Photo: Fiona in a bee suit with smoker
My name is Fiona Nevile. I want to share our journey towards our goal of partial self sufficiency. It is such a satisfying, old fashioned endeavour, that provides moments of glowing pride alongside the occasional smelly disaster.
I started this blog after we decided to invest in our future. Retirement looms in a few years time. Before I fell ill I often worked in houses where people had recently retired. Usually they were testing the water. They had plans that they had dreamt about and tweaked for years:
- Raising a few chickens
- A small vegetable patch
- Bees
- Homemade wine and liqueurs
- And the individual extras which could include stock car racing, dabbling on the Stock Exchange, breeding terrapins, planning the trip of a lifetime and dreaming about a lottery win that would finance the lot.
Watching from the sidelines, I realised that often the first four of these interests can take years to get up and running. So I decided to start early. These activities are so satisfying that within months I was peering over the parapet. Why not cure and smoke our own bacon and make salami? How about making sausages and homemade butter? And where could we find food for free?
Six years later we are investing in now as well as our future retirement.
Why just plan for the future? Investing in now can be a bumpy ride but generally we’ve found that it’s fun and our quality of life is so much better than before. Each week our horizons expand.
This website charts our journey towards deluxe self sufficiency and beyond. Our aim is to live like kings on the lowest possible budget. Visit our new forum for inspiration and ideas from our readers.
My articles have appeared online in the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Chicago Sun Times and many other publications. Use the ‘contact us’ tab to speak to me. Writing commissions are always welcome.
Some people like to visit us here at the Cottage Smallholder.
Because I have been ill and unable to work since July 09 we decided to host advertising on the Cottage Smallholder site from December 09. Click here for more details.
a brief potted history of Fiona’s career, which has ended up in our attempt at partial self-sufficiency.
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FD
hello
what a wonderful site,found while looking for a recipe for any thing to do with elderflowers, love your stories about the min pins and will be trying the elderflower and lime jellies weekend,will be visiting site fot future inspriation
best regards
Diana
Hello,
I just wanted to drop a note to tell you how much I enjoy your blog. I check in about three times a week and have been doing so for the last year. My husband and I also have a small farm and raise vegetables, chickens, and (hopefully) apples. I also forage for wild foods here in northern Minnesota, USA. Thank you for inspiring us!
Best Regards,
Chris
Hello Chris
Thank you so much for leaving this encouraging comment. Great that you are enjoying the blog.
Your Minnesota farm sounds great. We just have a third of an acre here but there’s still al ot more space to develop on our plot. At the monment we are digging up a lot of our lawn to extend the vegetable patch!
Hi Fiona. I really love your site and what your trying to achieve – totally inspiring. I’m making Danny’s Dauphinoise potatoes tonight with and really looking forward to them. All the best. Jane
Hi Fiona
I have been following your blog for a few months and it brings some light and warmth into my day whenever I read it. With a farmhouse,vege patch, dog and children, I also have the desire to live a simpler life and cut costs on food. We are about to start out with our own chickens too! No bees yet, but a swarm landed onour roof last week, to our amazement. Not sure what to do about them – any suggestions? Will they just move on of their own accord?
Sharon
Fiona, lovely Website, hope you are still enjoying your journey. As someone who is chronically disabled by Lyme Disease, it seems my dream has been lost. All the women in my family were removed from nature at life’s end, destroying their wills and psyches. They often spoke of it, asking why they could no longer hear the birds, feel the grass. It is tragic. What you are doing is so, so important to wellbeing, and a great example to many. I can only hope…
Hi Fiona! This is such a lovely site you have here, and I’m green with envy of it. The time, effort and care you put into everything you do is breathtaking. Thank you for sharing your ideas with others.
Hi! Your site was mentioned on one of the ones I was looking at for Watercress, so I thought I’d have a look at it. I’m of a similar age (50 next month!) but have always been into all things to do with free food and/or smallholding. I’m lucky enough to have almost 4 acres, but don’t actually live there at the moment. There is an old schoolhouse on the property which I hope to get pp to convert into a home. John Seymour has been my hero since I was 18, and I’ve had Suzanne Beedel’s Pick, Cook and Brew since about then as well. It’s nice to see more things on telly to cater to people like us, but I wish they would really do a proper smallholding series! I will keep coming back to this site, thank you for your hard work bringing info to the masses!
Hi Fiona
Found your site today by accident, I don’t usually leave comments but thought I must! Love your lifestyle think its one lots of us aspire to. We have an allotment and my wife Anne is the one to make jams, preserves and lots of other lovely goodies. Will have to try the wine and liquors.
Good luck I will be back
Hi I’ve just found you’re fabulous site whilst looking for a dandelion wine recipe. I retire in a couple of months and have been lucky enough tobe able to rent 4 acres . It’s so big .I will keep coming here for inspiration
Hi Ian
Thanks for the nudge about dandelion wine. We can harvest just enough for one demi john from our garden (so that are orgainc!).
Four acres sounds wonderful along with retiring in two weeks time. Your future looks very rosy to me!
Hi Fiona. Just to let you know that I, too, adore your site from my home at the bottom of New Zealand. My family live on 20 acres and we are fairly self sufficient. Yesterday I made your Rosehip and Apple recipe and it is stunning. Its 3am as I write this…I wanted peace and quiet read your recipes!
Hello Fiona
Great to hear from you and really delighted that you are enjoying our site.
My big brother lives on North island (Feilding). So there is a good connection.
Thanks for dropping by.