On Your Farm

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BBC Radio 4 FM

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Getting to the heart of country life with a look at individual farming endeavours

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On Your Farm: Farmyard Warm Room

Farmyard Warm Room

BBC Radio 4 - On Your Farm, Farmyard Warm Room

Anna Louise Claydon visits a farm in Suffolk which has opened a barn as a warm room.

Anna Louise Claydon finds out about a farm which has opened one of its barns as a warm room, to help people struggling to heat their homes during the cost of living crisis.

Anna Louise Claydon visits a farm in Lowestoft which is opening up a barn as a warm room this winter. Pathways Care Farm was once part of 130 acres of arable land. It's now just thirteen acres tucked away at the back of a housing estate. The farm gives vulnerable people the opportunity to learn through hands-on farming activities - including planting, cultivation, building restoration, animal husbandry and the basics of machinery maintenance. This winter, its doors have opened to the public for the first time. In 2020, director Geoff Stevens converted what used to be the coldest building on the farm into a fully insulated space with a kitchen and a log burner, in the hope of opening it as a cafe after the pandemic. Little did he know that he'd just created a community space for a problem he didn't yet know was coming: the cost of living crisis. 

Anna Louise joins Geoff by the fire to find out more about the new farmyard warm room. She finds members of the team out with the animals and hears how working on the farm has transformed their lives and helped them to re-build after difficult experiences. She also meets farmer Geoffrey Cooper, to hear about the original farm before most of the land was sold off for housing. He tells Anna Louise about his memories of working on the land with his father decades ago. 

Presented and produced by Anna Louise Claydon

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On Your Farm

Farmyard Warm Room

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