Mike Robin has worked in various jobs such as as a market garden worker, timber yard hand, farmhand, bus conductor, builder, barman, wildlife society recruiter, farming adviser/consultant, farmer, farm diversification consultant, academic journal editor and H.E lecturer in Rural Business Management, acquiring an agricultural economics degree along the way.
His interests are biological growing, farming, rural community, the environment, longer-term sustainability, reading, music, golf, heritage railways, culture watching, human potential and spirit, and he imperfectly practices eco-living and small-scale organic growing on an eco holding (the ‘micro’ holding – a small smallholding) with his partner in the UK midlands.
Most of the veg requirements are ‘biologically’ grown on an allotment-size patch and fruit is grown on a new mini orchard in the small paddock. The mini-flock of hens providing home-produced eggs unfortunately is no more due to badger predation. 'Tia', a gorgeous feline friend , passed away in 2024.There's quite a wild bird population here, facilitated by the considerable bank of vegetation here.
Wood is the main energy source; some is collected for free and some is bought and stored to dry in the grandly-entitled’ ‘Micro-holding Logs-istics Operation Centre’, a re-cycled concrete garage. Re-cycling is practised in as many forms as possible – cars, clothes, material requirements eg. furniture, tools etc. Solar power electricity production has also been installed, along with a device to use 'spare' solar energy to heat water in the hot water tank, and a stand-alone air-source heat pump, extracting heat from the air outside and blowing it into the cottage.The solar panels gave now operated without problem for thirteen years, likewise the air-source heat pump heater for eleven years.
On-going projects are exploring the effective home use of the 'free' solar-powered electricity from the solar installation, the viability of a small domestic wind turbine and the possibility of having one of the two vehicles here as an electric vehicle, powered mainly by solar energy, although at the moment the cost of electric vehicles seems to be on the high side. An electric bike has been a partway answer.
Another strand in the ‘portfolio’ eco lifestyle is the setting up of a small 'e' publishing operation in support of the free-range self-responsible and reliant lifestyle, for which MR formerly wrote a monthly blog on his Free-range Living website, now just occasional blogs, and has written a ‘Free-range Living’ series, of which, ‘Free-range Living for People’ is available in e-book form. (accessible on 'books' page of the website). Also available in e-book/booklet form from the 'books' page are: ‘Free-range Lifestyle Enterprise Planning’, 'Freearanging - Exploring the Ranges', ‘A Free-range Approach to Work’ and 'Freerangin'-- on-- Money Means'. ' Freerange Spirit and Values' parts one and two, an MR take on Fritz Schumacher's Small is Beautiful ( Is Schumacher's 'Small' Yet Beautiful?) and The Human Approach to People Management Can Give the Best Longer-term Results . The latest additions have been Wising UP --- or Dumbing Down', pts. one and two, explorations into 'expanded awareness' territory, and 'Freerangin' on Fuller Fulfilment'. MR has previously written ‘Rural Lifestyling: Whys and Wherefores of Starting a Small Independent Rural Enterprise’, a series of rural management guides, as well as sundry academic journal and conference papers.
Any queries/enquiries/comments/ publishing possibilities can be directed via the freerangeliver@gmail.com e-mail address .
