As Bill Mollison explains in his book “Introduction to Permaculture”, on these types of farms it is very important to think and plan carefully about how to best circulate your produce and products. The best solution is to have a space to sell these products at a short distance from the production areas so that you don’t waste too much energy on transport. It is also a good idea to sell one’s wares in a place where there are a lot of passer’s by, such as a main road, for example. For these reasons and because of the fact that our farm is only 300 metres from a main road , in 2011 we decided to open a space on the main road, adding to the other existing shop situated in the reception area. We initially thought of either buying or renting a shop, but were unsuccessful as most spaces were already occupied.
We started therefore to think about a shop on wheels which could be moved about according to circumstances. We eventually found an old American school bus without brakes or a motor but otherwise in a good condition. The transportation to the island, as you can well imagine, was a real adventure. After it had been lovingly restored both inside and out we parked it on the main road right by the entrance to the farm. The “Bushop” was born!
In our Bushop we have a large variety of goods; hand made items, t-shirts sewn by hand and painted in our workshops, crafts, organic produce and more.
The Bushop is also the place where visitors stop at first. The managers are in contact with the reception so they can give tourists and visitors useful information (for example how to get there and if there are free rooms or hammocks). So we advise you to make a stop at the Bushop upon arrival and ask the friendly girls who work there for anything you might need. It is a truly original front desk.
