by Steve Byrne | Aug 26, 2017 | renewable energy
I have a terrible habit of browsing Gumtree for interesting sounding things, and specifically for old, cheap range cookers in the hope of finding one that will keep our old Doric on the road. A couple of weeks ago I was rummaging around and turned up not a Doric, but a Wellstood Two – the bigger brother of the Doric, from the same 1950’s era, but with the addition of not only a warming oven, but a hotplate cover. In the world of little old ranges, these are positively the bells and whistles of any self respecting range cooker.
by Steve Byrne | Jul 20, 2017 | natural building
The recent incidence of DIY chain store B&Q selling Valspar branded paint that turned out to smell terribly of cat pee once applied, and some of the suggested remedies for those unfortunate enough to have applied the paint, have highlighted some of the reasons why we won’t use regular paints here in any of our buildings.
by Steve Byrne | Jul 20, 2017 | off grid
This is a busy time here at Lackan, not least because July appears to be the most popular month so far for visitors to Birch Cottage and the Off Grid Horse Box. We’re kept busy preparing the spaces for guests, the process of being self catering hosts is a constant learning curve, and we’re delighted that so many people are enjoying being here at the farm.
by Steve Byrne | Jul 19, 2017 | renewable energy
Rocket Mass Heaters are a really efficient way to heat a space, that you can build yourself for a relatively low cost. They are designed to burn at a high temperature, which results in less smoke and a more efficient fire. Ours is always a source of fascination, and when lit, the big room is warm in no time. Steve is off to Mayo in September to help run a course in building one, and in the meantime, here’s a reminder of how ours was put together.
by Steve Byrne | Jul 19, 2017 | buildings, natural building
One of the last existing buildings that we took down here was the old wooden garage outside the cottage, and the time has come to replace it with another useful structure that will be used to store garden produce and tools. We want to build it on a tiny budget using reclaimed or local materials to create a natural looking structure that has minimal visual impact.
by Steve Byrne | Jun 23, 2017 | composting toilets
Lackan Cottage Farm (and our compost toilets) have teamed up with Toilet Twinning, to help provide clean water, basic sanitation, and hygiene education to people in some of the most deprived areas of the world. Nearly one third of the world’s population lacks access to even the most basic sanitation, whilst at the same time, nearly one third of household water use in developed countries ends up being flushed down the toilet.
by Steve Byrne | Jun 18, 2017 | self-catering
now opened up the circular walk around the woodlands opposite the cottage, and we’re always happy to show guests around the gardens, and introduce them to the horses.
by Steve Byrne | Jun 17, 2017 | off grid
We’ve got the loan of a camera from Google that can take these 360 degree images, and boy have we made the most of it, capturing views from all over Lackan Cottage Farm, and making a tour of Birch Eco Cottage. The last couple of weeks have been spent getting the...
by Steve Byrne | Jun 3, 2017 | off grid
Having put the rainwater harvesting in, we were left with a 4″ pipe running across the concrete outside the cottage, not ideal. It was always our aim to pull up all the concrete slab in front of the house and incorporate the area in to the garden – our permaculture Zone 0 through which we constantly come and go. On reflection though, we need some parking space for visitors, and so decided to pull up just the area beyond our front door, which is the bit we come and go through anyway.
by Steve Byrne | Jun 1, 2017 | events
This course is designed for those with none or limited bushcraft knowledge but who are interested in the subject.Topics covered will include: Learn how to make a fire using simple and reliable methods; Find out more about foraging and how we can use the plants and trees around us; Safe tool use, including knife work, will be explained and practised
by Steve Byrne | May 28, 2017 | water
We really enjoyed the recent permaculture weekend course, and one of the exercises we regularly do is to ask participants to look at our site and see if they can come up with suggestions or improvements. We got several great ones this time around and so set about acting on them. The first was the observation that the area around the pond was being wasted
by Steve Byrne | Apr 26, 2017 | self-catering
This week we did a bit of filming for a segment on the BBC programme ‘Escape to the Country’, telling Ruth and Stuart about our smallholding as they look for property in Northern Ireland. It was good fun, and an opportunity to show off Birch Cottage, but it’ll be 9 months before the programme airs. Tell us is you see it, as we don’t have a TV….
