by Steve Byrne | Apr 18, 2016 | buildings
Occasionally I am let off the farm for good behaviour, and so on Sunday I set off for Co.Wicklow, and Castleruddery Organic Farm to learn how to make a yurt from pallets, with ‘Rubberband’ Ray Edwards. Ray is an inventive guy, and under his excellent tuition, our group learned how to make an extremely sturdy yurt.
by Steve Byrne | Apr 15, 2016 | buildings
We are now starting our fourth year here at Lackan Cottage Farm, and what seems like an endless series of building projects is at last coming to an end. The cottage refurbishment, polytunnels, compost loo, stables, the little cottage, outhouse, woodshed, bike store, paths, ponds, wind turbine and solar arrays, and most recently the rebuild of the old hay shed into a workshop and bigger hay shed.
by Steve Byrne | Apr 6, 2016 | buildings
The weather may have been pretty consistently awful this last while, but somehow we’ve managed to make what feels like significant progress on the various projects that are ongoing here at Lackan Cottage Farm, in between being slightly sidetracked by things like...
by Steve Byrne | Nov 28, 2015 | buildings
Usually I post about the things that have gone right, but we are on a learning curve, and things often don’t work out first time around. The floor in the new build is one such case. After much deliberating, and mainly due to budget constraints, I put in a...
by Steve Byrne | Jul 26, 2015 | off grid
When we built the classroom space, the intention was always that it would be a space for people to come to and discover new things – not only from the person giving the talk or presentation, but from each other. So it was this weekend as we hosted the first...
by Steve Byrne | Sep 19, 2014 | buildings
Well. here it is – or the outside at least. Six weeks of frantic building activity is at an end. There’s something very satisfying to go from a pile of timber – below – to a wonderful sturdy, weathertight building. We’ve had help from all...
by Steve Byrne | Jun 25, 2014 | buildings
We have an ongoing wishlist of materials that will be needed here on site, so if anyone has any of the following they would like to part with, then please let us know. Rapid collection assured….Email lackancottage [at] riseup.net if you can help. Timber –...
by Steve Byrne | Jun 17, 2014 | buildings
Something we’ve been asked is ‘what exactly will this eco classroom look like? The answer, is – something along these lines, although to a certain extent it will be determined by the materials that become available. The interior above is a similar...
by Steve Byrne | Jun 13, 2014 | buildings
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...
by Steve Byrne | May 31, 2014 | buildings
An Eco Classroom for Lackan Cottage Farm from Steven Golemboski-Byrne on Vimeo. As many of you will know, we welcome all sorts of different people to the farm, all the time. From local and international volunteers, to the GIY group, permaculture courses, and the many...
by Steve Byrne | May 7, 2013 | self sufficiency
For a while there we thought it might never be sunny again, but once again we are enjoying the warmth, and the knowledge that the sun is providing our electricity and an increasing amount of our hot water. All around us the place is bursting into life, and the brown...
by Steve Byrne | Aug 17, 2012 | buildings, smallholding
Well, the kitchen is pretty much there, so time for a beer…