Becoming Custodian of the Land

In August 2022, I officially became the custodian of 3.6 acres of Scottish soil at the age of 31.

This is a day I have been waiting for my whole life! Everything I've done has been working towards this moment.

Me and my grandmother beside the land. We are both so excited.

I always knew I wanted to own land. When I was younger, it was was the "cherry on top". I worked multiple jobs to save and save and save. I always felt that, once I owned land, I was safe. It was a retirement plan for me. But I wanted to retire at 30.

Myself and some family members at the "grand ribbon cutting" ceremony.

"Retirement" might mean something different to me then it does to you. To me, it means no longer working to survive. It means having systems in place where I love what I do and being able to support myself and my family without working long hours to make someone else's dreams come true.

It means making a comfortable living off my hobbies. It means having basic resources available to me in abundance. Food, shelter, passive income. Tangible assets that increase in value over time, and are becoming rarer for the individual to obtain.

The land when I bought it.

To me it felt like the ultimate freedom. Once I own the land beneath my feet, I can grow food. No more working to make money to pay for food, and hope I have time for hobbies, like gardening and cooking on the side.

Don't get me wrong, I understand that this lifestyle in itself is A LOT of work, if have no illusions about that. But there's something different about being part of the entire process, from seed, to earth, to plate... this is what I have always wanted for myself. I want my education, nourishment, energy, time, joy, health to be spent in partnership with the earth.

Once I can grow my own food, I can feed my family, friends & community full, healthy magical meals. This is the dream. Now it's a reality! And I want to spread the wealth and share with my community as much as possible. This is why I turned .6 acres into community allotments, so my neighbours can grow food as well.

There is so much more I can say on these topics, and I have so many exciting projects in the works for the land. I'd like to invite you all to follow along as we create and incredibly vibrant community space where we can learn about growing our own food, making products with it, saving seeds, building sustainably and supporting the community.

I hope you follow along on our Facebook and Instagram and get involved, virtually or in person! We are always looking for volunteers and hope to have many events including workshops, markets, fundraisers, gardening days, harvest days and so much more!

I can't wait to share updates and photos on all our amazing projects.

'Till next time,

Florence