About the Holding
An Caora Dubh farm is a sheep farm on 117 acres near Church Hill, Donegal. The three tenets of the farm ‘project’ are “growing soil, growing food, growing community” and as such, the farm aims to positively impact the local ecosystem and improve links with the wider community.
The farm project is run by John Duffy. John grew up in nearby and has a professional background in engineering and oil and gas exploration. Following 12 years of working internationally, he decided to change direction and founded the An Caora Dubh project in 2016 to focus on innovative strategies for the West of Ireland context that supports and improves local biodiversity and foster community.
A Social Farming Day
- Eco-building – we are currently building out an eco-lodge on the farm which can be used to provide accommodation for visiting workers and is also part of the classroom complex for education and training
- Gardening
- Sheep handling
- Tree planting
- Fencing
- Cooking
- Farm produce making – we produce jams and preserves from the bounty of the land and we also manufacture furniture out of wood from the farm
- General farm activities (fencing, feeding, moving livestock)
Local Interests
John is very interested in ecology. As the farm is evolving, we study the impacts of farming practices and evaluate alternative conservation activities that may enhance the ecology of the farm