last updated 10th February 05
by 4ecotips.com

A young farmer’s wife has built “green” tourist accommodation in the hills of Shropshire, with the help of a Defra grant.

Kate Grubb and her husband Jamie run the family sheep and cattle farm at Obley, near Clun in South Shropshire. The farm is in the Clun Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) and the Blue Remembered Hills, named after a line in AE Housman’s classic collection of poems A Shropshire Lad.

Matching a £29,000 Rural Enterprise Scheme (RES) grant from Defra, Kate has designed and built “Ecocabin” - a chalet for green tourists - from environmentally-friendly materials like wood, reed board and even sheep’s wool.

The walls and floor of the cabin have been built from local Douglas fir, ash and reed board, while the insulation is made from compressed sheep’s wool. Solar panels and a wood pellet-burning stove heat the water.

Most of the furniture and furnishings, from rag rugs to beds, has come from a local furniture-recycling scheme. Outside Kate has planted native trees, shrubs and wild flowers like foxgloves and cowslips.

The chalet is set to provide a boost for the area’s economy by encouraging holidaymakers to eat locally produced food, use local transport and visit local attractions.
Information: Kate Grubb on (01547) 530183 Email: Kate@ecocabin.co.uk Web: www.ecocabin.co.uk