Thinking of living in a caravan.? Well, people live in caravans for many reasons. Some are just sick of living like ants in the standard council or housing estates all over the world. They pressure us into thinking we must abide by the norm. Which is leaving school getting, going to college and university, leaving with debt that you’re never gonna pay back. Get a job, then comes an even bigger debt machine and the biggest of all a mortgage.

You can be stuck in a mortgage for 30-plus years and potentially working a job you no longer want to. But if you don’t, then you cannot pay the mortgage or debt back, which means you lose your home, car even belongings in some cases.

Well, choosing to downsize and live in something that you can purchase for as little as a couple of grand maybe you have this in savings.

A. couple of grand can get you a decent caravan, not a brand new model or even a top of the range second-hand one. But it will get you started and allow you to save more of your income to purchase a better one, later on down the line.

But I’m getting off-topic here or am I…? many people choose to live in a caravan to get rid of those long-lasting debts and be a little freer.

I mean, we have enough rules that we have to live by, so if we can get rid of a few of those, then we free ourselves from some burdens of life.

Also, most people who choose to live in a caravan want to downsize and get rid of the materialistic crap we acquire that we never use. One of the best days of my life was freeing myself of all that crap. I just gave it away or left it for someone else. I took what was dearest to me and that was it.

What Type Of People Live In Caravans

This is always the one that gets me the most. Soon as you say you live in a caravan, people automatically think that you are a traveller, which by the way, there is nothing wrong with. But they will get certain rights, rights that you won’t get. If there are enough travellers, then they will even find land for them to live on. You try doing this with a bunch of friends, see how far that gets you..?

But many of those people who choose to live in caravans, are people who work full-time jobs, small farmers living on their land, people living in residential parks because they like the perks that come with living there, clean-cut lawns, maybe an onsite gym. Some residential parks have the lot, but it comes at a price.

We will talk about the costs I face choosing to live in my static on my own land later on in the article.

There is no one type of person who lives in a caravan. It is no different to living in a brick and mortar home except you can pick your home up and move it. Yes, they may be a little smaller, but that’s what most people want and the freedom that goes with it. In fact, there is a small house revolution going on as you are reading this.

People are downsizing for so many reasons, whether to save money or they hate living alone in a large home. I know I hated it and now I’m living in a small home; it feels cosier and all my friends are envious of me living how I do.

It would be simple to just say that it’s these types or these types, but in fact, there is no one type of person who lives in a caravan.

Types Of Caravans To Live In

If you choose to live in a caravan, then you’re spoilt for choice: so many sizes, different colours, interiors and so on. It all depends on how much you want to spend, the size you want to live want and so on. Many factors will dictate your choice. If you want to move around, then you may choose a caravan that you tow behind your vehicle. Like the touring caravan below.

There’s a long history of Caravaning but mainly in the Uk and Europe in the US it’s mainly Motorhomes

But there was one caravan that became a piece of history and to this day, if you see one you’ll either already know what it is or you will want to know and that the AirStream they are stunning to look at and have been turned into some awesome things throughout the years.

Choosing a touring caravan, then the world is your oyster pardon the pun. But it literally is if you choose one city one day and another the next, you can do it. If you want to nip through the tunnel or across the sea to Europe, then you can. You can live where ever you want.

Now, if you choose to live in a touring caravan, you will have to stay in a caravan or camping park overnight. Unless you have plenty of friends all over the country, that would be happy for you to stay on their drive.

Caravan Parks can cost you a small price to park up, but you also get to use onsite facilities. Depending on where you choose to stay will dictate the price you pay.

Staying in caravan parks every night will cost you a good chunk of your income per month, probably more than it would to rent a home. You may get a discount if you choose to stay in a park for a certain amount of time and become a regular.

If you choose to travel around staying on friends and families driveways. If you use the caravan as a spare room to the home, taking one meal inside of the home, then there is no need for planning permission.

If you stay there for a long time and use the caravan as a separate dwelling, then you will need planning permission to do so and pay council tax.

Are You Allowed To Live In A Caravan

People always ask me this question when I say I live in a caravan “Are You Allowed? “. The answer is not as simple as it may seem. It all depends on where you choose to live in a caravan in one.

If you want to drive around the country pulling up in car parks and lay-bys to stay overnight or for a week, then the answer is “No”. The local council will not allow that and you will be visited and asked to move on.

If you choose to live in a residential caravan park, then the answer is yes, but some are only open for 9 months a year. Then you have others that a year-round so you can live in your caravan all year. You can buy your own caravan to live in or rent one from the site owner.

I think this is the worst type of living in a caravan. You have to keep your caravan updated, so replace them to meet new codes and standards. Then you have to pay ground rents and other fees. All this can mount up to a pretty penny.

These caravans have to be kept in good condition and habitable, with all the relevant fire and smoke detectors checked regularly.

Plus, there are rules to abide by when living on these residential sites. There are also benefits, what type of benefits depends on the site itself, but the better the benefits, the more expensive it will be to live there.

Can You Live On Your Own Land In A Caravan

Then there is the question most people want to know, and that’s can you live in a caravan on your own land..? Well if you do, then you need planning permission to do so and getting planning permission to live on your own land in a caravan will never happen.

You may get temporary permission if you are doing a self-build and already have planning permission to build the home. Many people do this when building their own home live in a caravan while you complete the build. Then the caravan goes once they build the main dwelling.

Some of these caravans, which are mainly statics can be a great buy. Most people who choose to live in a static caravan while building their dream home have double glazing, log burners, etc put in, regular sofas and so on. They mostly sell them fully furnished as well. This makes for a great buy if you can find one for sale, that is.

