The Homesteader’s Annual

The Homesteader's Annual is the culmination of our knowledge gathered from running a smallholding and living a life that values growing, making, foraging and creating our own for the past eight years. We wanted to create a way to share our experience with you and to help you to ‘get back to the land’ and start growing your own food. 

This bundle of online courses, makealongs and supporting content walk you through the various elements of smallholding and homesteading - from keeping poultry, growing a garden, seasonal living and all the way through to making your own cheese, soap and putting up food for winter.

The subscription includes:

  • Instant access to all 15 of our existing online courses and new courses for 2022 (spoiler alert: we will be adding courses on homebrewing & soil)

  • Access to our online monthly online makealongs

  • A digital subscription to Life in the Making Quarterly

  • 20% discount code for all shop products and On Farm Events and Workshops.  And, you can use this discount as often during the year as you would like (not redeemable in conjunction with other promotional discounts).

  • Access to our Homesteader’s Annual online community. This is a community of people who want to roll up their sleeves and get hands on with their lives.

Together we are learning traditional skills that fit with modern lives to turn our households into units of production, rather than units of consumption.

The courses are hosted on Mighty Networks - a comprehensive platform that allows us to host the community, live sessions and online courses all in one space. You will be sent login details via email when you purchase this subscription.

Subscribe for a monthly payment of £35 or an annual payment of £375 (saving £45).

  • Everyday Sourdough Levels 1&2

    Introduction to Poultry Keeping

    Everyday Cheesemaking

    Introduction to Fermentation

    Introduction to Canning and Preserving

    Smallholding Living: Autumn/ Winter

    Intro to Beekeeping: Part One

    Soap Making

    Keeping a Milking Animal

    The Homestead Garden

    The Soil Manual - Everything you need to know about regenerating soil, manure and compost to grow food. (coming early 2022)

    Wild Crafted Homebrew (Coming Feb 2022)

  • Monthly Makealongs (live access and replay) on topics like soapmaking, homebrew, making cheese with pasteurised milk and many more.

    Monthly recipes, how tos and tutorials that fit within our season here at Gartur.

    Digital Subscription to Life in the Making Quarterly

    A 20% discount on kits and courses.

  • This course is for anyone who has dreamed of wandering out back with a basket and collecting their dinner or opening their fridge filled with their own milks and cheeses or having their shelves stocked with preserved harvests.

    Its for people who want to turn their households into units of production, rather than consumption and want to live deeply in tune with the seasons.

    It is for people who are curious about how other folks live and want a right ol' nosey into the lives of a family who are homesteading on the edge of the Highlands.

  • Not at all. Smallholding is a mentality and many of the skills you learn through our courses are applicable wherever you find yourself. It's also a great educational opportunity to see how other people live. Our courses offer you a real glimpse into our lives as small farmers - nothing airbrushed or idealised. There will be mess, dogs barking, children everywhere...and a lot of poo!!

    Though at times we will speak to specifics of the Scottish climate, landscape and legal system around agriculture, everything else should be applicable wherever you are.

  • Most of the courses will be led by Kat and Kevin. However, we are lucky to be able to pull in a cast of extremely skilled neighbours, friends and staff for input.

    Kerstin Grieve of Hens and a Garden who will be sharing her story of more urban homesteading.

    Jim Riach of Trossachs Biking and Bushcraft and master beekeeper, will be leading our Beekeeping course and content.

  • The Homesteader’s Annual is available on either a monthly, or annual subscription basis. The monthly subscription is £35 and you are able to cancel your subscription at any time. The annual subscription is a one-off payment of £375 and will not be auto-renewed at the end of the 12 month period, unless of course you would like to continue your subscription.

    Also, for every 10 subscriptions sold we will offer a free subscription to people from marginalised communities.

  • You will have access to the individual online courses, make alongs and the Homesteader’s Annual community and other resources for the length of your subscription. If you have already purchased individual courses before subscribing to the Homesteader’s Annual, you will retain lifetime access to these courses.

  • If you already own some of the courses you will not have to pay for these again. The benefit of purchasing individual courses is that you retain lifetime access to these courses. Unfortunately, we can not offer a discount on any previous purchases.

  • Our pdf gift voucher is available at no extra cost. On completion of your purchase, you will receive an email from our automated system. The attached pdf can be printed out and included in your gift. Its a good idea to sign up with your recipients email when you purchase the course.