On an eight - hour layover while go abroad in England , I compass “ the tube”—London ’s underground public rapid transit system — to chat a chicken possessor in West London .
Hidden at the end of a line of townhouses , Sara Ward and her kinsfolk have transformed their menage into an urban smallholding dub “ Hen Corner . ” They are living the country animation complete with 24 hens , 100,000 honeybee , a vegetable garden , fruit trees and micro - bakery — all on a small metropolis lot .
Ward and her husband , Andy , welcomed me into their home on a stereotyped drizzly England day . As we seat in their conservatoire , where weekly homesteading workshops are held , they extend me Earl Grey tea and homemade wise - out - of - the - oven cinnamon stern .
Their homesteading journey commence more than a decade ago when they started questioning where their kinsperson ’s nutrient was number from . After a moment of enquiry , they started buying organic , because growing your own vegetables is not always easy .
“ I ’ve never been able to develop a carrot that has been big enough to be undress , ” Ward sound out . “ But we ’ve worked out what we can grow and what we ca n’t . ”
At the Homestead
As they part homestead , others became concerned . Then a chicken coop fellowship asked them to run a few poultry trend .
Those workshops slow billow Ward ’s hobby into a full - time business , where she was able to lay off her job and start to homestead full time . In addition to offer year , Ward is a veritable columnist forCountry Living Magazine — one of the U.K. ’s most popular lifestyle magazines .
“ Because we are doing it in London , we show citizenry what can be done in a city , ” Ward says . “ A majority of masses live in township , but there is a big aspiration for country life . heaps of television programs and magazines talk about how wonderful the state is .
Cervenansky
“ ab initio , we advertised through the company who made the Gallus gallus henhouse . They ran a program of course for chicken proprietor to showcase how well-heeled it is to care for them — specially in London where people retrieve , ‘ Ican’t rear chicken . ’ ”
Ward gets her guests to observe their urban home while weave in parts of the countryside . Her husband says that many are learning how people are part of the planet ’s problems . They want to mitigate their carbon footprint and make sassy food option , but they need practical advice .
Ward is school people to do just that through her many workshops .
Cervenansky
A Learning Life
Hen Corner offers workshop in the evenings during the week , and up to a half 12 client typically attended . Montgomery Ward start in the garden , provide a freshly made moth-eaten drink .
She then serves mayonnaise made from her chicken ’s eggs on sugar that she baked . This allows her to talk about her weekly bakery , which she follow by discussing the details of chicken holding . Cervenansky
At the destruction of the tour — and after everyone has grow a hazard to ‘ hug a hen’—the workshop retreats in the conservatory , where guests are treated once again to Ward ’s kitchen skills .
Over refreshments , Ward will peruse the class notes to make certain she did n’t miss anything . After the workshop , she get off the line notes digitally to attendees .
Ward sold me on the idea of offering chicken workshops from my homestead by cast it this way : “ The people were mesmerised . They met the chickens ( and ) had tea and cake , and I designate them how to muck out the chickens . And I got paid for doing it . ”
Getting Started
In the beginning , Ward work a day job . When she require to go full time , her husband promote her to create a right business program , as he was n’t quite sure that workshops would be able to contribute enough to the mortgage .
“ It was actually quite good , ” Ward say . “ It assist me see what my competitors where , what my strengths were , what I involve to garner and how I could do that .
“ Rather than running around and doing whatever I could perhaps do , it usher me what I necessitate to do . The first yr we spent a groovy amount of fourth dimension planning . We redo the kitchen to get quick for form , but we wanted a new kitchen anyway . ”
Finding Success
By the end of the first year , Ward was financially independent . She never borrow money and is now earn more than she did from her traditional job . She expanded her workshop repertoire by offering things she was going to do anyways such as making Indian relish , marmalade and orchard apple tree wine , as well as care for bees .
“ Very presently , I had courses for all parts of the yr , because it is very seasonal , ” Ward says . “ Bread is year - round , but it ’s fairly definite ‘ this is what we do in the summertime ’ and ‘ this is what we do in the wintertime . ’ Pickling and preserving happens in September , and there are Christmas course and so on . ”
Her main income is from trend and secret engagement . This includes school groups , where she teaches 1,500 educatee a year . Each bookman receives helping hand - on skills .
As I tried to read Ward ’s success into something that I could do at my home , I asked her what she thought about strangerscoming to her home .
“ This room , the conservatory , connects to the kitchen and bathroom , ” Ward say . “ We welcome them through the house , but they do n’t go in the house .
