Homesteading skills day course

Sunday 30th March 2025
10:30 – 4:30

Do you want to learn homesteading skills, make the most of seasonal produce and increase your self sufficiency – whatever size space you have?

Hosted here at the Half Acre Homestead, the Homesteading Skills workshops is a combination of step-by-step demonstrations and hands-on practical activities, sharing many of the skills for self sufficiency that I’ve learned over decades of living “the good life”.

Whether you live in a rural small holding or an urban apartment, this homesteading course is for you. Hosted in the heart of my productive organic garden, you’ll learn the skills for having your own healthy food, and homemade body care and home care supplies, year round.

What you’ll learn

The workshop will change each session according to the season but will include:

* working with the seasons
* best equipment for increasing self sufficiency and how to make your own (where applicable)
* basic tools and tool care
* introduction to preserving skills – including water bath canning and dehydrating
(including what jars and other equipment to use)
* veg storage year round – what needs to be stored and how; what can be left in the ground
* using as much of the plant as possible
* making condiments – salts, vinegars, oils, sugars
* apothecary – salves and healing oils
* unusual crops that work well in our climate to increase resilience
* managing gluts
* successional sowing & growing, for food year round
* food storage when you don’t have much space
* home brewing including country wines year round

All of the skills are plant based and (almost!) everything can be grown here in the UK.

Useful info about the day

Small group tuition –  5 people

The day is from 10:30 to 4:30pm, and the price includes all ingredients. You will be sent a list of things to bring with you after booking (jars, a pinny, that kind of thing).

Beverages are provided, please bring a packed lunch and any snacks you wish to eat. Please read the Terms and Conditions before booking.

All of the courses are designed to compliment the one day Grow Your Own Veg Gardening Courses.

Canning, Fermenting and other preserving skills – in depth

The Homesteading Skills day course includes an introduction to preserving skills such as canning, dehydrating, pickling and fermenting. This is a huge topic and too much to cover in a self sufficiency skills day – there’d be no time for anything else! Dates for Preserving Skills day courses which focus in more detail on these skills will be on the website in January 2025

Day course prices

Cost for the day including beverages is £95. Please bring a packed lunch and any snacks you wish to have. Full information here.

Please choose the “voucher/course” option for the drop down menu when booking your place. If you’re buying books at the same time, please choose the relevant postage costs instead for those.

Many of us are really being affected by the cost of living crisis, and the seemingly endless increase in the price of food, utilities and almost every aspect of daily life. To help with this, there’s a discounted fee of £80 available to book here.

It’s the same course, just a little cheaper. I don’t ask for any proof of income. I appreciate that this will still be too high for some people, so please contact me to discuss.

Location and other information

The course takes place in the garden and some of the garden buildings including the polytunnel and outdoor kitchen (an open fronted barn).

Situated an easy 10 minute drive from Lampeter, Ceredigion, full details of location are provided when you book.

Please read the Terms and Conditions, including the cancellation policy, before booking. Thank you!

There are plenty of places to stay in the area, ranging from stunning glamping sites, to gorgeous seaside hotels. There’s a list of suggested places to visit here.

The courses are not suitable for children or dogs, except assistance dogs on leads.

Accessibility

The gardens are accessed via a short flight of steps from the lane. Some of the gardens are fairly flat, but the orchard is sloped. It is not a very steep incline but is on a hill. Please contact me for more information and to discuss your needs.

Bespoke courses and workshops

If you’d like to book a bespoke day course for your group, please contact me.