FEATURE Rural realities You’re not


Rural life can be tough on your own – but isolation doesn’t have to mean loneliness


As idyllic as life in the countryside can be, it’s no secret that rural living can be a lonely existence for many of its residents.


Vast distances between towns and villages underserved by public transport; lack of support for ageing communities; and the long and lone hours inherent in farm work all contribute to high levels of loneliness in our rural areas.


And such loneliness can have serious


consequences – a recent poll in the Farmer’s Guardian found that 94 per cent of respondents felt that loneliness posed a serious risk to their mental wellbeing.


But for semi-retired farmer Stephanie Powell, isolation in and of itself doesn’t


have to translate into loneliness – the most important thing is to stay connected. And in the 21st century, that human connection we all need to thrive doesn’t always have to be in- person.


A long-time farming history enthusiast, Stephanie recounted how she hoped to find a like-minded community online, she told Landworker.


In June 2020, Stephanie started The Farming History UK and Ireland


Facebook page, which quickly took


off. It now has an astonishing 36,000 plus members and counting. During the course of her first foray into setting up an online community, Stephanie discovered that many of the members in the farming history group simply liked conversing with one other.


“Although the content has to relate to farming history, it did start to feel a bit like you’re going into the market café and having a chat,” she explained. “Some people have even found people that they used to know years ago on the page. It made me understand that perhaps people in the countryside were a bit lonely – maybe lonelier than I realised.”


Stephanie can empathise with that sense of loneliness at times. “I’m an only child and divorced. My children have grown up and moved away, so there isn’t somebody ‘there for me’ in a sense.


“I can understand what it’s like not having someone coming in through the door in the evening with a smile on their face – having somebody to talk to about the little things that happen throughout the day.”


And so was born the idea of a separate Facebook page – one for anyone living or working on farms to connect with one another. Stephanie


24 uniteLANDWORKER Summer 2022


started the Farming Facebook Fireside Chat page only six months ago in


January – it’s since grown to nearly 600 members.


Topics of discussion are as varied and unique as the members and their backgrounds themselves. Pictures of members’ farm animals, pets, plants, crops and farm machinery feature highly, as do “the little things that happen throughout the day” that Stephanie highlighted – whether that’s sharing what the work day was like, celebrating a new job, or venting about a passersby letting dogs off-lead.


One thing that all members have in common is a love of the land, and a deep understanding of the very real challenges people who live and work in rural areas face. Members can submit anonymous posts on sensitive subjects, or when managing all the countless daily tasks on a farm becomes simply too much. People are reminded that they’re not on their own.”


Stephanie has set up a pinned post at the top of the page that signposts members to dozens of helplines – many of which are designed specifically for those involved with


farming, like Farming Community Network, as well as other more general helplines like Samaritans. More


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