We are Helen Kemp, ceramic artist, and Paul Grime, public artist. In 2003 we made a successful offer to buy a 1.3 acre building plot in the Scottish Borders, in a location that is one of the driest in Scotland. Here was a place we could develop the studios we needed and the self-sufficient garden we were dreaming of. There was an old farm building with substantial walls, which divided the land into distinct areas. Six mature trees gave shelter and a little too much shade to the southeast. It was obvious where a vegetable garden and orchard might go and where to locate a greenhouse for shelter and maximum sun.
Paul’s architect brother produced a wonderful design for conversion, stylishly linking the two parts of the L-shaped building and providing glazed doors and floor to ceiling windows to bring the garden into the house and to frame a wonderful view down the Kale valley towards the Eildon hills in the northwest. Helen’s work is inspired by the natural world, and her ceramic studio would have windows to two sides and a door out to the ornamental pond and courtyard garden.
The self-build took a year with the help of a talented local joiner/problem solver. We used a lot of our small budget on natural materials and environmentally friendly choices, including oak floors, sheep’s wool insulation, larch cladding on walls and on the roof. In the vegetable garden, trenches were dug for a ground source loop for a heat pump, an innovative technology at the time. Solar panels were added later.
We were already experienced organic gardeners, having established a vegetable and fruit garden in our rented accommodation, and cultivated an allotment in Edinburgh when our children were young.
We planted the orchard before the build started, and after we moved in (April 2005), we started to establish the vegetable and fruit garden, composting area, herbaceous borders, ornamental pond, small lawn and meadow, and rebuilt the greenhouse we brought from our rented accommodation. We planted trees and informal, irregular hedging to soften boundaries. With studios established, we were working in the garden mainly at weekends. The garden and the work both have their own deadlines and schedules, and it was hard to get the balance right. We realised we needed help!
We first encountered WWOOF when a friend of our daughter set off to go WWOOFing in France in 2012. We realised we could become hosts and that this would fit with our ethos, sharing and exchanging skills and culture. Originally we thought WWOOFers might come from the city – Edinburgh, Glasgow or Newcastle – for the weekend and that we might see them again as in the original vision of WWOOF. But we didn’t get any takers for our too-brief stays and so changed our page to accept WWOOFers for periods of 1 to 2 weeks. We had one WWOOFer late that first year, and the following Spring began to get requests from people from all over the world.
Until this year, WWOOF accommodation has been in the house and the number of stays have been limited by a diary that includes regular family visits. To facilitate more, possibly longer longer stays, where a WWOOFer might be able to enjoy the unfolding season, we decided to develop accommodation out-with the house, and settled on an off-grid shepherd hut, sited to make the most of the view from the top of the vegetable garden. This became a vibrant art project, designed and constructed by Paul with components from various suppliers, and decorated inside with murals of birds , insects and plants by Helen, collaborating with our daughter Lindsay, an illustrator based in Glasgow [see photos below] This was completed for the start of the season this year. It has solar lighting and usb chargers, a high-tech composting toilet, shower, kitchen area and comfortable bed, and is heated with a small wood burner. Our first guests in the hut have loved the experience of this tiny home.
The garden has continued to develop. We changed a grassy area into a swimming pond, which has become a haven for frogs, newts and toads, which have made a wonderful contribution in keeping slug populations down. 2024 was a bumper year for dragonflies, darters and damselflies, and the occasional banded demoiselle.
Wooden edging and wood-chip paths have brought a formal order to the vegetable area, making crop rotation much easier to plan. Encountering the work of Lorraine Ingham and her colleagues, and the concept of the soil/food web, has led to greater efforts in composting and a no-dig approach. We regularly make and turn compost, with manure contributions from our neighbouring ponies, and now produce enough good stuff for all our needs. We have a short season here, but manage to eat produce from the garden every month. We store, preserve and freeze to prolong the summer bounty.
Sadly, we are surrounded by industrially farmed arable fields, regularly sprayed and fertilised, so we try to make ample habitat for insects and birds on the periphery, leaving a mosaic of rough untended patches and grass areas kept at different lengths. Flowers are an integral part of the vegetable garden, “perpetual meadow” mixes presenting a floral welcome for 4 or 5 months of the year.
Although there never seems to be less work, the passage of time has eased the pressures of the work/garden balance. Paul now describes the garden as his main activity, and Helen spends more of the summer cultivating, and the winter months mainly creating in the studio. This means we are more free to spend time with our visiting WWOOFers, from April to November.
WWOOF has introduced us to many amazing people from all parts of the world. We are still in contact with many, such as Mathilde and Jo, who we first met after they left their jobs in France and set off WWOOFing through Europe and Japan, with a view to find the right place to start anew. They are now busy bespoke kilt-makers based in Edinburgh. David, recently retired, brought restless energy and building expertise from Victoria in Australia, and is now establishing his own garden, and trying to keep the parrots off his crops. Olivia went on to an apprenticeship at Hidcote, a National Trust garden, where she now has a full-time job. This year Anne-Sue from Denmark enjoyed her stay so much that she came back for a second visit.
We try to find the “right fit” for us and the WWOOFer, carefully reading profiles and requests and chatting on a video call. We don’t always require previous WWOOFing experience, but we do look for people who are motivated by care for the environment, rather than simply a travel experience.
WWOOF hosting has become an integral part of life at the Steading, a way of sharing our place with others, and bringing the world to our garden. We love the cultural exchange and the energy and enthusiasm that can be shared. We value and enjoy the whole experience!
Helen’s Instagram: helen_kemp
Helen’s website: https://www.helenkempceramics.co.uk/
Paul’s website: https://www.paulgrime.co.uk/
Lindsay’s Instagram: lindsayjeangrime.art
We’d like to thank Helen and Paul for taking the time to share their story of growth and creation with us and for all of the gorgeous photos too. We hope you’ve enjoyed reading their article and the feast for the eyes, thanks to their photos.
Discover more about The Steading and opportunities for WWOOFing there. Click here.
Disclaimer: It should be noted that hosts receive guests solely as part of an immersive learning experience, in line with WWOOF UK’s educational charitable aims. Visitors participate in the host’s lifestyle, in order to learn. There is no formalised or contractual agreement and the residential visitors (WWOOFers) are free to come and go at will, so are not considered workers. WWOOFers are absolutely not a substitute for paid labour. Any mention of the words ‘work’ or ‘exchange’ in reviews, articles and other content created by our membership is language chosen by the author and not sanctioned by WWOOF.