You still have to apply for planning permission to live in the caravan temporarily while building your main dwelling, even if you have planning permission to build the house.

But if you want to live on your own agricultural land and may have purchased for this specific reason. Then you better get your caravan on the land first and ask second.

The council or local planning departments all over the UK will never grant you planning permission to live on agricultural land, no matter where it is. Not that there aren’t people doing just that. Some people hide away and hope for the best going for 10 years 1 day and then claiming the right of lawfulness.

I know a couple that did just that and now have a huge caravan. It is classed as a caravan but is the size of a large bungalow and is built of 4 sections. Stunning home and in the area where they live, there are around 20 more families and people doing the same, not being bothered by anyone.

If you ask for planning permission to move onto agricultural land, it will be refused outright. Yes, you can go down the route of lawfulness but in a caravan that takes 10 years. You can get the right a lot faster than that, but you must in all instances, move onto the land first and ask second. You will not be looked down on. Planning departments are used to people doing things without permission.

What’s It Like To Live In A Caravan

It’s hard to describe what life is like living in a caravan. I mean, it all depends on many factors. Factors such as how big is the caravan, how many people live in the caravan, is the caravan on the move or is it stationery?

But many people have this idyllic idea of caravan life. Now I’m going to concentrate on life living in a two-bed static 35ft x 12ft wide, which is what mine is and I’m living on my own with 2 labradors. So one bedroom for them and one for me, the bigger one lol.

As you can see from the images, it all looks cosy. I had to do some alterations to the caravan to get it to be more homely. But some people think they can live in a caravan, no problem. They spent a week in one at the Lakes in the summer. That wasn’t bad. In fact, it was great. We had an awesome time.

Well living in one year-round is a little different than staying in one on a caravan park that’s for sure.

It may be fun at the beginning, but after a while, if there are too many of you, it could be a literal prison. When you have a 3 bedroom home with plenty of rooms, well, you can disappear to another part of the home where no one can hear you. In a caravan well, everyone can hear what you are doing and that can get on your nerves a bit.

Saying that if you are a close family and you love to spend every minute of the day together, then you may find the togetherness great. Now, if let’s say I was sharing this caravan with a partner and the dogs, then it would be enough space. But remember that being with a partner is not always bliss.

So there will be times when you want your own space and if I didn’t have workshops and other parts of the land to disappear to when things got a little heated. Then I think I would get a little stressed, so to speak.

Heating Your Caravan

Heating a static caravan, and this could be said for a touring caravan as well. The summer times may be warm. In fact, I think my static is too warm; it has a lot of glass which makes it a greenhouse when the sun is bright, so I am one for keeping the blinds closed.

Now for winter, I have that covered I use a log burner. I installed it myself and purchased it from Facebook Marketplace, my favourite online selling platform. The log burner keeps the caravan warm and toasty. Sometimes, to warm you need just the right amount of wood burning. Tip: Leave the bedroom doors open so that the heat can travel around the caravan easily.

If you don’t leave the bedroom doors open, then it will get really, really cool in there in the wintertime, but once you’re under the quilt, then you’re warm enough. But it’s when you need to pop to the toilet that you feel the cold air and I mean cold, not chilly but cold. That’s when you wish you installed a log burner.

I am lucky enough to be connected to mains electricity on my land, which cost a small fortune to get connected to the grid. But I dislike using expensive, outdated electric heaters. So when I am ready for bed, I place a couple of hardwood logs on the wood burner which last all night once you figure out how to use your log burner properly.

I don’t think putting expensive double glazing would make any difference to how warm the place gets. If you install a log burner and have a double-layered carpet on the floor, then you will be warm alright.

The couple of changes I made removing the fixed seating that comes with a static yes it may be ok for a week, but for living in not a chance. I purchased a more comfortable sofa like you would have in a normal home. Trust me, this makes a massive difference to how comfortable it is when living in a caravan.

Then I ripped out the fixed bed and purchased a quality bed. I mean, if you are going to be living in a caravan all year round, then you want some comforts, right?

I could talk all day about what it’s like to live in a caravan, but for you, well, you could find it totally different from what I do. You may want more space or be happy sharing what little space is on offer. This caravan is fine for me because it’s a means to an end. The end being, converting my stable block into a small bungalow.

Where Will You Choose To Live In Your Caravan

As I have mentioned above, there are many places you could choose to live in a caravan. You could choose residential sites. It may be an all year round site or it could be a part-time residential site, these sorts of sites don’t have full residential status or licenses but only for 10 – 11 months of the year so you have to find somewhere else to live for a couple of months. You could use this time to spend with family or friends.

If you were living in a touring caravan, you could spend a couple of months on a friend’s driveway or garden, then move back to the site when it reopens.

Also, if you are living in a touring caravan, you may choose to spend your time in different sites travelling around seeing different towns and cities, sometimes countries, but this would be the most expensive way to live in a caravan.

It would be great to spend the wintertime in Spain there are plenty of caravan sites out there.

If you are looking to live in a caravan because there is no room in your mother’s home or you just want your own space. Then you can live in any size caravan on your parents or even friends’ land, which could be a driveway. As long as the land we are talking about is in the garden’s curtilage of the house, meaning the garden, driveway etc.

But to do this, you need to take one meal inside the main house, not that anyone would know if you did or didn’t.

What you cannot do is use the caravan, whether it be touring or static, like a separate home or dwelling. If you do this, then you would need planning permission. If you got planning, which is very doubtful, then you would have to pay council tax.

