A LITTLE oasis of 'The Good Life' is taking shape in Buckland Monachorum, complete with pigs, chickens and bees and soon to be sheep.

The seed was sown for the Buckland Food Growers in 2010, when local residents expressed an interest in producing their own food.

A few months later, they signed a five-year lease with the National Trust acquiring a couple of acres of land on the Buckland Abbey Estate along with their cider orchard — and now there's no stopping them.

Vicky Milburn, who retired from the Navy after 24 years, and rents a cottage on the estate with her husband and two young children, is loving the community bond that is being created.

'We lived in married quarters in Crapstone before and although we had a nice environment around us, with children and a full time job, it does not leave a lot of time for other activities.

'With Buckland Food Growers there are about 40 families involved.

'A lot of us have dabbled in growing our own food but doing it as a collective it means that everyone can give whatever time they have got to spare.

'The pigs are incredibly popular and because they are quite low maintenance and there are a lot of members in the pig group, not that much work is involved for each member.

'People love coming down with the children and feeding the pigs a couple of times a fortnight and the children enjoy mucking out.'

There are 10 Middle White pigs, around 15 weeks old, which will be slaughtered for meat for the members at 22 months.

Vicky said the pigs were very cute when they were young and they did become fond of them, but they were outdoor reared and given the best during their short life.

'They are reared for food and you have to get used to the process,' she said.

'We had roast pork from our pigs at Christmas instead of turkey for the first time last year and we are never going back,' said Vicky.

Chickens are kept for eggs and bees for honey. Sheep will be grazing the land to 'mow the grass' — they will be on loan from a local farmer but in time it is hoped that the group may acquire its own sheep to raise for food.

There is also a bee keeping group and a fruit and veg group and plenty of social activities to take part in.

Bicky said: 'We produce apple juice and cider from the orchard and have cider tasting evenings and eat the excess burgers and sausages that have been made from the pig meat.

'I think this group is as much about satisfying a social need as providing an opportunity for people to produce their own food.

'We, as a family, have certainly been enriched by it.'

Once the sheep start grazing the land, the group will be able to plan out more areas with soft fruit being high on the list, as it is expensive to buy and some of the more unusual vegetables.

The 30 apple trees in the orchard provided enough mulled cider for a wassailing event at Buckland Abbey, and jam making and other spin offs events are proving very popular.

In time the Buckland Food Growers hope to have a lot more produce from their efforts.

'It's something that is evolving and we are having a lot of fun doing it and making new friends,' added Vicky.