Abstract
Scotland has one of the most uneven land ownership patterns in the world. In a country of 5.2 million people, about 969 people control 60% of the land. Over 20% of privately owned land in Scotland is held in some form of offshore or beneficial ownership (Committee on the Inquiry of Crofting, 2008). This land ownership pattern has a unique expression in the northern and western parts of the Scottish Highlands and Islands with a 300-year-old system of tenant farmers known as crofters. Unlike other tenant farmers across the world, crofters have gained legal rights to stay on the land if they are productive. While crofting has managed to survive, there are competing resources for land in rural Scotland; urbanites from England and Glasgow view rural Scotland as sites for holiday homes, thus raising land prices. Further, as with other places around the world, market forces in Scotland are merging small parcels of land into larger tracts for agriculture. This qualitative case study examines crofting on an island off the western coast of Scotland. Our primary research question is: Is there a sense of solidarity among residents about crofting for the island's economic vitality and its role in sustaining or preserving local culture?
Highlights
Crofting emerged in Scotland as part of the Highland Clearances during the 18th and 19th centuries, when Highland landlords evicted people to make way for sheep ranching (Hunter, 1999; 2000)
This study examined crofting within a communitydevelopment context
Crofting: Cooperative education We found that while individual expertise existed within the crofting communities, little knowledge was shared within the community
Summary
Crofting emerged in Scotland as part of the Highland Clearances during the 18th and 19th centuries, when Highland landlords evicted people to make way for sheep ranching (Hunter, 1999; 2000). Tens of thousands of tenants were moved to North America and Australia. Others were moved to cities such as Glasgow to Volume 3, Issue 3 / Spring 2013. Other families were sent to poor or marginal land along the Scottish coasts. Small amounts of land (crofts) were assigned with the understanding that each family would become self-sufficient. Crofters diversified and become astute fishermen or learned a trade to support their families. Crofting communities shared both place and customs to forge communal relationships which have secured the longevity of a rural Scottish culture (Hunter, 2000)
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