Another thing you might think, you could just park up, leave the touring caravan attached to the vehicle, and sleep in it. Well, you could, but if the police are called, they will move you on and if you have been drinking and the vehicle’s keys are in the caravan they can get you for drink driving.?

There are lots of different opinions on this, but mostly, it is not workable to live in a caravan this way. You need to have a base no matter what caravan you choose to live in.?

Why Not Work On A Farm

Now, if you’re not working and you want to live in a static or touring caravan and you’re willing to work, then you could go around local farmers and look for some. Many farms have several static caravans scattered around their land for farm workers and seasonal workers. I know plenty of farms that let the workers stay in the caravans all year round and they never get bothered by anyone.

If you’re touring the country and want to earn some money in the process, then this is perfect for you. Also great for meeting new people from all over the world, farmworkers in the UK come from all over the place.

You probably be given a small patch of land or should I say allowed to use a small bit of land to set up home, so to speak.

Living In A Caravan On Your Own Land

You will need to start some sort of business to get the right to live in the caravan on your own land, and this will only be temporary permission for 3 – 5 years while you prove your business is viable. Plus, you need to prove a functional need to be there 24/7 – 365 days per year.

This is what the council or local planning departments will want you to prove to them. These are old and outdated rules and they should not use them, but they still do. Instead, they should judge on a need for a rural workers’ dwelling, but they still use the old rules to see if you need that dwelling is needed. You need to prove –

• Functional Need To Be There
• Prove The Business Is Viable
• Show Your Financials

If you are thinking of buying land to live on in a caravan, then I would advise against it. Unless you’re starting some sort of rural business and want to make that business work. If that is the case, go for it, but make sure you have everything ready for the business to start straight away. You only have 3 – 5 years to prove the business is going to work. It’s hard enough with a normal business, never mind a rural one.

This way, you are not messing around tidying the land and putting up fences, you can concentrate solely on the business itself.

There are plenty of small plots of land where sitting static and touring caravans would be appropriate for families wanting to live a country lifestyle.

This is what most people have probably come to read, and that’s can you live in a caravan on your own land. The answer is a resounding “NO” not unless you get granted planning permission. Your land will probably be agricultural or equine and as such, you would need to get a change of use to residential.

If you do not have the money or should I say savings available to buy yourself some land try and Claim Land.

Planning permission would never be granted, not for you to just move onto land in a caravan and live there. Councils are not in the business of letting anyone live on agricultural land or any land that they do not designate as residential. Then your only choice is to rent or purchase a property that is not what you want to do.

I have always said this in my videos. If you have been to my YouTube channel, The Small Farmer Life you have to find agricultural land think of a business idea. Get the land into a good state of repair so that when you move onto the land you are ready to go. Make sure you have a good business idea. It does not have to make you millions.

Trust me when I say that there are thousands, tens of thousands of people living on agricultural land all over the UK.

Now there is one thing that 99.9% of these people have in common and that’s they moved their caravan on first and ask second. Do not ask first, then be refused as they will refuse you, even if you have a fully functioning farm or business. They will just say well if it’s doing so good and you’re not there, then why do you need to be there now.?

They are more than willing to say no if you ask, but find it hard to evict you once you’re on the land. But you need to start some sort of business and it doesn’t have to be a huge farming operation. I know a guy who lives on an 8th of an acre plot and has a dog grooming business. That’s as far from farming as you can get. But it’s a business in a rural area and the local councils have to support rural businesses and the need for rural workers’ dwellings.

Heres A List Of Rural Business Ideas

• Dog Kennels or Cattery 
• Pet Hotel – People have lots of different pets, all of which may need hotel
• Petting Zoo
• Clamping Site or Tiny Home Site
• Farming Workshop Good Mechanic – Mobile Fix Farm Machines
• Rural Garden Centre + Nursery
• Composting Site + Mulching, etc
• Different Rural Business or Combine A Couple
• Countryside Wedding Venue
• Aquaponics Farm
• Fish Nursery + Breeding Site, etc
• Stud Farm – Horse Delivery – Horse Box Hire – Sell Horse Tack & Feed
• Tree Farm + Speciality Trees Different, Japanese Acres, Japanese Maples
• Lama + Donkey Trekking
• Grow Micro Greens & Mushrooms

• Country Joinery Shop – Chicken Coops, Rabbit Hutches,
• Sell Hardware To Local Villages 
• Small Rural Shipping Warehouse & Last Mile Delivery

This is the best shot you have got to live on agricultural land in a caravan. This way, they weed out the potential property developers. If it was easy, everyone would do it. But trust me when I say this once you’re in your new home, the caravan in this case, and have your own land.

The debt machine does not saddle you. There is no better feeling than living on your own land with acres of space. Running your own small business breathing in that fresh air.

Yes, you will still have to pay council tax as does everyone else, but it’s pennies compared to the costs associated with living in a 3 bed home.

Is It Cheaper To Live In A Caravan

The cost of living in a caravan is minimal if you are living on your own land. Now, as I have said, if you’re living on a residential site or travelling or touring as it is known, then it’s going to cost you a lot of money.

But if you purchase a piece of agricultural land and tidy it up, start a small rural business doing something like raising hens or breeding them to sell fertile hatching eggs like me. I get £20 per half dozen, so 6 eggs, with a profit of around £12 after costs are taken into account.

Personaly this is how I got the right to keep my caravan on my land.

