“Mini-Apprenticeship at Monkton Wyld”

We take on volunteers for haymaking season at Monkton Wyld dairy holding. There is a lot of scythe work and haymaking (in both fine and dicey weather), cow care, hand milking, cheese and butter making, pigs, horticulture, smallholding infrastructure etc. Positions are available from the end of May to the beginning of August. You will be fed and lodged and come away with a free scythe. We take on people for stretches of one to two weeks. You will need to be fit, enthusiastic, and have a basic knowledge of working with hand tools.

We are also looking for one person for the whole season, who will gain a good grounding in running a scythe-based dairy smallholding. You will also be part of the team preparing for the West Country Scythe Fair in early June. Some paid work will be available for the person taking this position.

For more information, contact Simon at chapter7@tlio.org.uk 01297 561359

LANGPORT SOMERSET, SATURDAY 8 JUNE:

A course designed both for beginners and improvers, held on the day before the West Country Scythe Fair, at the same site at Muchelney, Langport, Somerset. Scythe use, sharpening and maintenance are covered in the morning; workshops on peening, wildflower meadows, haymaking, grassland management, cereal mowing, English scythes etc in the afternoon. The scythe fair attracts a star-studded line up of tutors and workshop leaders including Christiane Lechner from Austria, Steve Tomlin, Phil Batten, Richard Brown of Emorsgate seeds, and Simon Fairlie.

Cost £55 including entry for scythe fair on Sunday. To book, contact Simon at chapter7@tlio.org.uk; 01297 561359.

including teaching scythe use, and supervising teams of mowers

This three day course provides the most thorough and advanced tuition available in the UK today. The course is designed for people who want to to attain a high degree of proficiency, who want to teach other people or who supervise teams of volunteers.

The four tutors are:

Christiane Lechner who teaches scythe use and yoga in Austria

Phil Batten who teaches in Wales, the only person to score 10 out of 10 for quality in the West Country competition.

Steve Tomlin who teaches scythe use in Cumbria and runs the Cyberspace website http://scytherspace.wordpress.com/

and Simon Fairlie.

The course runs from Thursday 6 to Saturday 8 June at the West Country Scythe Fair, near Langport Somerset,

Cost of course, including lunch and entry to the Scythe Fair on Sunday: individuals £165; organizations £195.

Contact Simon at chapter7@tlio.org.uk ; 01297 561359 ; http://www.thescytheshop.co.uk/courses.html