In 2019 we were lucky enough to host a talk by the Rural Development Growth Programme (RDPE) via the incredibly supportive and useful Dartmoor Hill Farm Project. This presentation hosted in our office space in Chagford saw a full house of fellow Dartmoor business owners enjoying cakes, scones and tea whilst listening to the opportunities for rural businesses under the RDPE grant scheme. It really ignited the interest of Lewis and I as we saw it as the best chance to be able to achieve a base from which our business could grow.

Fast forward a couple of years after gaining planning permission from the National Park and being awarded the an the RDPE grant we were able to build and erect two buildings on our rented land in Chagford to help us grow our business.

With the great support of our friends (the landowners) work commenced in January 2021 to build two new buildings. The first being an agricultural style barn to be used for shearing and wool handling/processing. The second is a workshop/studio space where we are now producing our own sheepskin product range here on Dartmoor, stitched within the fields where our flocks graze. This has not only been a great opportunity for us in expanding The Dartmoor Shepherd but also for reducing our production process from miles to yards. The grant has allowed us to grow our team as we've taken on 3 key new members, Sara, Bethan and Verity.

The construction of our Workshop & Woolshed has allowed us to further develop the farm diversification of The Dartmoor Shepherd and enabled us entry into new markets & the development of new products adding value to our native Dartmoor flocks of sheep.

Works part grant funded by the European Union Fund for Rural Development.