Come and meet us at one of our events
Unless stated events are free to members. There is a a small charge for non-members
The events below are only the tip of the iceberg: there are lots more to come!
Don't forget to check out out calendar.
Event Booking
Unless otherwise stated :- Booking via: Events@smallholdersomerset.com
On receipt of your booking you will be given the venue address and directions.
Please note that toilet facilities may not always be available. Dogs only by prior consent at booking.
Most of our events are run by members, for members. Aside from what the event itself is about, it's amazing what you can learn on the side by chatting to fellow smallholders. It’s also a great way to meet up with old friends and find some new ones, make or swop contacts, discover what skills or livestock other smallholders have, and generally just have a lovely social time out. There’s often tea and cake available too. So, if you’ve not yet attended one of the SSA courses, now’s the time to change that…..
Hedge laying Sunday 23rd January 2022 10:30 till 2:30
Details coming soon
Save the date
Orchard management and cider making. March 5th 2022
Smallholders’ Question Time!
Thursday November 11th, 7pm - 9pm, Pitney Village Hall, nr Langport, TA10 9AR
We will be hosting a Smallholders’ Question Time on the 11th November featuring a panel, all of whom have various levels of experience in fields such as vegetable growing, poultry keeping, sheep husbandry and general smallholding know how. If you’ve always wondered when to use a rotavator, what the heck raddle is and more importantly, how to apply it, to castrate or not to castrate, when to plant salsify or which end of a chicken is up, then come along to our Question Time and see if our panel can help!
There will be tea, coffee and cakes available. This should be a fun and informative evening with plenty of audience participation!
Contact: events@smallholdersomerset.com
Workshop for Keepers of Poultry
11th December 11am to 12:30ish Near Chard
If you keep poultry you might wish to attend some or all of this workshop. Whatever the reason you keep poultry there will be times when you may need to quickly and kindly dispatch a bird, possibly on compassionate grounds. This workshop will take you through the steps to achieve this in the best way for the bird and in accordance with the best animal welfare standards. The workshop will look at a number of techniques suitable for birds of various sizes from day old to turkey.
As you may be aware APHA have announced a poultry lockdown starting at midnight Sunday 28th/Monday 29th.
We plan to go ahead with the workshop and cover poultry husbandry but will be unable to have live birds. We will still talk through various dispatch techniques but won’t be able to do practical demonstrations/have a go at plucking and prepping for the oven.
We will start at 11am instead of 10:30 and be inside in the warm as there is no need to be outside now.
Following on from this Workshop we are having a SSA Bring and Share Christmas Buffet at 1pm (see below for details).
Contact events@smallholdersomerset.com
Bring and Share Christmas Buffet
11th December 1 pm Near Chard
Back by popular demand again, this year we will be having a Bring and Share Christmas Buffet. We had a similar event in 2019 that was well attended and much enjoyed.
Come along, bring a plate of food, and get to know a few of your fellow smallholders or catch up with some you have met at previous events. Hot drinks will be provided and I expect some mulled cider will be available.
This event is timed to start after the Poultry Workshop has finished and we have had a chance to change into our party clothes, so some of you will already be there.
Contact events@smallholdersomerset.com
Micro AGM
11th December 1 pm Near Chard
Because we need to hold an AGM, we will be having a micro AGM during the Christmas Bring and Share Buffet. This will be the absolute minimum AGM we can make it. We hope to complete this micro AGM in less than 10 minutes; less than 5 minutes would be even better.
Crafty Connections - The First Saturday in the Month - Next Meeting: Saturday 6th November
We meet just north of Chard and our meetings are open from 10:30 till 12:30 Come when you can there is no need to attend the whole session.
So what is Crafty Connections? – Crafty Connections has two purposes.
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To get together with other crafters and learn, share and/or be inspired by each other.
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To Connect with other smallholders and learn, share and/or be inspired by each other.
We are a relaxed group with almost no rules. Bring something with you that may or may not have a vague craft connection that you can sit and do while we talk about whatever topic the conversation takes us to. To be honest we don’t even mind if you don’t bring a craft you can just come and connect.
One of the strengths of the group is that we have a wide range of craft and smallholder knowledge that we are happy to share. We don’t normally hold formal craft workshops but instead if you want help with something or would like to learn a new skill then drop me an email
and we will see if we know someone who can help at a future meeting.
Contact Elaine @ Crafty@smallholdersomerset.com
In the Pipeline
As we emerge from Covid we are starting to build up our events schedule again. We have lots of ideas for events for the future including: butchery, foraging, fermenting (for food and for drink), unusual fruit and veg, a multi-activity workshop, produce fair and more of the popular smallholding Q&A’s.
Further details of all of these, and other exciting and informative events, will be available in the upcoming magazines and here on the website, so stay tuned and don’t forget to book early to secure your place!
Contact Events@SmallholderSomerset.com
Details of events are updated regularly - for more information please refer to the SSA magazine.
or follow the contact link.
Do you have an idea for a training event or workshop? Please contact me and I will make it happen -
Events@SmallholderSomerset.com