Shropshire farm's new bunkhouse has been ‘labour of love’ - with pictures
A community-owned farm near Market Drayton can now offer residential stays for visiting children thanks to a new bunkhouse made from straw bales and car tyres.
Fordhall Organic Farm achieved the £550,000 funding target for the bunkhouse in December, and now the project is complete.
It means the new structure can be used for educational ventures, projects for adults with learning disabilities and even weddings.
The farm's communications manager Liz Peck said: "A beautiful example of traditional craftsmanship and ecological architecture, the building has car tyre foundations, a roundwood frame and walls made from straw bales.
"Layers upon layers of clay were plastered onto the straw, pushed into the bales by hand by many helpful volunteers from up and down the country.
"The bunkhouse is being offered as residential accommodation for visiting school children, brownies or scouts groups, who will be able to stay overnight and experience 24 hours on the farm immersed in nature.
"The building will also be used to provide improved facilities for educational day visits, and additional space for the Care Farm – a project based at the farm working with adults with learning disabilities – and the Youth Project.
"Environmental workshops and wellbeing sessions will be hosted there, and nature-loving couples will also be able to hire the eco-friendly building as a green wedding venue."
Charlotte Hollins, manager of the Fordhall Community Land Initiative, said: “Completing our new bunkhouse is a major achievement here at Fordhall.
"It has been a labour of love for so many. We’d like to thank all those people and grant-giving organisations who helped us raise all the money we needed to complete this build and the many volunteers who got stuck in and helped us to build it.
"It has truly been built for the community by the community.”
To learn more about the bunkhouse and book it, contact project@fordhallfarm.com or telephone 01630 638696.