This takes minimal time to do and is guaranteed less stressful than your old 9 – 5 job because we are not just talking in monetary terms here. We are talking about the costs of everything from income to mental health. These are all costs we pay in life to live how we do in homes that are too big for us, buying needless things to fill them and all on debt.

The best thing I ever did was get rid of all the junk I had acquired over the years and I never sold it. i just left it and told them to give it to the next tenant or charity.

Now all I pay is £40 per month electric, £2000 per year council tax, £20 per month internet and food bill which to be honest is not that much. Also, when I grow my salad and vegetables, it will be next to nothing for food.

I get my wood for the burner from a local tree surgeon who tells me when he is cutting certain trees down and he just dumps the chopped logs and chippings which I used for paths on my land.

He even cuts them to a size I can split them by axe. You may choose a log splitter, but I like the exercise and I don’t even let them dry. I use dry ones and leave the freshly cut ones at the side of the fire as you see in the images to be dried. It takes around a couple of hours for them to dry to a point where they are ready.

But I can honestly say that moving into a caravan on my land that I owe “NO DEBT ON” is one of the best things I have ever done for me, my health, and my bank account.

You cannot just look at the monetary costs of living on your own land, etc. You have to also take into consideration the joy of breathing fresh air well, as fresh as you’re going to get. The joy of the peace and silence, no more children playing outside your door unless they’re your own, that is.

The joys of growing your own food, picking apples from an orchard that you planted and collecting fresh eggs daily. These things are not just saving you your money, but also your health. Living as we do in this modern way of life is not how we’re supposed to live, not all of us anyway.

Yes, some people love it, but a lot of others don’t and it hurts not just their wallets but also their health. There is 92% of the UK that is open countryside and there are plenty of small parcels of land out of the way. Which could never be farmed in a way as we think of modern farming.

But they could be farmed on a smaller scale by people and families wanting to live the smallholder’s life.

It’s cheaper for you and for the country. The countryside is taken care of the land is managed in a better way. No more man-made fertilisers but natural manure. Mental health problems are sorted for people who don’t or dare not leave their own front doors because of what society has done.

They should not reserve the land or countryside for wealthy individuals. But all wealth classes and types of individuals should occupy it. Yes, this may be idealistic, but it is what most people want. Maybe not the top 10% but the vast majority of this country would like the opportunity to live in the countryside if they so please.

Bills That Come With Caravan Life

The bills that come with living in a caravan. In my case its a static caravan so that I can only testify to the bills I pay.

• Gas Bottle £40 per 3 – 4 months
• Food Bill £150 per month
• Council Tax £2000 per year
• Internet 4G Unlimited Data Three Mobile, £20

So not that bad, but this is just to live in the caravan. It is not for taking care of the land. But that’s all part and parcel of starting a smallholding. You are going to have to build certain things that will also add value to your land and now home.

How Do I Get Internet To My Rural Caravan

Yes, this is one thing we cannot do without and that’s the internet. We learn so much from it and it will be in daily use once you move onto your land and start living in your caravan. You will learn so many things to do around your farm from YouTube etc,

I use the internet a lot as you can see from my setup below. People think you need super-fast broadband. But from someone who does everything online from writing this blog to YouTube videos, streaming movies on a night time. The best service I have found is 4G Unlimited Data By Three Mobile.

The post Living In A Caravan appeared first on The Small Farmer Life.

You might be thinking why does my small farm need a website or any farm come to think of it…? Especially at the beginning, which we will come to in a minute.

I mean the whole point about starting a small farm, smallholding, or homestead is to get away from all the crap and tech of today’s modern age.

This is true, in most cases we start a small farm to enjoy the outside again, the little things in life and get back to basics. Not to be online building an online store or writing a blog.

We all know that the internet has taken over books and is one of the best things ever to be given to mankind. As a learning tool or a selling tool, nothing beats it whatever you want to know or purchase it’s there somewhere.

Learning is important for new farmers, especially because we have never farmed before.

But so is spreading the word about your new farm and also selling for your farm. After all, you will need to attract buyers for your farming products.

This could be meat, speciality crops, selling of eggs, making of soaps whatever it is. There is no better way than a website to show it off.

Your farm is still a business or is going to be a business and every business needs a website in this day and age.

Even if it’s only a hobby farm a website is an extension of your farm plus hobby farms teach others knowledge.

If you choose to blog about your farm you can earn a very nice income from a blog. I’m talking in the thousands per month. There is nothing special about blogging it is really cheap and easy to get started.

There are many ways to make money from small farming. You can check out my post How To Make Your Small Farm Profitable.

Be sure to come back and read the full post to see how to earn even more money from your small farm’s website.

First Start A Blog As Soon As Possible

I would suggest you start a Blogging Website for your farm from the beginning. As soon as you have the land get to writing about it. The website will become a blogging diary for your farm and how far you have come for future reference.

More important than that the faster you get your site listed on Google, Bing, Yahoo and other search engines the better.

If you start writing your blog from the beginning of your small farming adventure and how things are going.

You might be thinking nobody wants to read about this but believe me they do. I mean you are reading my blog are you not..?

Trust me I get 10,000 plus readers per month and climbing

It will also be much easier to launch an online store off the back of a blog. Especially when that blog is already listed in search engines.

This is because it takes time for any website to rank in the Search Engine Results Pages. These are also referred to as SERPs.

If you start your blog straight away. Then when you are ready to sell products online. Your blog will already be showing up in the search results. Then it’s just a matter of linking your online store to your blog.

It’s as simple as writing an article telling your readers that you have now launched an online store. You will then already have an audience that may want to purchase from you and your farm over the internet.

