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 What is husbandry?
Husbandry is an honourable, ancient trade which we believe will play a vital role in the transition we all must make towards a sustainable future – for towns, for agriculture, and the planet as a whole.
The traditionally taught trade of husbandry offers techniques with which we can practice managing nature’s ecologies within our boundaries and capabilities. It is our view that a knowledge of husbandry is vital to every trade, business or occupation, for them to operate ethically and sustainably. Husbandry is the profitable business of looking after the interaction between human and planet.
Who we are
This project is the work of Jonty and Carole Williams. We live in Ashburton, Devon and cultivate the nine acres we own nearby in Bickington, and a further 38 acres adjoining which we rent. Between us we have long experience of both agriculture and education. We would like to share our vision of the revitalisation of rural resources, and a further education of us all into the limitless application of the principles of husbandry.
Husbandry in principle...
We are promoting a solution to the three impending global catastrophies of climate change, economic collapse and mass poverty through a modern, urban understanding of the traditional principles and practice of husbandry. The tradition of husbandry, which could be referred to as the business of the peasantry, has within it some answers to these global problems that we are facing today. The Husbandry School will do its part to help forge a new understanding, a new solidarity, between urban civilisation and our noble peasant traditions.
| Husbandry is the business of looking after the soil or, to put it another way, looking after what most people consider waste. Husbandry is looking after our muck, the mess we make around ourselves, and turning it into productive gardens. |
... and in practice
The focus of our campaign is our practical application of the principles of husbandry on 47 acres of 'waste' agricultural land we have recently occupied, near our home in Ashburton. This ground is intended to be a learning centre where anyone who wishes can be involved in re-learning the most ancient of skills, i.e., looking after the ground which looks after us. Initially we are funding this project with our own limited resources. We are also funding this with the sale of wind turbines imported from China. We also have a local delivery round of produce from the land.
Join us on a journey of discovery...
• exploring the ideas and practice of ecologically sound land management
• seeing how land management based on good husbandry will provide real benefit for real people
• developing the concept of twinning urban resources with rural resources
• devising better ways of managing land tenure, so that people with little knowledge of agriculture can gain a secure stake in the land, and in the practice of a husbandry-based business
• creating better ways of doing business and trade locally and globally so that the fundanmental principle of economic justice can ultimately be applied worldwide
| We also need your support – please join us. We hope soon to be developing a system whereby anyone interested in learning husbandry skills, handling the soil itself and reaping its reward, can do so through a system of sponsorship of an area of land. |
What you will find on this website
 Husbandry in principle – an introduction to the overall meaning and purpose of husbandry, including reference to its origins which go back to the roots of civilisation.
 Husbandry in practice
– news of how we are applying husbandry techniques on our land in order to develop a viable smallholding as well as it being an educational project.
 Husbandry education
– during 2008 we will be developing our teaching programme so that the wisdom of the husbandry approach to sensible, sustainable land management can be passed on to individuals, groups and organisations.
 Inspirations & links – Devon farmer and our mentor in husbandry, Walter Edwards, takes pride of place in this section, as well as economic theorist, Henry George. These pages are set to expand over the months to also include a useful booklist as well as a links section.
 Wind turbines for sale – An essential part of husbandry is the sustainable management of energy, and we believe that wind power is now the most viable solution for many land-owners and land-users. We now have a number of wind turbines working on our land near Ashburton, Devon.
 The Ashburton Cookery School
Here at the Husbandry School we are proud to be working together with the Ashburton Cookery School and look forward to welcoming the first class of 'Garden to Table' cookery course students onto our land this summer.
About the Ashburton Cookery School
Located in a beautiful Georgian town on the edge of Dartmoor, the Ashburton Cookery School offers the UK’s widest range of cookery courses with over 40 to choose from, designed to suit beginners as well as experienced cooks. Working in superbly equipped teaching kitchens, students are taught fundamental cookery techniques by experienced Chef Tutors that can be applied in a professional kitchen or entertaining at home.
"We pride ourselves on the quality of our tuition and ingredients, and everything we do is underpinned by a desire to promote food that has been grown in a way that is organic, sustainable, environmentally sensitive, ethical and supportive of local business.
