Dick sent me details about a place he’d tried to buy a few years ago: Honeygar Farm, out on the Somerset Levels. It’s now been acquired by the Somerset Wildlife Trust. He said he knew some people involved and that they might be interested in collaborating on a commercial plan for the outbuildings. Apparently, they were only really interested in the land.
Later on he sent an ad for a project manager to oversee the development of the buildings at Honeygar. Seems they already have a plan and are looking for execution rather than ideas. I’ll still try to talk to them. I might even apply for the job. I am not a project manager – but one way or another I need to learn to be.
I spent some time working on my garden. It’s the major selling point for this place as an Airbnb, and if it were punching its weight, I could probably raise the prices. But nothing grows, because it gets so little light. I am trying to work with what I’ve got and put in some ferns, moss and ivy.
Later on I spoke to Karina. She has provided me with a lot of information about all the various organisations. I was too tired to take it all on board. And she was talking from the perspective of getting a job in forestry.
I have messaged Emmy from the Community Farm and offered to take part in any brainstorming sessions around commercialisation. My hope is that all of these organisations operate in their comfort zones and are not very commercially savvy. At Honeygar, they’re probably going to do the usual visitor centre and community centre that these places always seem to have. No one ever got fired for doing that. But maybe the pressure for these places to be self-sustain will mean opportunities.