But more than all of that blogging and selling online is great fun also profitable. You will be surprised at the number of readers you will get.

Millions of people dream of living off the land and it is a massive subject worldwide.

What is Blogging anyway…?

Blogging is basically writing about anything, in this case, your farm and your experiences. It’s simple to start as you can see from my blog.

You only need a single post to launch a blog. Then write one article weekly or monthly showing your readers how you are getting on with your small farm.

It takes around several months for your blog posts to start showing in search engines. So don’t be thinking you will only have one post and lots of people will be viewing it. But after several months you will have many articles and lots of people reading your blog. Simple..!

Did I also mention that you can earn a significant income from your small farm blog also..? This is by way of affiliate marketing and there are so many affiliate programs out there that can earn you extra income for writing about what you love.

Yes its true why do you think so may people are writing blogs these days

I have even started to earn a little extra income from my blog which is great and goes towards feeding my animals. Believe me when I say I am no computer genius so if I can do it so can you?

There is no reason why you cannot learn just like I did and have a website blog up and running in just a couple of weeks. It only takes a couple of hours of learning per week before you know-how and are up and running.

If you get stuck along the way. Do what I did and go and type in what you want to know into YouTube. I guarantee you will find the answer in minutes and it will be in a nice easy to follow video. Problem solved…!

Websites Are Not Expensive

This is one of the biggest reasons that may put people off is the cost. Thinking a website is going to be expensive and that you need all the money you have for your small farm. The truth is that it’s really cheap to launch a website.

The main costs behind websites are website designers. Which I am going to tell you, you don’t need. It is really simple to start a small blog or small online store without any coding knowledge whats so ever.

I’m talking less than a couple of hundred which is nothing in the grand scheme of things. Also nothing in terms of what you will get back from your website.

I have 2 websites one for my blog and one for my online store. We will discuss which type of website you need and how much it will cost for each type.

The Small farmer life blog I host with BlueHost and I purchased their 3-year plan which cost from £2.26 per month for three years.

My online store Ukpoultry.co.uk I use Shopify which costs me $29 a month. This is about what I sell 6 fertile hatching eggs for or 1 pullet hen. So I think it is well worth the monthly fee.

Is It Hard To Build A Website..?

In this day and age, you do not need to go to college or university to learn how to build a website. The prosses is easy to learn and there are mountains of online videos to help you through any problem you may come across.

This is great for someone like me who is building their first website. Whether it’s an online store to sell your farm products or you want to learn how to blog. It’s pretty easy to learn either one nowadays.

Now there are plenty of companies offering different platforms to use to sell online and to blog.

But I choose to use Shopify for my online store as it’s really simple to use and so many sources on YouTube to learn from. Not only that but they take care of everything from a free theme to online payments etc.

Now I could build my store into my WordPress blog to sell products online but this is a lot more complicated.

It is much easier to use a Shopify store which was built from the ground up to be an eCommerce platform and link to it from my blog.

I could also run my online blog from Shopify but Shopify is not the best platform to blog from. It was built to sell things so use it for that reason.

WordPress, on the other hand, was built for Blogging. So I choose to blog with WordPress as there are many more options.

So I sell my products with Shopify which is a lot less hassle than having a Blog and an Online Store together.

It’s easy to link your Blog to your Online Store this gives you the versatility and the advantages of both worlds.

Who Do I Use To Host My Sites..?

Now I recommend BlueHost for WordPress Hosting and for Blogging and I recommend Shopify for Online Selling. These two companies are giants in their industries.

I have never had any trouble with either of them and they are both simple to use. The customer service is awesome from both and any problems if you have any are sorted while you are chatting online.

Now I did my homework before I chose which Hosting to go with and also which eCommerce I would use to sell online.

But I have in the past used other types of providers and also pay monthly services like Wix.

But nothing beats having your own hosting, domain name and purchasing a ready-built theme.

After 5 years of using different types of websites. I think BlueHost is by far the best and cheapest for hosting your website. Other people may think differently but what are they hosting and what do they need from a hosting company.

I am certain that if you are looking for web hosting then BlueHost has a package to suit your needs.

Other Platforms To Blog From

There are many different types of blogging platforms out there. All offering different types of options and packages.

I am just trying to make things easy for you by telling you what I use and know something about.

I cannot speak for all the companies and providers out there because I have never used them. That is except Wix and a few hosting companies. Wix was pretty pathetic, to be honest.

The reason I choose WordPress to write my blog. Is because it’s the biggest platform for blogging in the world.

This means there is so much more information out there. There are so many plugins for everything or anything you may want to do. Have you seen fancy share buttons on a website you like..? I bet it is from a WordPress Plugin.

Also, the mountain of instructional videos on YouTube that will teach you everything you need to know is unbelievable.

Other platforms do not have the amount of help you may need. If you are new to website design and building I would stick to WordPress for this reason alone.

You can also easily move your website from one hosting company to another if you use WordPress and WordPress hosting companies.

Also, WordPress is Free, you still have to pay for Hosting and a Domain Name which costs around £12 per year.

Some hosting packages will give you a free domain for the first year with one of their hosting packages even BlueHost does.

But if you are a first-time customer when purchasing a domain name you can get them as cheap as 0.99p.

Always Purchase Your Domain Seperate From Your Hosting…!

I would always advise you to purchase your domain name from a domain name supplier that is different from your hosting company.

Have them both separate as sometimes a hosting company can make things difficult if you ever want to leave.

This has never happened to me but I have read about it in the past so for the price, why take the chance.

This gives you full control over every aspect of your website. If you ever want to move to new hosting then you simply point your domain to your new host.

