford cargo horsebox, which will be a removal lorry, horse transport and occasional temporary accommodation as we establish ourselves in a new home over the next year.