A FARMING family who were not able to purchase a cure for eczema found themselves using their creativity to make their own.

Norah Austin and her mother Karen had attended a Young Farmers Club meeting where they heard from the Rotary Club of Holsworthy on how they were actively seeking ways to support their local farming community.

During a conversation with a Rotary club member, Norah explained to them about how she had a keen interest of farming generally and was working on developing skills for her chosen future career. After explaining her own circumstances, the Rotary Club agreed to support Norah, setting in motion a chain of events that has unleashed her entrepreneurial spirit.

It all started when suggestions that raw goat’s milk might be a cure for eczema, with Norah suffering from the effects of the condition.

Unable to purchase the finished product Karen bought two goats instead. The initial trial was successful and other products, soaps and skin care lotions, were an obvious next step and the foundation for a new business, which now trades under the brand of ‘Mother Clucking Farm’, producing a range of products with the milk produced from the goats at the core of their offerings.

Meanwhile, as the business laid its roots for the story that would come next, Norah helped with the milking and generally attending to the care of the animals.

She volunteered to help with milking cows on a nearby farm and so impressed a vet, making a farm visit, with her commitment and attention to detail that she was offered the opportunity to assist them on other visits and to learn some basic procedures and skills.

Twenty more goats later the milking operation was becoming time consuming and impacting on Norah’s studies.

Troubled by dyslexia but unable to receive the support needed from her school she is “Homeschooling” and expects to sit English, Maths and Science GCSE’s next spring. The solution was an additional milking machine.

That would allow the existing machine to receive a much-needed service and eventually cut the milking time in half.

However, the cost of sourcing an additional machine was more than Karen could afford until the Rotary Club offered a substantial contribution. DP Agri Ltd were able to source a suitable machine and to service the old one.

Gareth Smith, from the Holsworthy Rotary Club said: “When the Club heard what Norah and Karen were trying to achieve, we knew at once that we should offer them support. It’s a real pleasure to see how they are getting on.”

The Rotary Club has reported that both milking machines are now fully operational and there is delight all round at the progress.

They said that the delight stretched to the goats, with Karen also telling them that Norah was making good use of the time that is now available to her to study with both mother and daughter seeing a way ahead for their futures.