WordPress Hosting For Your Small Farm Blog

There are many companies that offer WordPress hosting and it’s pretty cheap. I think really cheap.

The great thing about building your own website. Choosing your own hosting and domain name is that you are in control and not some web developer.

List of some Hosting Companies with great pricing.

• BlueHost – This is the hosting I use – Never had a problem
• Hostinger UK
• SiteGround
• JustHost – Have also used this hosting – Again never had a problem
• HostGator

Building and owning your own website is a real game-changer. You do not have to contact web developers to change this or that. You will also not be billed for changing small things on your website.

This is why I was so happy to learn how to use WordPress. If I wanted to make changes I could do it in five minutes.

You may think it is hard to learn but honestly, it is really easy. You will get to grips with it in no time and be well on your way to having your own blog.

Which Option Is Best For You..?

Well, this all depends on what you are doing with your farm. Are you just wanting to blog about your farm..?

If you are raising animals and selling their meat. You may want to start a blog and show your potential customers.

How you treat and raise your animals through images and blog posts. You can also show them videos which are easily integrated into your blog.

In this case, you just need a Cheap Hosting Package a Domain Name and a Blogging Theme.

Total cost around £200 for 3 years of hosting and a cool looking Theme like mine. You will have to pay for your domain yearly but it is around £12 per year.

Then if you decide to sell online in the future you can easily start an online store with Shopify.

If You Want To Sell Online

If you are selling fertile hatching eggs and other poultry-related products. Or if you are selling any other type of products that can be posted or mailed out.

You may want to start with a Shopify store. Or like me, you may want to start with both.

This is the great thing about being in control of your own online world it is all up to you. You can do anything you want and you can do it that very day and it won’t cost you a penny.

If you want to make changes you can and it will cost you nothing and can be done in minutes.

No more overcharging web design companies trying to get thousands per month out of you for a basic farm shop. Believe me, this is what they will try and charge you.

You can add any products you have available to your store in minutes. Start taking any orders and have them in the post for next day delivery. Any payments will go straight into your Paypal Account or Bank.

Shopify is the largest eCommerce platform out there, especially for new online stores. It is easy to set up and you even get a 14 day free trial with no credit card needed.

After that, the price is $29 a month which is nothing compared to what a web design company would charge to build you an online store. If you choose a web design company be sure to have several thousand just for a basic online store.

Another good thing about Shopify is that you can get a Point Of Sale Unit for your farm shop or farmers market if you have one. This integrates with your online store and any sales go straight into your bank account.

You can cancel your Shopify store at any time and you are not tied into a contract.

How To Start A WordPress Farm Blog

Just want to blog..? Using WordPress for your farm blog is pretty easy once you have your hosting. You can then download WordPress free to your hosting platform which will probably have c-panel.

Upload a theme you have purchased or you may choose to go with a free Theme. I recommend you purchase a ready-made Theme as this will make things easy for you and you get 6 months of support free.

There are plenty of videos showing you how to do this. The theme seller will probably have one. This is not a hard thing to do.

The support you get with a purchased theme will also help you if you ever get stuck. They will even go into your website and fix a problem if you have one.

C-panel is the backend of your website were WordPress lives. Once installed you will only see the WordPress panel as seen below when you log into your website.

WordPress DashBoard Above

This is where you will upload your Theme and make any changes to your website or post new articles to your blog. It is really that easy when you get to know your way around.

Now as I mentioned you can use one of the free themes that WordPress offers which are not that good but could be used. Or you can do what I did and purchase a Blogging Theme for a one-time payment of around £50 from a site that sells Themes like ThemeForest.

There are so many Themes to choose from and different types you will certainly find one you like. Always purchase a theme that has sold many times and has lots of good comments about it and you can’t go wrong.

Themes are basically ready-made websites that you can change to your own tastes. It sounds complicated but it takes around ten minutes to download the theme and install it into your WordPress hosting.

How To Always Recover Your Website

Now if you are new to WordPress Blogging. Then you are going to make mistakes. But this is not a problem when you are using WordPress.

As I mentioned if you have read the whole post that is..? WordPress has a plugin for everything. There is a Plugin called UpdraftPlus it is free to install.

Now as you learn to use WordPress and start making your website look cool. All you have to do is hit Backup in UpdraftPlus and it will backup your full website.

If you make a mistake after you have built a lovely website. As long as you have been making regular backups it’s not a problem. You just hit the Restore in Updraftplus and your website will be back to how it was. Before you made the mistake.

You can see I use it in the image of my blog dashboard above.

You can also back your website up to external storage like GoogleDrive who give you gigabytes of free storage space with any Gmail account.

Is It That Simple To Start A Farming Website

Yes, it is. The first step is to choose what you want from your website..? Do you want to blog or sell online or do you want both..?

Now you have made up your mind go with one of the links on this page and you cant go far wrong.

Once you have chosen your desired platform. Go over to YouTube and type in how to learn to Blog With WordPress or how to Build An Online Store With Shopify.

I promise you that you will find everything you need to know about either of the platforms. This is exactly what I did and I have never looked back. I even build Shopify stores for others and make a little extra on the side.

Learning How To Blog About Your Small Farm

If you are wanting to learn how to blog about your small farm then take a look at these guys. They have a channel on YouTube called Income School. You will learn everything you need to know about starting a blog from scratch even how to make money from your blog.

They explain lots of things around the art of blogging because it is an art. Like anything, you will become better at blogging the more you blog. It’s that simple. If you are not the best at spelling then you can download Grammarly the free version is all you need.

