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
Hi there! Stumbled across your site while looking for recipes for Fresh Cranberry Sauce for Christmas 2009. I’m looking foward to how it will taste….mmmmmmmm. Your site is very nice and easy to navigate. My girlfriend is telling me that i should ask you over to where we live , West London, Ealing Broadway, so you can help us make the cranberry sauce, you’ll have to excuse her she just woke up, but if you would like to feel free.
Hi Lizzie
I’m not surprised that the veg plot had to go when the tinies arrived – it does take a lot of time. I’ve heard that the Riverford organic boxes are good, you’re supporting organic farmers and that can’t be bad.
We want to do more too but it all takes time to get a new project up and running.
Delighted that you are enjoying the blog all links are always welcome.
Hello Fiona,
You are actually living my dream! Previously for the last 6 years in South West France and now currently in Somerset, I try (and frequently fail) to live my life in the most self sufficient way possible.
As a single mum of 2 tinies who works more than 40 hours a week the first thing to hit the skidpan was the vegetable plot. In France: Melons, Pumpkins, Gazillions of tomatoes, lettuce, cucumber, potatoes, herbs, aubergines, courgettes, beetroot, carrots…..I could go on but I can’t remember them all!!! In England: One wonderfully productive courgette plant which was almost completely swamped by the overenthusiastic nettles!
Riverford Organics got my business instead *blushes shamefully*!!!
We do still have our 2 lovely hybrid hens and I raid my mother’s garden for anything we don’t have on a regular basis! The hens did manage to produce enough eggs for me to sell at least a dozen each week until November so they must be very happy and the girls love cuddling them so we’re all pleased!
I also made Sloe Gin and Sun(oven) dried tomatoes for all my Christmas pressies this year.
Despite this (which when written down looks far more impressive than it feels!) I still want to do more.
Thanks for providing more impetus and inspiration. Would you agree to me linking to your blog on my own site? I should love other people to benefit from your wit and warmth.
Lizzy. x
Hello John and Jane
You are so right. You can live the dream in a small space it just means thinking around the box rather than just outside it.
Great that you are enjoying the blog. Thanks for leaving a comment.
Hi June-Lily
My brother lives in NZ – Feilding, North Island. So I have passed through Auckland airport!
How good to be collecting a small bucket of strawberries each morning. We’re going into winter here and I’ve planted some new plants in one of our fruit cages. They came bare rooted in an envelope through the post!
Hope that your liqueur works out well. Thanks for dropping by.
I’ve just found your site while looking for Strawberry recipes. I am now going to make Strawberry Liquor. My husband and I live in Auckland, New Zealand, and have a large garden out the back, at present picking a small bucket of strawberries every morning.
This site is great, easy to navigate and find what you want. I’ve bookmarked you now, and will be back, no doubt spending lots of hours perusing the pages. I love this ability to communicate all over the world so easily.
Hi Fiona & Danny,
Well, after a brief ‘google’ for tips and re-assurance on our moulting ‘Super Brown’ chicken (one of 4 – Dot, Peggy, Ronnie & Roxy…anyone spot a theme here ?), I’m still here reading and now commenting on your amazing site many hours later !
Yes, we have the chickens, the now moved & raised veggie patches (the chickens brand-new built to order run and coop reside on the old patch), fig tree, bluberries, a small but lovely kiwi, not to mention the 2 rabbits who take ‘the girls’ surrounding their run and puzzling over what the heck they are with total distain !
And this is in the modest garden of a 3 bed semi between Leicester and Burton On Trent….so really no excuses people, live the dream !
Thanks for sharing your experiences and wealth of knowledge, and best wishes to you both……
Hi Shirl
Thank you so much for dropping by and leaving such a hartening comment.
Hi Fiona
I have hit your website many times for tips and recipe ideas for jams, chutneys, pickles etc.The latest is quince cheese. Having made quince jelly for many many years I have decided to give the cheese a go………I hope to be fairly self sufficient (ish) in a few years time so please keep up the site and it’s wonderful message.
It is nice to see something positive and fulfilling online.
Thank you
Shirl
Malvern
Worcs
I posted an entry to the Hello I’m…. forum, did the sum and saved it, but there is no sign of it. Have I done something wrong?
There were no sloes last year so we didn’t know what the spiny little tree tucked away at the end of the garden was. This year we do! They are about the size of a gooseberry. Is it possible to upload a couple of pics for identification purposes? I posted an hello to the forum and mentioned it there, but can’t find out how to do it.