LEARN MORE ABOUT THE TIMBER FRAME TEAM BEHIND TY PREN

I have been living in the Lampeter area for some 15 years.  Professionally a traditional woodsman, carrying out mainly traditional woodland management, furniture making, charcoal burning and straw bale round house building. I have been running greenwood working and woodland management workshops for the last 10 years both privately and for local organisations such as Tir coed, Denmark farm conservation centre and long wood community woodland group and the odd bit of television work as well. Now working with Ty pren as well was a natural course, still promoting the use of traditional hand tools and the use of locally sourced wood and helping to promote and push forward a more ecological and sustainable future for now and future generations.

My name is Emily and I’m originally from North Wales. Growing up surrounded by the Snowdonia National Park it was hard not to develop a deep connection with nature. I have always strived to live  and work with the environment in mind hence living off grid in my van and working for Ty Pren. I found a real affinity for the woodland whilst living in the Forest of Dean where I started learning about coppicing and crafts. I wanted to hone in on my knowledge and skills and decided to move to West Wales and I enrolled on the Coppicewood College course as many like me had before…. In fact I met Cathryn on this course. I volunteered a few times with the Ty Pren crew but drifted off back to my seasonal festival work and traditional hedgelaying when I got a phone call asking me to join the team as an apprentice for the big Fordhall Farm build we completed in the summer of 2018. I haven’t looked back. Working for Ty Pren is truly fulfilling. Merging sustainable woodland management with traditional craft work and all with hand tools, I have learnt so much and look forward to completing many more builds with the crew.

I’m Cathryn, aged 33, from the Isle of Skye. I came to Wales in the hope of learning how to live more sustainably. I wanted to immerse myself in traditional skills and discover a lifestyle that differs from our consumer driven norm. I hoped to find a happier, more satisfying way to live that would lighten my impact on our planet.  After much research, I decided on South West Wales, it seemed to be an area rich in traditional skills and community spirit. Since arriving in September, I have not been disappointed. I first enrolled at Coppicewood college, a 6 month traditional woodland management course which teaches coppicing and coppice craft. I spent much of my spare time volunteering on various projects and came across many fascinating people and ideas. I kept seeing beautifully crafted buildings that I always commented on, and the response was always the same “That was Ty Pren” or “That was Jamie Miller”. I contacted Jamie in the hope of being able to volunteer with them. When he offered me an apprenticeship I couldn’t believe my luck and jumped at the chance. I love working at Ty Pren, the guys are all fantastic teachers who are passionate about what they do. Everything about the company is excellent, they are enriching the local community in so many ways keeping traditional skills alive, teaching new generations, providing a low impact option to people wishing to build their own homes,  creating a market for local timber and producing absolutely stunning buildings to be enjoyed for years to come. I can’t thank them enough for allowing me to learn with them. They are hugely inspiring and I am so glad I found them!