Willowbrook Farm – The UK’s First Halal Farm
RESPONSIBLE STEWARDSHIP
Sustainable Buildings
Building with nature
Over the years we have built all the structures on the farm and have sought to use simple self-build techniques and natural materials. This culminated in the completion of our Earthen (Cob) farmhouse in 2015. Constructed entirely of natural materials mostly drawn from the farm itself and built by us and a host of volunteers.
Almost all materials are 100% natural and came from within a 30 mile radius of the farm. 70% of it (the clay) came from within 10 metres. Alongside the farmhouse we built a Cob boiler room to house the bio-mass boiler which heats all the farm buildings.
Harmony in the built environment
Naturally modern with timeless charm
Cob & Clay
Cob is a mixture of clay, sand and straw. The technique of building is easy to learn and back breakingly hard to do! With a lot of help, we designed and built our family farmhouse over 4 years. It is designed to maximise incoming solar heating due to its alignment and is insulated with our own lambs wool. Its thick walls provide great insulation and the thatch roof gives a traditional and natural finish.