Ideal for orchards, woodlands, livestock, community or otherwise

Looking for shared grazing of any kind.

This is not new but the progress towards intensification has left most land use as narrow, dedicated, mono-cropping with the concept of shared use as a thing of the past. The result is that the bonus of combined income and combined benefits from this traditional practice has been largely forgotten for all but certain locations and field systems, specific enterprises and new thinkers within permaculture. 
 Shared grazing for pilots wanted anywhere in the South East. Ideal for orchards, woodlands, livestock, community or otherwise, small or large welcomed. Get in touch if you have or know of anything or anyone.

Sustainability through improved land care may be enhanced and can, given the right conditions, bring huge rewards in better production and overall returns with great opportunities for community interest with an educational value unique to chickens. 




Thanks
Laurence and Steve

Fully mobile houses as we develop require a chassis, lots of adaptation needed.

Fully mobile houses as we develop require a chassis, lots of adaptation needed.

What we need urgently are people to sign up in support  of our aims for better awareness of the unsustainability of the majority of free range hens and the acute failure to offer much in the way of an balanced system despite the huge awareness of welfare and demand for range eggs.

Obviously our aims are to exhibit best practice, in both welfare and sustainability.
Though we are only micro social enterprises the aim would be to take custody of farmland on CSA lines.

For the time being best we could hope for is awareness.

Flock in East Meon is needing construction and husbandry time, skills not essential.









Laurence

from 

http://blog.chilboltonstores.co.uk/2011/10/13/how-free-is-your-free-range-chicken/

How Free is your Free Range Chicken?

Posted on October 13, 2011

I sat on a bench at Waterloo Station with Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall not long after he took on Tesco over chickens. Although he was cross because his car was late picking him up for a TV show, in the five minutes we spoke, we had an great meeting of minds over free range chicken.
When you buy free range chicken you picture the chickens running around the field, happy in their lives, enjoying the freedom. True?
I though the same until I started looking into this.
According to DEFRA Free Range Chicken must have outside access for over half their lives. This is the ‘standard’ Free Range Chicken you can buy in Supermarkets, but these chickens are raised in large sheds which although less intensively stocked than the traditional broiler, are probably far from the picture most would associate with Free Range.

Is this your picture of Free Range Chicken?

The chickens in this picture are Free Range as they have access to the outside, but they are still fairly intensively stocked.
If you are looking for ‘real’ Free Range you might want to disregard those that are described as Free Range and look for labels which describe the birds as Traditional Free Range or Free Range Total Freedom.

Total Freedom Free Range Chicken

When we first met Jamie at Locks Drove Farm he was keen to impress on us the difference and that they believed that a Free Range Chicken should be kept in small sheds without restriction to their roaming. The slower growing birds develop more flavour and enjoy a more natural live, being able to scratch around and feed in a woodland environment as they did in times gone by.
We chose Jamie’s Free Range Chicken for Chilbolton Stores as they were not only local, but in my opinion the best type of chicken, as they are truly free to range, have 24-hour access to the outdoors, to breathe fresh air, to have access to a large meadow, field or orchard, to peck and scratch about and to have a truly natural existence; to be protected from foxes and other vermin by an electric security fence; to have shelter from the weather when needed; to have a place to roost and a plentiful supply of grain and fresh water.
Total Freedom Free Range Chicken are truly happy chickens…

…and they taste delicious

East Meon pilot of Eggs from Scratch, Hampshire

Hi

We are developing a small pilot project in Hampshire and need local skills.

Situated not far from the Sustainability Centre up the hill at Mercury Park we aim to rear young hens from chicks and a few laying hens.

Though only a modest pilot, chicks and a few hens, we would love to hear from anyone locally or who may be visiting to help. We need construction and alt tec knowledge (own tools essential), welding and once the hens are in some help to care for the hens on a regular basis.

These skills are not essential but a willingness to learn about alternatives to modern farming methods is important. We do aim to be providing some form of all-ability training so if anyone has interests in this please get in touch.

Also particularly interested to hear of anyone working locally on Biodynamics.

Thanks

Steve and Laurence

For more info go to our web site at www.eggsfromscratch.com or our blog at http://projectdirt.com/group/eggs-from-scratch or follow our facebook page which will have the latest info.....
http://www.facebook.com/eggsfromscratch

Men in Sheds, The Men's Shed concept originates from Australia

Men in Sheds

Every man needs a shed!

The Men's Shed concept originates from Australia and brings together older, isolated men in a space with which they are comfortable. They can socialise and carry out activities that bring benefit to th

e local community and charities.

We are currently running our Men in Sheds project in the London Borough of Greenwich. Some planned activities include recycling second-hand materials into gardening containers, trugs, bird tables and boxes.

Men can meet up to use their existing skills, learn new skills, share ideas or just put the world to rights over a cup of tea. It's about friendship, fun and getting out.

We welcome the involvement of volunteers with an interest or experience in any of the following: sourcing recyclable items, woodwork, design, marketing or IT skills.

If you would like further details on the Men in Sheds project, please click here. For local to Greenwich You can also contact Pauline Cahill (Project Co-ordinator) on 020 8294 3017 or email pauline.cahill@acgreenwich.org.uk

 

or for other areas try the national http://www.facebook.com/pages/Men-In-Sheds/121381421242377

Sustain- Good planning for good food - using planning policy for local and sustainable food

http://www.sustainweb.org/publications/?id=192

Spatial planning directly affects the food system, including decisions about protecting land for farming, planning permission for food retailing and waste management facilities, and encouraging urban food production. This report explores how local authorities and communities can use planning policy and decisions to create more local and sustainable food systems.

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know of a good mentor or an advisor on Social Enterprise?

I am in need of some help and advice.

Does anyone know of a good advisor on setting up and registering a Social Enterprise? Ideally someone with a good referral as that's the best form of marketing!

I would be happy to pay someone a small amount or come in as a member perhaps.

It is an exciting project grazing hens and producing eggs on underused or shared open spaces - parks, orchards, woodland, permaculture plots, veg growing sites and fields in and around London and beyond.

It is a continuation of a high welfare system we've been developing for 30 years based on the traditional ranging hens before battery cages were invented. It is nothing new but now includes all the hi-tech design needed to give the best to the hens and land when used in a mixed farming system. Sustainable way-beyond the majority of hens kept on static units of 1,000 of birds in one house.

There are probably fewer proper free range hens then there were 30 years ago when we started on this and that is after the huge increase in awareness and demand before and following the ban on conventional battery cages.

I am happy to donate a prize to a suggested cause for anyone who comes up with a good contact that helps progress to registration. The prize I have in mind is a small Flowform to suit a foyer, cafe or garden. I have many and would prefer to donate to a group or similar that may benefit.

Get in touch