I started to make soap using organic Irish rapeseed oil for two main reasons.

Organic oil from Kilkenny no longer available

Sadly last year, there was a change in the rapeseed oil I had been using.

The brand was sold and the oil was no longer being made on the farm using homegrown organic seeds. The business was sold and the oil is now made in Dublin, using imported seeds.

So I had a conundrum. The oil I had used was the only certified organic rapeseed oil produced in Ireland.

Should I continue to use an organic oil which is only processed, but not grown in Ireland? Or switch to an Irish grown product which may be harmful to bees?

Leona has four bee hives on the farm and grows acres of wildflowers and sunflowers for her happy pollinators every year.  She loves seeing the array of butterflies, birds and the different bees all enjoying the flowers.

Richard is a pioneer in the Min Till style of farming - a method of farming that does not plough the land. The soil bed is left untouched, with just a small seed being inserted into the ground. This is excellent for soil health.

Where fertilisers are necessary, Broighter Gold use use liquid fertilisers so that they are not being sprayed but put directly in beside each seed in the bed when being planted, reducing waste and risk to insects.

Read more about the wildlife friendly farming practices at Broighter Gold here, and why leona was awarded Slow Food Person of the Year for Norther Ireland in 2022.