3 Tips for Setting up Your Own Smallholding

We live in pretty complicated and fast-paced times. While our modern technologies bring us an immense array of benefits, it is also the case that those benefits come at the expense of the calm, and mental quiet, that so many of us find we need in order to feel our best.


As an antidote to this, many of us seek to put conscious constraints on our use of certain technologies and apps that might distract us too much and cause us stress. Quitting social media, for example, is a frequent remedy in this regard.

One of the other major ways in which people strive to maintain balance and equilibrium, in light of the chronic distractions of modern life, is by “getting back to nature.” Specifically, spending more time gardening, visiting an allotment, or even starting up a smallholding farm.

So, what should you do if the idea of starting up your own smallholding sounds tempting? Well, here are some tips to get you started.

Identify a plot of land, with good soil quality, that’s within your budget

A smallholding, pretty much by its very nature, needs to be a place with fertile soil, where you can grow things, tend livestock, and live a self-sufficient lifestyle where subsistence farming can take place – even if you not expecting to live off your smallholding entirely.

Of course, it’s not always easy to determine the soil quality of a given plot of land. In order to do that properly, you should really get in touch with a soil testing company.

You should also be sure to keep your search limited to plots of land which are within your budget – or at least close to it. There will always be bigger, better, and more appealing plots available. But the entire point of a smallholding is self-sufficiency – and bankrupting yourself to buy a plot of land doesn’t fit in with that ethos.


Get a sense of just what the lifestyle entails – will you have time for vacations, or will your whole life be focused on the plot of land?

The smallholding life is not exactly for everyone. It might be that you have a certain romantic notion of what that life would look like on a smallholding, but that the reality would not be to your liking.

Of course, it’s a bit late to turn back once you’ve already purchased a plot of land, and set yourself up there.

Before committing to setting up a smallholding; see what other people have to say about the experience. Visit some smallholdings, if you get the chance, read books about the subject, watch documentaries, and just get a good sense of what the lifestyle actually entails. Ask yourself simple questions; will you be able to get away for vacations, or will your whole life be focused on the plot of land?

Identify ways to become as self-reliant as possible

The ethos of the smallholding is self-reliance. To some extent, that means different things to different people. But the fundamental principle remains.

If you want to set up your own smallholding, and make it a feasible and enjoyable lifestyle, pair it together with an overall drive to find ways to be more self-reliant.

For example, see about drilling a well or borehole on your land, if you’re above an aquifer. If you have a conventional office job, perhaps see whether you could set yourself up on a remote working basis, or as a freelancer or small-scale entrepreneur.