back in 2013 Moy Hill Farm started as a small community garden Nestled into the slope of a hill in Moy village. this first half-acre was completely overgrown and wild and it took Fergal and Sally a full day to unearth the little entrance gate and create a way in. From that day onwards people have come to the garden to help, work with the earth, be part of our community and share food and dreams around a fire each week.

Veg beds were established, a small glasshouse was built up against the protective edge of the hillside and fruit trees were planted. Fergal, who had grown up on an organic farm in Mayo, felt drawn to return to the land after many years of travelling and surfing internationally and dreamed of working the land, being part of a community, growing good food and sharing skills with others who wished to become tomorrow's regenerative farmers.

a thriving community garden at Moy Hill was the first seed of this vision, together with establishing a tree nursery and a tree charity to encourage native tree planting.

in 2015 the first piece of land was bought. 17 acres at Lackamore, further up the hill from Moy village, looking out across the water of Liscannor Bay. This was a collective venture and the land was worked together everyday by the original core founders. Everything had to be done from scratch, creating a road onto the land, all the infrastructure required for a market garden, polytunnels, water, a packing shed, as well as planting thousands of trees around the site.

Produce was first sold in local markets and a  Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) scheme was set up for local people to pick up a weekly box of fresh veg. This was not achieved alone, but with the help of hundreds of pairs of hands. The hands of close friends, travellers, surfers, builders and gardeners, who came to volunteer and share in the creation of this vision. We are forever grateful for this help, the camaraderie, support and friendships that developed from the community effort.

It wasn’t all plain sailing however. Whilst we shared a lot of laughter and happiness and warm life-long memories were made there were also tears and pain. To facilitate working and living in a community we studied non-violent communication methods, hosted mediators and had a group of elders from other communities give support and guidance along the way.

In 2017, 60 more acres at a cost of €300,000 came up for sale. this land that was adjacent to our existing 17 acres and would more than likely have been sold off for yet more Sitka Spruce plantation. But how to find such a large sum of money to secure this land instead for the community farm and vision?

A crowdfunding campaign was set up and raised €70,000 along with generous donations and loans from family, friends and acquaintances. We were surprised, overwhelmed and hugely grateful for the support that poured in, both financially and in other ways from local, national and international communities. 

We managed to buy the new parcel of land and set the farm up as a company, limited by guarantee. This means that the land is not privately owned and if it is ever sold the money raised from the crowdfunding will be invested back into a similar CLG project.

These extra acres meant Fergal’s passion to create a mixed regenerative farm could really be made manifest. There was now enough space to begin integrating animals, Dexter cattle, turkey's and sheep along with the vegetable fields and trees.

However, creating such a community vision and living and working together took its toll on the core founders. In 2019, the core group parted ways with Fergal and Sally choosing to remain as directors of moy Hill farm clg.

This separation has been costly, both financially and emotionally and we have needed time to live quietly, regroup and realign our vision. Despite carrying a large debt, we now feel the farm is established on solid ground and step by step we are slowly rebuilding. 

Our new website is another step on the way. We want to show where we are now and what the future of the farm looks like. The first vision remains true, regenerating the land, feeding the community and sharing knowledge.

Currently, we are using the many lessons learned over the past eight years to make sure the vision of a holistically managed farm will hold true in the long-term future. there were times when This project could easily have collapsed and our focus is on good planning and structures so this cannot happen again.

The next steps are exciting and we hope to keep sharing the evolving story with you. An education centre is in the funding process which will enable the training of new farmers in regenerative agriculture for the future. Meanwhile we will be hosting farm walks for all who want to visit and learn about the farm and our activities.

Our volunteer days were once an integral part of the community farm that have given such a store of wonderful experiences and memories. However, most volunteers do not want to become farmers and we really want to focus our energy on people who want to take on farming as a profession. We are offering internships for those who really want to become farmers and gain hands-on experience.

Thank you for all your support over the years, and look forward to seeing you at our markets, as a CSA member, as an Intern or on our farm walks in the future. If you cannot support us directly, please support Regenerative farmers close to you.

Here’s to regenerating the soil!