Smallholding, tree nursery, livestock farm, croft

Shetland

10 reviews • Updated 1 month ago

This Farm has lots of interesting and innovative projects on the go through out the year. This is a journey of upcycling, recycling, and general sustainability throughout the farm. We have Sheep(not ours, but soon will have Shetland Sheep, Chickens, Ducks, to keep us busy plus, we focus on a very wide range of vegetables that are grown in a seaweed based soil. using raised beds We will always make you welcome Projects for April is the straining posts for the 350 trees coming in May May is tree planting June is prepping for goats, pigs July is more solar panel, wind turbine construction with tyres,pebbles, pallets etc August is digging for victory, and hopefully making fences. September will be a finishing off, and tidy declutter of the recycling field. October is planting winter crops. Thanks for visiting our profile. Here is a general link on the Shetland Islands https://www.shetland.org/ https://www.shetland.org/blog/the-great-shetland-bucket-list https://www.shetland.org/blog/the-great-shetland-bucket-list-part-iii If you like walking,great food, excellent water, views, peace, and fresh air then Papa Stour Paradise Island could be a great stay. Organic methods: Everthing is grown natural, organic, and free range, with a view to excellent soil mineral improvement through Seaweed, and Stinging Nettles. Certifications: Everything Organic, natural, we do not, and will never use chemicals. Current projects: Tyre Walls with old fence wire, and local pebbles above high tide. Tyre tracks!! Tyre roofs. We now have 2 ponies on Forewick South facing geothermal wall for the Barn New Forest on the way, prepping, and trials Building Chicken Tractors Seaweed fed Sheep enclosure. Roofs for two old Croft houses for shelter, human and animals. Fencing and Alternative fencing upcycling Raised beds Greenhouse construction, and tyre methods. Wall building dry stone. This training is done at the Walls Croft. Mainland Producing Seaweed fertilizer and then spraying on the land. Producing Stinging Nettle Juice plus sweet top ups. Internet access available

Learning opportunities

Vegetable farming

Poultry farming

Forestry

Flower farming

Meat processing

Vegetable or fruit preservation

Green Building

Renewable energy production

Food justice / sovereignty

Methods or systems

Hydroponics

No-till farming

Permaculture

Host type

Self-sufficiency property

12.1 Hectares | 30 Acres

Accommodation

4+ WWOOFers

Bedroom

Camper / RV

Campsite

Children accepted

Pets accepted

Meals

Omnivore

Length of stay

1 day (local)

Weekend

Less than a week

1-2 weeks

3-4 weeks

Over a month

Marc

Member since 2021

Languages spoken: English, French, Spanish Response rate: 86% Response time: typically within 1 day

November 2025

Open

Planned visit

Closed

MapLibre | Protomaps | © OpenStreetMap

Shetland

Sumbrugh

Reviews

Lucile

France • September 2023

I stayed in Papa Stour for a little over 2 weeks. The island is absolutely beautiful, bigger than i expected, with a lot of history and a surprisingly big ammount of great places to see. At the croft i worked under the supervision of Helen and Alan, had a lot of opportunities and liberties to try things and learned much particularly about the different methods, strategies and tools used to build different structures with wood planks. There were always between 2 or 3 other wwoffers while i was there and the working schedule was not heavy, so we had a lot of time to exchange, walk around and bond together. This was a great experience that i absolutely recommend to anyone else!

Raphaëlle

France • September 2023

J'ai beaucoup apprécié mon expérience à la ferme de Marc sur l'île de Papa Stour pendant 2 semaines. Le travail était intéressant et juste. L'environnement de travail était sain et nous avions assez de temps pour nous. J'étais très bien installée à la ferme et l'île est magnifique à découvrir. Je recommande

Sergi

Spain • August 2023

I've been in Papa Stour for 3 weeks and it has been and incredible experience. The amount of workload was fair and everyone was very supportive and willing to teach. I particularly found gratifying that moment that you see the end result of a project that you have been working on for a few days. Everyone I met on the island was very kind and friendly, helping to thoroughly enjoy the time there. And, finally, the location. Papa Stour is an incredible place to explore and walk around, full of small coves and little places where you can lose yourself for hours just enjoying the landscape. I want to finish though with a bit of a warning. Considering the nature of the place, small island quite isolated from the mainland and barely sparsely populated, it is not for everyone, so be honest with yourself. But, if it's something that ticks your boxes, you'll be able to have a fantastic time.

Hugh

United Kingdom • September 2022

Hey guys, I stayed with Marc for 2 weeks. I enjoyed my time on the croft. Marc was a very generous host and very hospitable. He did his best to make sure you were happy and relaxed. I enjoyed our conversations and I appreciate him driving me to Lerwick where I did some sight-seeing. I enjoyed my work on the croft. There are a few projects in development. I appreciate Marc teaching me new skills like cementing and I enjoyed the tire wall making and stone wall construction. Work was not to serious and Marc approached it in a relaxed way. He had a positive spirit and seemed to understand the spirit of being a Wwoof host ( which is a skill/ cultural exchange rather than cheap labour). There is a lot of potential in the place and I hope to keep in touch to see and assist in any progress. The Shetland Islands are an interesting place with pretty walks and wildlife.. Don't forget to try the seafood! Cheers

Susan

United States • July 2022

Robinas is a true croft/farm in the making which is to say it is currently more a DIY construction site than an organic farm. Work is focused on denailing/reusing pallet wood, weather proofing pasture fences, building outbuildings/stone walls, picking nettles for juice and soup (tasty) and all the while encouraging seedlings to grow. No-dig raised beds have been built, chickens scratch about and undoubtedly a harvest will happen at some point. I enjoyed all assigned tasks, meeting wonderful neighbors, exploring this extraordinary place and simply being in such a beautiful remote setting with all kinds of weather! Papa Stour checked all my boxes. The work schedule is very reasonable with siestas and weekends off. At meals, the host generates a lot of conversation which I liked ~ even when our viewpoints were radically different. After dinner, everyone enjoyed playing games, relaxing and/or watching movies while munching on chips, chocolate, popcorn and dates. Accommodations were clean and comfortable.

Anna

United Kingdom • March 2022

My first WWOOF-ing experience, pretty close to home - I wanted to make good use of some spare annual leave days! My stay overlapped with 3 other WWOOF-ers which made for a lovely social experience, having a fun time together. Marc was off-island during my stay so we were hosted by a long-term Wwoof-er who has lived at the property for nearly a year. As mentioned in a previous review, many of the projects are just at the beginning stages, or are perhaps an aspiration. There's chickens/ducks/turkeys so plenty of eggs, but no sign of any veg growing yet - lots of seed packets at the ready though! During my stay, we made chicken-wire covers for the new raised beds, and I treated some wood fencing. We also spent time with the neighbour who does have sheep and horses, and on a damp afternoon gave the house and kitchen a deep clean!