Living the Good Life

Self sufficiency is on the rise. Kerry Lambie, who lives in Market Rasen at the heart of the Lincolnshire Wolds, explains why she has  embraced the country lifestyle.“I’ve been living the good life for a few years now. Our smallholding started as a little hobby, with just a few chickens.  They would walk around the allotment and were quite happy, then things took off and we started breeding them.

An average day starts with a coffee. I walk the dogs, I feed the chickens, ducks, cats and dogs, make breakfast and do dishes. The same routine happens at night. If I’m out for the day I will throw something into the slow cooker for dinner. But I love when I get to spend the day in the garden, or at the farmers market. I always manage to come back with something. My last purchase was a mincer which I have already tried out by making venison sausages.

We have about seven and a half acres that we use for growing veg, fruit and keeping the animals. It’s not right near the house which makes it difficult but we’re lucky in this day to have the land to be able to grow on. Our livestock includes 40 chickens and 20 ducks of varying breeds, we have a goat and will be getting some more sheep soon. We used to have pigs but found that they were not for us. Lovely to look at but very hard work to look after, the plan was always to butcher them, which may sound cruel but that is country life!

Expense wise, we were lucky in the fact that our land has been in the family for years. You’ll need a license to keep animals but a couple of chickens will set you back anything from £10 to £50, depending on the breed and where you get them from. Hen houses can be a huge expense, but we made our own by using old garden sheds which we customised. Sheep and pigs are more costly, but sheep work magic at keeping the grass down – who needs a lawn mower! On a weekly basis it costs around £40 to feed all the animals.

My family are very involved in the small holding. My step-dad gets feeding duties if we go on holiday, my son adores being outside and is always feeding the chickens, or pulling veg up. He is attached to the animals and does name them, but he also knows that they are there predominantly to be eaten.

I think a lot of people associate self sufficiency with just vegetables but we’re starting to think about making our own cheese – it’s quite an easy process. We also make our own wine and cider, which is lethal! It’s great to give away to family and friends for Christmas gifts because you can make wine out of everything that is available in the country: elderflower, elderberry, hawthorn, potato, brussel sprouts – although I really would not recommend that one! Our cider press is made out of an old beer barrel. We always have huge amounts of apples, as we have trees in the garden, so it’s a great way to make use of them.

People need to be aware that it takes a lot of time and commitment to live the good life, you can’t just nip away for the weekend without checking that you have people to look after the animals. If everybody could do it then I would say go for it, its hard work but worth it. It takes up a lot of time, and energy. Getting up in the dark, frost and snow is awful but you just do it because you know that you have to. 

Things really do taste better when you know that you have grown them or made them, or that its meat that you have raised or shot yourself. It’s really satisfying to know that I have prepared a fantastic meal from all our own produce; it makes it all worthwhile.”

For more information about Kerry’s small holding visit our website, or if you’re interested in becoming self sufficent visit defra.gov.uk for advice.