New Western Isles group to support young crofters

Fiona Maciver, 29, crofts in the Lochs area of Lewis, and works full-time as a supervisor in the care sector.

She has also been involved in crofting since a young age.

“A lot more younger people are taking an interest and I think there are number of reasons for that,” she said.

“I think it is a bit of novelty now while years ago it was an expectation for people to take over the family croft and working them.

“Social media also has a lot to do with it.

“There are a lot of influencers out there who are farming or crofting. It is good to see how other people are crofting and farming.”

She said increasing interest in food security – access to sufficient nutritious food – was another factor.

Ms Maciver said crofting was hard work and it could be tricky at times balancing busy times, such as the lambing season, with her full-time job.