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Farming couple support 'ethical fashion' with tannery

Marie Lennon
BBC Radio 4
Alexandra Bassingham
BBC News, West of England
BBC James (left) and Katie Allen (right), sitting on a wooden fence smiling at each other, both wearing army green wax jackets and jeans. The farm is in the background and you can see planter-style growing areas set up behind them and lots of grass.BBC
James and Katie Allen bought Great Cotmarsh Farm in 2022

Two farmers say they are on a mission to grow sustainable fashion by opening the UK's first micro-scale vegetable tannery for cattle hides.

Katie Allen, 44, and James Allen, 53, from Great Cotmarsh Farm near Broad Town, Wiltshire, will also use the tannery and farm to teach children and teenagers about farming and fashion.

Mr Allen said the pair are not from a farming background, but got into conservation grazing before they bought the farm in 2022 dreaming of "producing food and ethical fashion, with nature in mind".

Their project is backed by Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL) and the pair will be sharing their knowledge with children and students at their on-site education centre.

Katie Allen James Allen with a piece of their cow hide leather with his arms leaning on it and a metal fence. He has a checked shirt on and is standing in front of fields of grass with trees in the distance. Katie Allen
Mr Allen said the life and history of an animal can be seen in its skin which "adds character"

Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL) is a competitive DEFRA-backed scheme offering funding to farmers and land managers in National Landscapes (previously known as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty).

Mr Allen said when the pair got together 12 years ago, Mrs Allen had a smallholding in Devon.

"She wanted to keep the sheep and I asked if she fancied cows… that developed to moving livestock a few times a year to graze other people's land as we couldn't afford a farm - and that was while [bringing up] small children."

When they saw the farm for sale Mrs Allen said she "definitely cajoled James… but I knew in my heart this is what I had to do".

Andrew Montgomery Mrs Allen (left) and Mr Allen (right) with their cows. Mr Allen is stroking one of the cows as they all walk in a field of grass.Andrew Montgomery
The family keep cows and two breeds of sheep, Portland and Castlemilk Moorit's, a rare native breed

Mrs Allen said the farm is a "100% Pasteur based organic system" with animals that thrive outdoors, so they had the outbuilding free for the tannery.

They are keen advocates of diet in their animals, bringing wood pasture into the grazing "because if they're missing a key ingredient like cobalt, you really see the difference".

"As humans if we aren't getting enough of the right nutrients that impacts the condition of our hair and nails and it's exactly the same with livestock," she added.

Andrew Montgomery Mr Allen (left) and Mrs Allen (right) are carrying a huge canvas bag full of sheep wool towards a vehicle. Andrew Montgomery
MA Fashion graduate Mrs Allen, knits with yarn from their sheep's wool, coloured with dye made from Japanese indigo, marigold, tansy and rhubarb plants

Tannery equipment was bought from a closing business with Mr Allen saying he has visited "more tanneries that have shut or are in the process of shutting than are open. So it's quite sad".

Because so many tanneries are shutting, including the Institute for Creative Leather Technologies (ICLT) at the University of Northampton - the only tannery at a university in Europe - the couple say they also want to support the industry.

They will be working with the Sustainable Food Trust to teach classes with primary school children about healthy food and the natural world.

The education centre will also host teaching sustainable fashion classes with GCSE, A level and textile degree students.

Mrs Allen said their work is "part of a bigger picture, not a money making scheme [and we're] really excited, humbled and overwhelmed" to be able to share it.

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