Once you are learning to blog you will want to learn about SEO. This will help you write great articles for your blog that will get ranked on page one of Google.

Neil Patel is the guy to watch he has his own Channel on YouTube called Neil Patel.

Watching these two YouTube channels alone will get you well on your way to blogging. Also earning from your blog, yes it will take a little time but so will building your farm.

If you are still not sure about using WordPress then check out channels on YouTube that teach you. But I will say this. The best way to learn is to follow along as you are watching.

If you don’t have WordPress or Shopify then you cannot follow along. Remmember you are in your farm for the long run and on those cold winter nights.

Well what better way to get through them than to write about your farming life..!

The post Why Small Farms Need A Website appeared first on The Small Farmer Life.

Mainly it’s because of the lifestyle itself and the benefits it offers. But there is one thing for sure you are going to need and want. That’s as much knowledge as possible. This is not going to just be about farming.

There is no point in knowing how to raise animals or grow crops. If you do not know how to build animal housing or marketing and selling your goods for profit.

Getting To Know About Small Farming

This is where my new “YouTube Channel” comes in, which is all about small farming. I will be posting lots of how-to videos around the farm. Helping you pick the right crops to grow and animals to raise which you can make a profit from.

Also what you can do on the side. Making a little extra income while you are getting your farm up and running. So it can stand on its own two feet so to say is not going to hurt.

My YouTube Channel “The Small Farmer Life”

If you only have a small piece of land then you are going to need to think outside the box. But I assure you it can be done.

Small farms are popping up all over the world and in every town

I have been learning about farming on a small scale for several years now. This is with other established small farmers who I will also show on the channel.

When I purchased this piece of land and it was nothing but a field. On my channel, I will be showing you everything. How you go about putting the infrastructure in place before you can even start to farm. What the costs will be and how to go about installing them the cheapest way.

I’ve Owned A Few Small Businesses

I have been in business all my life. Businesses such as “Designer Clothes Shops”, you can see one of the shop signs hanging from a cabin on the farm. I even had a Software Mail-Order company when I was younger in my teens. I am now in the Property Maintenance & Landscaping Business.

I Always Wanted A Small Farm

So with the money, I saved from my businesses I purchased the land and I started another small business. A business that gives me the most time possible, the time I need to run my very own small farm. It also gives me lots of skills needed for construction and planning.

I have always been a person who goes out to make my own living. Everybody says I’m lucky but I never purchased a lottery ticket. It is all down to hard work and small farming is no different in that sense.

The difference is the lifestyle being outdoors a lot, growing your own fresh organic food, raising your own animals. This channel will be about how to start a small farm from scratch and make it profitable..?

It’s what people call the good life. This is the life I want to live and if I can make a profit then thats even better..!

If you “Subscribe To The Small Farmer Life” you will find lots of helpful videos. I have my plan is in place to make a profit in my first year of farming. I want to be able to farm full-time within a year or two. I will probably hand my maintenance business over for someone else to run while I take care of the farm.

The Small Farmer Life YouTube Channel will show you all the things you need to know. How to start from nothing to something.

That will, in the end, help you find some land and start running your very own small farm. And what it takes to start from nothing to something.

The post Starting A Small Farm From Scratch For Profit – Helpful Videos appeared first on The Small Farmer Life.

I created this page so that small farmers from around the world can get together in one place and share ideas, knowledge, join in the conversation and much more.

It does not matter how small your farm is or how much you know about farming. I’m sure you will find ideas and information from the Group.

I invite Small farmers from around the world to join the group and participate in sharing their knowledge, animal images, growing methods, start a conversation and share what it going on in your country.

Small local farms are better than large commercial intensive farms in every way. They feed local people, take better care of the land and are better for the world has a whole.

Why should just a few large companies control what we eat. So again I ask you to join “Living The Small Farmer Life” and share what you know and have learned while on your farming adventure.

The post Living The Small Farmer Life Facebook Group appeared first on The Small Farmer Life.

I am so glad you have found my blog and hope you are here because you are wanting to learn how to start your very own small farm.

You might also be wondering if farming on a small scale can be done while making a profit in the process? Maybe you are here to see what “The Small Farmer Life” is all about.

The main thing is, I’m glad to see you here. Little about me I’m 44 years old from the Uk and have always been interested in living a little of the good life, growing and raising animals for my own food.

How I Learned What I Needed To Know

I have been learning farming methods with smallholdings for a while now for around 3 years. These were not big farms they were around 15 acres or so. I learned a lot from these small farms and the main thing was, these farms made most of their profit from selling specialty products, not acres of potatoes and full-grown carrots. 

They made most of their profit from fast organic growing greens on rotation. Things like, salad greens, specialty mushrooms, and microgreens. Simple and easy to grow with fast-growing times and marketing to the right customers. I will tell you how they marketed their products in another post

They never made much profit from sheep or any other large animals, which to me are a waste of your time and money. These larger animals need lots of caring, large housing. You also needed lots of these larger animals to even break even, after vet bills, slaughter, etc. This did not make any sense to me, but they knew best?

The animals they made most profits from where poultry. Selling Rare Chicken Breeds and Organic Chicken Meat and Eggs, along with Turkeys and Quails. Also selling young birds they hatched, sold really well, to locals who wanted a few Chickens or Quails for fresh daily eggs, etc. You can sell fertile eggs to people who want to incubate them at a premium all over the country using the internet and sell your Organic Eggs local.

