A young crofter from Assynt has been awarded the coveted Young Crofter Award by the Scottish Crofting Federation (SCF).
Struan MacDonald, 16, cares for various farm animals, including sheep, pigs and goats, in Achmelvich, Sutherland.
His efforts have been recognised by the SCF, who presented him with the Young Crofter Award.
Crofting is a traditional and respected way of life in the remote areas of the Scottish Highlands.
Typically crofters will preside over a piece of land and some livestock. Crofting is integral to Scotland’s rural economy, with more than 20,000 crofters.
In the areas where crofting is a daily practise it has shaped people for generations and has provided a strong sense of community and common purpose.
‘So much enthusiasm, energy and innovation from the young crofters’
Mr MacDonald, at such a young age, has shown the next generation is interested and determined to carry on crofting into the future.
He said: “I feel very honoured to get this and hope its an inspiration to other young crofters.
“I am not sure what got me into crofting, I just started helping the older crofters about here and it went from there. I aim to increase my livestock, get some cows and to sell my meat locally.”
Donald MacKinnon, chairman of the SCF, said, “We got an extremely high calibre of entrants for this round of the SCF Young Crofter Award, which is generously supported by The MacRobert Trust.
“It is an inspiration to see young folk doing such a very wide variety of activities on their crofts and they all fully deserve to be recognised for their efforts and enterprises.
“The judges certainly found what they were looking for – inspiration, enterprise, commitment and community involvement – in abundance.
“From the wide range of nominations, all very worthy ambassadors for crofting, we selected Struan for his exceptional commitment and enthusiasm.”
Crofting commissioner Mairi MacKenzie said: “It is extremely encouraging that there is so much enthusiasm, energy and innovation from the young crofters who were nominated for this award.
“The Crofting Commission acknowledge the huge contribution young crofting folk make to the sustainability of local communities, local food networks and population retention, especially in remote areas of the crofting counties.”
The future of crofting is moving towards more sustainable practices and helping to combat climate change while supporting the rural economy.
At the gathering in Fort William, many gathered agreed that crofting is the ideal practice to confront the challenges faced in today’s world like climate change.
Mr MacKinnon said: “There was a lot of support for a more radical approach, for example the creation of regulated, tenanted small holdings across Scotland; the support for locally produced food, including horticulture; small-scale energy generation; measurable initiatives delivering public goods; getting students out on to crofts and crofting into the classroom; community and collective working.
“With the Committee of Inquiry on Crofting having reported 14 years ago, it was agreed that there is a need for a full review of crofting in the light of the challenges we face.
Conversation