The Ashburton Cookery School is proud to be associated with The Husbandry School who supply high quality, local produce for use in our kitchens, grown to the excellent standards of the Wholesome Food Association." - Dominic O'Nions, Marketing Director, Ashburton Cookery School
The new ‘Garden to Table’ course
28th July - 1st August
18-22nd August 2008
This summer, the Ashburton Cookery School, in association with the Husbandry School, launches an exciting new 5-day ‘Garden to Table’ course that offers students practical training in garden husbandry techniques combined with cookery school training to create (and taste!) delicious dishes that will showcase the fantastic quality produce that results from this traditional and sustainable method of growing.
For further information on the 'Garden to Table' course:
www.ashburtoncookeryschool.co.uk
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 The Wholesome Food Association
We are proud to be affiliated members of the The Wholesome Food Association and are more than happy to be guided by their principles in our work here at The Husbandry School.
The Wholesome Food Association is a network of growers, processors, suppliers and distributors of authentic, locally-grown, wholesome food, and also a campaigning organisation, promoting smaller-scale, sustainable food production. They provide a low-cost labelling scheme for marketing wholesome, locally grown food, as an alternative to the expense and complications of regular 'organic' certification (see the WFA website for full details). Look out for the WFA symbol as the scheme grows!
WFA principles include:
• Wholesome food is grown and processed using sustainable, non-polluting methods as close as possible to those found in nature.
• Wholesome food is, wherever possible, traded and consumed within a short distance of where it was grown.
• Wholesome food is an integral part of life and community, rather than merely a commodity for profit.
See their informative and inspiring website for more details:
www.wholesome-food.org.uk
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 Contact us:
Email:
info(at)husbandry.co.uk
(please substitute @ symbol)
Tel: 01364 654047
Mobile: 07980 253677
The Husbandry School
Mapleton
30 West Street
Ashburton
Devon TQ13 7DU
UK
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Affiliations:
Ashburton Cookery School
The Ashburton Cookery School offers the UK’s widest range of cookery courses with over 40 to choose from, designed to suit beginners as well as experienced cooks.
New for 2008: 'Garden to Table'
5 days: 28 July - 1 Aug. and 18-22 Aug. 2008
A new cookery course in association with The Husbandry School - read more
Wholesome Food Association
– local food grown with Nature in mind
The WFA local symbol scheme is a low-cost, 'grassroots' alternative to organic certification for people who are growing or producing food for sale in their local region. The Husbandry School are proud to be affiliated with the WFA - read more
Mapleton House B&B
- enjoy a welcome break in Devon
We offer two rooms in our town house in Ashburton on a Bed & Breakfast basis – an ideal way for you to come and see our husbandry and wind turbines in action - more
Wind turbines for sale
– come and see them working!
Are you interested in purchasing a wind turbine for your farm, small holding or business?
Being relatively new technology here in the UK, it may be hard for you to envisage what it would really be like to install and use a wind turbine on your site.
• What size would be right for your installation?
• How big is a 2kW wind turbine compared to a 200W one?
• How noisy are they really?
• How easy are they to erect?
• Do I need to build foundations for the mast?
• How do I plug in and use the electicity?
• What are the battery options?
Many of these questions and more can be answered by seeing the wind turbines in action.
We now have erected on our land a number of turbines which we are using to provide on-site electricity and to pump water from our well.
Avoid the middle-man
The range of cost-effective turbines that we are currently trialing come direct to us as sole UK distributors for one of China’s leading manufacturers of micro wind-generated electricity systems.
They are available in the following sizes:
• 2 Kilowatt
• 1 Kilowatt
• 500 watt
• 300 watt
• 200 watt
See the turbines in action
If you are seriously interested in purchasing a wind turbine for your site then we suggest you come and see a variety of sizes of turbine installed in a real agricultural situation, and we will be happy to share our knowledge and experience of what these wonderful machines can and cannot do. We are situated just off the A38 between Exeter and Plymouth, Devon.
Complete micro wind-generated electricity systems for sale
We are currently in the position of being able to supply a number of different sized installations at special pre-market launch prices - and we also offer a delivery and installation service to make things easy as possible for you!
If you would like to attend the Husbandry School, or see how our husbandry project is developing then why not come and stay with us?
• Experience husbandry in action
• See how our our market garden and smallholding is developing
• Check out our working wind-turbines to see whether they could work for you
• Visit the area of Devon where the Transition Town phenomena started and is really taking off, with Transition Town Totnes, Ashburton Futures and Sustainable South Brent nearby
• Or just come for a welcome break in a particularly beautiful and vibrant part of the westcountry, with Dartmoor just up the road...
More details: www.Mapleton-House.co.uk
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