Franklin Farm 

We are Team Franklin—a family farm made up of three generations of mostly functional, friendly folks!

In 2004, we (Helen and Gavin), along with our two eldest children, Patrick and Emily, moved from our mixed farm in Zimbabwe to France. Starting again from scratch, we built a new life here and later welcomed our third child, Alice.

Today, our farm is run by us together with our eldest son, Patrick. Over the years, it has grown into a lively and diverse place, home to 250 ewes, 70 pigs, 200 chickens, and 3 livestock guardian dogs. Alongside them, we share our lives with a wonderfully quirky mix of pets: 7 cats, 5 Border Collies, an Australian Shepherd, a Swiss Shepherd, a Dachshund, and an Italian Greyhound.

Our farm and butchery are located in the commune of Eygurande-et-Gardedeuilh, in sunny Dordogne in the southwest of France. We sell our meat and eggs directly to the public at local markets and through delivery runs. All our meat products come from whole carcasses, processed at a small, fully certified local abattoir just 25 minutes from our farm, and transported using our own refrigerated vehicle.

We manage our sheep using movable electric fencing, allowing them to graze outdoors all year round—even during lambing. Through high-density, rapid-rotation grazing, we aim to improve biodiversity and build healthy soil.

Our pigs live happy lives in the forest, where they can roam and wallow in muddy puddles. Our chickens, raised in mobile outdoor units, provide both eggs and meat.

We are committed to natural farming practices. We do not use genetically modified cereals in our animals’ feed, our hay comes from local natural pastures, and our land is fertilised naturally by the animals themselves.