About Natural Progress

We manage a smallholding nestled in the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, UK. We currently keep sheep, chickens and bees but we’ll be adding more over time.

We’re first generation farmers who decided to give up the corporate treadmill and opt for a life of hard graft and poverty instead. And, what’s more, we started way too late in life. Read more about our journey.

So why on earth are we doing this? Well, we’re driven by the desire to live a meaningful existence, to develop practical life skills, and to share what we do with a community. We also feel a strong sense of responsibility for stewardship of the land and a passion to get kids off their screens and doing something outside instead.

We’re into permaculture so we’re designing the farm according to permaculture ethics and principles (although the sheep seem to eat everything faster than we can plant it).

The smallholding runs to about 40 acres – mostly permanent pasture, with 6 acres of ancient beech woodland. We moved here in 2024 with our initial focus on long-term projects: putting in stock fencing, planting trees, and building wildlife habitat. Read more about the smallholding.

We sell some of our produce – mostly on a subscription basis, and we host workshops and courses (see ‘practical life skills’ above).

We’ve also set up a non-profit social enterprise Community Interest Company which delivers community education, volunteering, and public-benefit activities, funded through grants, donations, and subsidised income. Read more about our social enterprise.

We can’t manage all of this by ourselves so we work with an amazing team of enthusiasts, specialists and instructors who weirdly give up their valuable time in exchange for an opportunity to cuddle some sheep. They’re clearly an odd bunch but we love them! Meet the team.