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Crofting
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| Crofting,
essentially, is a system of small-scale subsistence farming that has
traditionally supported rural families throughout the Highlands and
Islands of Scotland. At another level, it can also be described as
a way of life for entire communities – shaping landscapes,
influencing village life and providing modest income or agricultural
produce for the crofting families that work the land during the
course of the seasons. |
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Planting
potatoes on a croft (27 South Dell) |
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Ness
and the majority of the Lewis landscape is dominated by moorland and the
numerous small lochs that straddle the blanket bog from which
generations of families have grazed livestock on its lush heather and
during the spring and summer months cut and harvested peat for domestic
fuel.
The
western coastline of Lewis also has green ‘machair’ grasslands resting
on the sandy subsoil that prevails along the west coast. This provides
useful agricultural land for additional grazing and for the cultivation
of crops.
The
subsistence form of farming engaged in by the families occupying these
lands is generally known as ‘crofting’. [Definition
of a 'croft'] |
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Village fank at Galson |
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Crofting is a prominent feature of
rural parts of the Highlands & Islands, its rich history balanced by
its promising future. It is about land use, people and the retention
of a unique social, cultural and agricultural heritage.
The present day
Crofters Commission was set up in 1955, and the current Crofters
(Scotland) Act 1993 tasks the Commission with overseeing crofting
legislation and developing crofting. It is also the Commission’s
role to ensure that, through the Scottish Ministers, the Government
is aware of all crofting related issues. |
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In recent years, the role of the crofters
Commission has been re-focused on facilitating croft development.
Developing crofting communities is fundamentally about responding to
needs and opportunities at grass root level. It is about responding to
the ideas and ambitions of those who live in crofting communities, work
croft land or want to work croft land.
Crofting communities are increasingly
looking to reorganise croft land, create new crofts and, in many cases,
utilise the land available for the good of the wider community. The
Commission encourages the development of croft land and facilitates this
by effective regulation in line with the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993.
Crofting has always been important in keeping communities alive as it
helps people to live and work in some of the most remote and vulnerable
areas of the Highlands and Islands. This helps keep rural schools and
other vital public services operating in these areas as well as doing
much to sustain the culture of the Highlands and Islands. The Gaelic
language is strongest in many of these crofting areas, with communities
throughout Shetland and Orkney also managing to retain their Norse
links. |
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Croft land also provides environmental
benefits and a varied habitat for wildlife. Traditionally, crofters
use low amounts of chemical fertilizers, weed killers and insect
sprays. As a result the range of plants is much wider than on more
intensively managed areas. Many tourists come to the Highlands &
Islands attracted by its natural beauty and the richness of its
wildlife. The crofting system is a key part of this environment.
Organisations like Scottish Natural Heritage and the Royal Society
for the Protection of Birds work with crofters to protect these
habitats. |
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Traditional thatched 'blackhouse' style building in the village of
Lionel (looking towards Port of Ness |
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The
current Crofters Act is under review with a view to a revised Act being
introduced during 2007. Proposals include new powers to create new
crofts and opportunities to apply different regulatory policies to
different crofting areas. Crofting legislation will be developed as a
means of active and positive development to ensure that crofting,
crofters and crofting communities continue and prosper. |
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What is a croft?: |
A croft is a small agricultural unit
situated in one of the former counties of Shetland, Orkney,
Caithness, Sutherland, Ross-shire, Inverness-shire and Argyll in the
north of Scotland, and held subject to the provisions of the
Crofting Acts.
A landlord may have many crofts on his
estate. The rent paid by the crofter, except in fairly rare
circumstances, is only for the bare land of the croft, as the house
and any agricultural buildings and infrastructure are provided by
the crofter himself. Since 1976 it has been legally possible for a
crofter to acquire title to his croft, thus becoming an
owner-occupier. He is legally required to live on the croft;
otherwise he will be required to himself take a tenant. |
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What
is a crofter?: |
A crofter is normally the tenant of a
croft, and pays rent to the landlord of the croft.
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[SOURCE:
http://www.crofterscommission.org.uk/a_faq.htm]
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