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Farm stay host Nigel has long had wanderlust. After leaving his family’s sheep farm in East Sussex in the United Kingdom, he lived in London, Spain, and Argentina, and stayed in many Airbnbs around the world to experience places like a local. Eventually, he felt a calling back to the family farm.

In 2014, Nigel scootered around the U.K. for six weeks to learn more about the business of farming. He stayed in several shepherd’s huts—little wagons on wheels that shepherds have used for centuries when on the move with their sheep. “I was so inspired,” he says. “There's a real tradition of these shepherd’s huts in this landscape.”

Nigel moved back to the family farm to learn the ropes, and his passion to support other farmers grew. Soon his family bought a second farm up the road that he and his wife, Hannah, named the Modern Barn Farm, and his uncle built a shepherd’s hut they lived in while constructing a farmhouse.

Tapping his writing and photography skills, Nigel has documented his and Hannah’s journey on Instagram and in Indie Farmer, an independent farming magazine he founded in 2014 to tell stories of sustainable food culture. 

Ultimately, Nigel hopes that by hosting his shepherd’s hut and publishing indie-farming stories, he can share his more modern vision for a diverse and sustainable farming future.

“It’s been our dream to open up Modern Barn Farm to a wider community,” Nigel says. “Hannah and I are passionate about farming and people.” Now more than ever, he adds, people want to “connect with nature and learn more about where their food comes from.”

Their vision isn’t just about sustaining the land, but also about helping sustain the stewards of that land. Nigel and Hannah hope to show farmers that hosting on Airbnb can be a way to educate others about farming while diversifying their own farms with a valuable new revenue stream.

Nigel and Hannah moved their shepherd’s hut to a private field on their property called the Hop Garden. It’s secluded yet near walking paths and just a 15-minute drive to local tourist attraction Cooden Beach.

Nigel and Hannah like to meet their guests at a small space they’ve cleared for a car, and they offer a wheelbarrow to help ferry luggage to the shepherd’s hut a short walk away.

Once inside the hut, which is clad in “wriggly tin” that Nigel says “sounds awesome in the rain,” guests experience what life was like more than a century ago. There’s little more than a small wood burner, double bed with storage underneath, a few books and games, and a small pantry and table for two.

The shepherd’s hut is truly off-grid, with no electricity, let alone wifi. Candles and lanterns light the interior, and guests must step outside to a tap and basin for running water, or to an old horse box trailer for the composting toilet. They can also cook farm-fresh meals over the open flame of the fire pit.

Nigel and Hannah’s shepherd’s hut is bare-bones, but their first few bookings came fast, and their first few guests left glowing reviews, calling it “far more spacious than expected” and a “unique and magical space” whose amenities “make for all the best parts of camping without the sore back.”

The hosts love connecting with their guests too. They even shared burgers from their farm with their first guests over the fire. “There’s a massive disconnect from the land and food production, but already, we’re seeing that our guests crave reconnecting,” Nigel says.

Hannah has studied horticulture, and teaches classes on growing veggies and flowers. The couple plans to add farm Experiences like lambing, gardening, leading wildflower walks, and hosting farm-to-table dinners.

“We love sharing our small farm and indie-farmer lifestyle with our shepherd's hut guests,” Nigel says. “The farm feels suddenly more alive when people are staying here and enjoying it. And we can't wait to explore offering different farm Experiences. The 'culture' part of agriculture is really important to us."

Interested in hosting your own farm stay?