Aaron Fletcher has been a nomadic shepherd for about a decade, but more recently he has settled down as a land sitter, running what is probably the country’s smallest viable farm.When we first met Aaron a couple years ago, he and his sheep would pull his wagon home 5 to 10 miles every day in search of greener pastures. He sleeps and rests in his mini wagon, while his sheep “guerrilla graze”: eat roadside weeds and trim vacant lots and yards (with permission).
source.image: Kirsten Dirksen
Wanting to use his abundant milk, and generate a small economy for himself, Aaron invested in an ice cream maker, three mini fridges and a solar battery. This extra weight required larger animals to pull the wagon so Aaron tried out a donkey. Recognizing that equines are too big and dangerous for such close quarters, Aaron now plans to re-home it and buy a human harness to help pull the wagon himself.
While he waits for a harness to pull his heavier wagon, Aaron is farm-sitting for a city-dwelling land owner. Here there are plenty of fresh eggs and the calm to invent new systems for his micro mobile farm.
Advertisement
Aaron says his main job is juggling milk: to “balance year-round cheesemaking outdoors, on the go, with no refrigeration.” He’s worked out a system so when milk is most plentiful he makes butter and big cheeses, when he’s getting about 3 cups per milking, he makes ice cream and when he is milking under 3 cups per milking, he makes kefir and single batch fresh cheese.