How Will Pygmy Farm Make Profit

After what I have seen and been learning, I am going to stick to poultry breeds for my animals and 10 to 15  Organic Seasonal Salad Greens, Tomatoes, Micro Greens and Gourmet Mushrooms and have a small area to one side for other vegetables that I will need for my family. 

Also because I’m a joiner by trade I will be building herb planters, chicken coops and many other wooden products branded under the “Pygmy Farm” name to sustain the farm.

I will also be still sticking to my daily business of property maintenance. My business gives me plenty of free time to work around the farm and also pays the bills, while the farm is getting up and running.

The Thing You Don’t Want To Do

This is a “Big Thing” if you have a job or business “Do Not Just Walk Away Into Farming”. Please stick to your job or business and learn as much about farming as possible before going fulltime.

You can start your farming part-time and grow as your knowledge grows. Will it be hard, of course, it will, nothing in life is easy and farming is a hard thing to do correctly and make a profit from. Not to mention there are some back-breaking jobs around the farm.

But these hard jobs are all good to keep you fit and along with your organic food. You will never have felt so good. This blog is all about getting you off to a good start

Pick What You Will Be Farming Wisely

This is why I’m sticking with easy to rear animals a few types of salad greens and vegetables. You cannot compete with large supermarkets on easy to get vegetables like potatoes, carrots, turnips, etc. But if you grow the more expensive greens and hard to get gourmet mushrooms etc you can.

If can market your products to the right people and businesses, then you can make higher profits for less work and also less investment in large machines. Keeping it simple using systems with lower overheads and time needed to harvest.

Don’t get me wrong it is not easy work, but you do not need to pay for £100,000 tractors and other big machinery to harvest. The types of produce I will be growing will be harvested by hand hence lesser overheads. This is one of the biggest killers of farms. If you need half a million for machinery before you even start then this is going to be hard and stress you out and you do not want this.

How Long Have I had Pygmy Farm?

I found my little piece of land 4 years ago and have been planning this farm for that long. Now I could have just jumped headfirst without knowing a thing about farming. 

This is not how I went about it at all, firstly I had a small business I just started, which is property maintenance and landscaping business. This has given me so much knowledge about how to build things. Given me the little money I needed to start my venture into farming. My business is still going strong.

I then made friends in the farming community around me with medium-sized smallholdings near to my farm. I offered them a helping hand in my spare time, which in turn they taught me a lot. I then read books and watched as many videos as possible in my spare time on what to grow. Also, the best growing methods to get the produce growing fast and organic. 

I will be growing my produce in organic no dig systems. I also learned that people will pay a premium for poultry that is reared in the right way. They always sell very quickly indeed. People are more aware of the methods of big farming and the cruelty that goes into producing food on a mass scale.

Image how you would feel crushed together next to thousands of others being pushed around. Being given injections and medications just to keep you alive. All of this goes onto the shelves of your local supermarket, how else can they sell chicken full-grown for so little?

I don’t want to see this on my farm

This is what happens in most big poultry farms and this is what you are eating and feeding you and your family. Well, that’s not how I want to live and want my farm animals to live either.

Also, the greens we eat are covered in pesticides and in the Uk, even treated human waste is used as fertilizer and I don’t like the sound of that.

Pygmy Farm A Local Farm

Yes, my farm is a small farm, this is the whole point, but it is going to be an ethical farm and that’s what farming should be about. Producing quality products and letting the animals graze free and be treated with the life they deserve, not packed together like sardines. It will also be able to be run by 1 or 2 people.

All the animals I raise have to be able to have access to the fresh air and the vegetables had to be organic. I want to show that you cannot only survive on a small farm but thrive on a small farm.

This is why I have only chosen to concentrate on quality poultry breeds and a few good quality crops that all bring in premium pricing. The poultry is all free-range except for the quails as they would fly away, but they are in high soft netted large pens moved daily to fresh pasture.

The breeding cocks will have access to large runs if they are free to roam they will fight and breed with the wrong birds. They will be given a good long life as these are going to be needed for years of breeding.

Specialty Vegetables To Sell For Maximum Profit

All the fresh vegetables and herbs are going to be organically grown and will be picked daily as and when they are needed. I am only going to grow seasonal vegetables on a rotation basis. I can grow a few out of season or start them early in the polytunnels and grow mushrooms in my sheds year-round.

I will also have a cool room for greens and vegetables that need to be picked. If they do not sell I will add them to customers’ orders who do not expect them. Maybe this will turn into a future order, while also being a nice surprise for my customers. This will help for word of mouth also getting more customers.

I will be posting regular articles to my blog on how I am getting on and video tutorials to my “YouTube Channel – The Small Farmer Life”.

These videos will include lots of things I have learned and also how to build things for your farm cheaply and easy. You are more than welcome to comment, to ask for help if you find yourself in a pickle and if I can help you I will be happy to.

Do You Want To Help? Want To Guest Post

If you have knowledge that can help me and others and would like to share that information. Then why not guest post on my blog and help others to live a good life, a life free from big farming and healthy life.

I have so much more to tell you, show you and hopefully teach you, if you are wanting to live this life. Then why not sign up for my newsletter. I will not spam you and if you don’t want to sign up that’s fine. Just bookmark this site and pop back now and then to see what is going on at Pygmy Farm.

You can follow me on this journey or as I like to say adventure. I will be showing the ups the downs and everything in-between. I can tell you there will be a lot more to learn, now I am going alone, but I have friends to guide me and give me the advice I need. Not to mention the internet is full of information for the budding smallholder.

Thanks For Reading..!

The post Welcome To Pygmy Farm appeared first on The Small Farmer Life.