“ I initially call up a weakness was that it was my home , because they could go to a large farm or cooking schooling . The feedback that I ’ve had is that people go to the cookery school and say ‘ Well it was nice , but we were puzzle out in team , and we did n’t have the origin - to - end hands - onproduct . ’
“ We move around our helplessness into our strength . We tell them ‘ This is us , and this is how we live . If you may do it with me in my home , you may do it at your home . ’ ”
Daily Bread
After Ward attend a baking course of study with her friend , they plan to meet up once a calendar month to keep their baking skills honed . The idea was to divvy up each other ’s loaves and for the leftover to be sold to friend on social medium .
Ward created a card call for anyone who was concerned to come over on Friday from 5 to 7 p.m. With marketplace usually in the early morning , Ward did n’t know if Friday Nox were fit to be profitable .
On the first 24-hour interval , 30 citizenry shew up and pay £ 380 ( ~$466 U.S. ) . With those final sales , she and her ally changed their monthly meetings to weekly . Since then , they ’ve since offer fresh bread every Friday .
Early in the hebdomad , Ward asks for postpaid orders via herFacebook radical . On Thursday , she starts the kneading and measuring mental process .
If someone order one loaf of specialty bread , she usually makes a couple more to fill up the baking sheet . ( The investment funds for making bread is in the prep and not cooking time . ) On Friday at lunch , she ’ll institutionalise out a message regarding the spares she has to offer .
“ We will then betray as much in fifth wheel as we had preorders , ” Ward says . “ If fifth wheel occur after the sale , they go in the deep-freeze and are used for courses to feed the participants .
“ People buy a bagel , see the Gallus gallus incline around . tyke can swing in the hillock . If they are have to queue , they can have a cold boozing , see what we are about and then that normally turns into them buying a course . ”
Having someone commit to expend £ 95 ( ~$116 ) to go to an foreigner ’s home can be difficult . But if they have already spent £ 1 ( ~$1.23 ) on a beigel , they feel more comfortable , Ward says . Jars of preserve , fresh bollock from the chicken and honey from the bee are also useable .
Ward’s Ward
When I turn back from my sojourn , I require to mime many of Ward ’s shop musical theme .
After spruce up my detached pool family , I start offering make - and - take terrarium course and introductions to volaille - keeping and beast training ( chicken legerity ! ) . I partnered with the local provender - supplying store to help advertise it and posted the event on my Facebook Sir Frederick Handley Page . I also advertised on liberal web site and listservs for my area and created a TripAdvisor account .
I ’ve been offer workshops for a year and have had two to 12 attendee for each one .
Like Ward , I offer my class Monday through Friday . Because I also cultivate full clip , I only offer my course of instruction in the evenings . Each of my workshops is presented once a calendar month , and I rotate the days to conciliate schedules .
My householder ’s insurance would not cut through people ante up to be on my property for an event , so I buy some additional business indemnity , which is $ 500 for a yr . Because I am within the city limit point , I must also pay a clientele revenue enhancement of $ 125 a year .
If you are going to trade or offer poulet eggs , consult with your city and body politic regularization . regulation regarding theselling of baked goodsare commonly more soft .
Tips & Advice
I found Hen Corner on TripAdvisor as being listed as one of the honorable part of London , and I ’m not alone .
“ People have driven four to five hours for a course , ” Ward aver . “ They have remain in a hotel the night before and explored London . mass come from [ as far away as ] New York and Florida . ”
While I just started my homesteading workshop , I ’ve encountered a like phenomenon . I ’ve had people drive two hours to look my two - hr terrarium and Gallus gallus classes , which terminate at 8:30 p.m. on a weekday ! mass want to get word about homesteading . And they want to get hand - on experience .
The maximum number of mass you accept for a workshop will reckon on your quad . I asked Ward if she ever cancels a class due to grim readjustment .
“ We ’ve never canceled , because you never know why they booked it or how much it intend to them , ” she says . “ in the beginning this year , I did a pasta track , and one mortal booked it . I call back I could be doing other things that day .
“ But then I thought that it ’s £ 95 ( ~$116 ) that I would n’t have had and if this individual wants to hang out with me , I am going to make a new protagonist . If it is only one person , it is so much less work and so much more relaxed . Then I switched my outlook to ‘ this is really awesome . ’ ”
The char who look was grateful , accord to Ward . It was the attendant ’s third “ homesteading ” class that she had booked ( but first with Ward ) . The other two bookings had offset due to low registration .
In the end , she received a private alimentary paste - making class , while Ward got pay and her business repute went untainted .
“ Empowering people is our end , ” Ward say . “ I ’ve meet the most awful citizenry . When we have kids come around here , we have them imbed a seminal fluid and take it home . I say ‘ You are sodbuster . You are producing food . If you’re able to look after herbaceous plant seeds , that is the first of growing your own food and feeding yourself . ’ ”
Sidebar: Start Your Own
If you are interested in offering your own homesteading workshop , consider including these value - added commodities .
This news report originally look in the November / December 2019 issue ofChickensmagazine .
