An organic croft on the Isle of Lismore
Argyll & Bute
I am Sarah.
I am 56 and live on a beautiful 46 acre croft on a Scottish Island called Lismore. It is a long, slim island which sits within loch Linnhe. It is easy to get to; (5 min from Appin and 50 min from Oban by boat). Oban is accessible by train or coach from Glasgow. It is a lush, fertile island with incredible views of the surrounding mountains and waters including a great view of Ben Nevis .
My vision is to create a biodiverse, beautiful and inspirational nugget of Scotland where I can live self sufficiently and gently on the land and hold space for creativity and healing. However, there is a lot to do to get there and I need plenty of help. The croft house build is more or less complete: a project which has consumed the last ten years and which we could not have completed without the enormous help and generosity of so many helpers. The house has turned out great. It is light, warm and full of character. There is also a self catering pod/sleepout on the croft, an emerging forest garden, a large barn, workshop, studio and gallery and a coppice wood and we are in the process of creating a sauna on the hill. There is also a big veggie garden, polytunnel and flower garden and 60 odd sheep.
I am a textile artist and painter and run my business from a studio and gallery on the croft. I make lampshades, cushions, paintings and prints which are ordered online and also create bespoke commissions. I also run creative retreats throughout the year and the croft is also rented out for others' retreats. I also sell the wool from our flock of Shetland sheep.
I am easy going, sociable and love and play music.
I am mainly vegetarian but sometimes eat our own lamb or meat reared on the island.
I am looking for robust, healthy, hard working volunteers with a love of nature and the great outdoors. I am particularly keen on finding helpers with experience, interest or ability in the following areas: Horticulture, Gardening, Permiculture, Landscaping, Forest gardening, tree management and building.
These are the specific tasks needing attention and you are likely to focus on one or more of them while you are here:
Gardening - (digging beds, moving rocks, enriching soil, planting, weeding, growing seeds, pruning, dividing,strimming, building paths)
Veggie gardening - (weeding, planting, enhancing soil, harvesting, watering)
Landscaping - ( moving rocks, building a retaining wall, building a pizza oven, building tracks, a ramp, excavating a pond.)
Orchard - Tending to the trees
Forest garden - tending to the trees
Coppice wood - tending to the trees
Sheep - observing, ocassional treatment
House - building decking, upkeep and maintenance.
Croft - Dyke building a repair, thistleing, scything, fencing
The flavour of each week day on this croft varies depending on the weather or particular focus, but the structure of weekdays stay the same;
- Breakfast with home baked bread, yoghurt, fruit and cereals between 8 and 9am (when we also discuss jobs for the day)
- followed by work from 9 to 11.
- Tea break until 11:30
- Carry on with the task at hand until lunch at 1:30 which is usually soup or salad and bread and chat for 1 hour.
- A further hour of working after lunch and then work exchangers clock off.
I carry on until 5ish.
We take turns with cooking meals and household tasks.
The weekends are free for exploring or rest.
Our climate is a wet and windy one although we do enjoy spells of dry and warm so this is an opportunity for tough grafters rather than tender types. However I think the stunning views and constantly changing light more than makes up for the weather.
We can also offer experience and plenty of tips in whichever work you find yourself focusing on. We are constantly learning, experimenting and evolving in our approach to food growing, gardening and land management. Every day brings a new discovery and so we hope that all those involved will find their time here to be enriching and educational.
You can also witness the working of a small textile design and art business although help is not required in this arena.
We have three spare rooms in the house; two double bedrooms and a smaller room with a bunk bed. We also have a bus converted into accomodation and a garden sleep out.
All the rooms are comfortable and warm. There are plenty of communal spaces for resting or socialising in the house. We do not have a TV but watch films on a projector sometimes. We have a piano and plenty of musical instruments which you are welcome to play.
We have two bathrooms and a compost toilet, a big bath and a walk in shower.
We share cooking a cleaning duties and everyone eats together around a big farmhouse table.
Helpers have the opportunity to experience island life, the community of Lismore and an alternative way of living with a focus on creativity and living in balance with nature.
I love all things wool and you can often find my spinning or knitting of an evening.
We welcome musicians because we are musical ourselves so that is a bonus although not completely necessary. Many an evening is spent singing songs around the piano and I run the community choir where all visitors are welcome.
The community of Lismore is a vibrant and sociable one with a population of around 180. There are lots of activities including cinema nights, country dancing, house ceilidh's, concerts and more but be warned, there is no pub on the island and only one shop. There are lots of beautiful walks and plenty places to wild swim. Everybody knows each other here and it is a bit like a very large family.
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Learning opportunities
Vegetable farming
Sheep or goat farming
Forestry
Wild foraging
Aromatic or medicinal plants, teas
Seed saving or production
Vegetable or fruit preservation
Bakery
Traditional crafts
Green Building
Methods or systems
Holistic management
No-till farming
Regenerative agriculture
Rotational grazing
Host type
Self-sufficiency property
Former WWOOFer
18.6
Hectares
|
46
Acres
Sarah
Member since 2025
Languages spoken:
English, Portuguese, Spanish
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Response rate: 71%
Response time: typically within 4 days
Argyll & Bute
Oban
Reviews
Giulia
Italy
•
December 2025
Our time at Sarah's was an important part of our trip through Scotland and even if it was our first experience of work exchange, the way Sarah had things planned was really comfortable in order to know what to expect from your work timetable and the freetime. The work suited each one's likings and preferences, and time there passed by pretty quickly. The house is very comfortable and there are instruments to be played pretty much whenever you want. By staying at her place we also met very sweet people living in other houses on the beautiful isle of Lismore. We were also looking for time to be on ourselves and more introverted, and we also found this sort of situations in a natural way. Thanks for everything, see you:)
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