'You can't make enough money to survive'

By Stuart Nicolson
BBC Scotland news website

A report has said that encouraging more young people to become crofters is vital if that way of life is to survive.

The BBC Scotland news website spoke to one crofter who has returned to the islands to continue a family tradition.

Kevin hopes his son Kieran will follow him into crofting

For as long as Kevin Kennedy can remember, he has helped tend the land around South Lochs on Lewis that his family has crofted for generations.

But despite the romantic appeal of the traditional lifestyle, he followed the majority of his school friends by moving away from Lewis in his teens.

After securing a degree in genetics at Aberdeen University, Kevin bucked the trend by returning to Lewis and took on two crofts of his own.

He passionately believes that reversing the brain-drain away from rural communities is the only way of preserving the unique crofting way of life.

The 27-year-old now lives in Stornoway with his partner Tracey Murray and two young children Kieran, four, and Kayleigh, two.

Splitting his time between a job as assistant manager of agricultural supplies co-operative Lewis Crofters and working his 50 sheep and five cows, he is one of the few of his generation who makes enough money to survive on the islands.

Lots of people I went to school with would love to come back too, but there are no jobs for them here so the effect is a brain-drain away from the islands Kevin Kennedy

Rural crofting communities have always had to diversify, with previous generations forced to combine tending their livestock with weaving or fishing to make ends meet.

But Kevin told the BBC Scotland news website that a lack of jobs meant few of his school friends were likely to join him in returning to Lewis - with a fall in the number of young families having a knock-on impact on local schools, shops and public transport.

He said: "There is no way you can make enough money to survive solely by crofting on Lewis - you need to do something else as well.

"I came into crofting more by luck than design. I had been helping out on my grandfather and my great-uncle's crofts since I was a child, but I moved away to study genetics at university.

"When I graduated I had a few job interviews related to that but they didn't work out so I came back to Lewis. My grandfather gave me two crofts with a total area of about 8.5 hectares.

"I am lucky because I managed to get a job as an assistant manager with Lewis Crofters, an agricultural co-operative, so I have an income outside of the croft.

"Lots of people I went to school with would love to come back too, but there are no jobs for them here so the effect is a brain-drain away from the islands."

Marketing drive

Those who do return are often faced with having to spend £20,000 or £30,000 on securing a tenancy, in addition to a large initial outlay on animals and equipment.

Rising feed costs and falling lamb prices mean many will never get their money back.

Crofters have called for regulations on transferring crofts to be toughened up to make it harder for outsiders to take over crofts that they have no intention of working.

"There is no shortage of people in the big cities looking to get a house on Lewis to help them escape the rat-race, but that pushes prices up and means other young people on the islands are priced out of the market," Kevin said.

"Croft prices are spiralling at the moment. Crofts are turning into prime real estate and I have seen a lot of crofts being broken up into housing plots."

The 27-year-old's family has crofted on Lewis for generations

He believes crofting must move with the times if it is to survive, and has helped pioneer an internet marketing drive for Lewis lamb alongside 60 other local crofters.

He said: "We have definitely got a unique product here in Lewis lamb but we need to get it out there and let people know about it. The feedback we have had so far has been very positive and we are hoping to do more next year.

"Some people can be a bit stuck in their ways but once they see there is some money to be made they come round pretty quickly."

Kevin is hopeful that his own son will follow him into crofting, but admitted it would be difficult for him to stay on Lewis unless it became a more financially viable lifestyle.

He said: "I am trying to get Kieran interested in crofting already because you need to get it into their blood at a young age.

"He loves it, which is natural at his age, but I hope he doesn't lose interest in it as he gets older."