Ena’s views and stories are enjoyed far beyond the shores of these islands and, without question, she is one of the best newspaper columnists in Scotland
– Iain Stephen Morrison (Editor of Am Paipear, 2012–2022
Born to Croft
by Ena MacDonald
£15.00
Paperback: 9781739443184
‘Ena’s views and stories are enjoyed far beyond the shores of these islands and, without question, she is one of the best newspaper columnists in Scotland’
– Iain Stephen Morrison (Editor of Am Paipear, 2012–2022)
One of the most revered crofters in Scotland, Ena MacDonald is renowned for her lifetime’s dedication to traditional crofting methods and for her passionate advocacy of sustainable farming practices that preserve the precious machairs and grasslands of her beloved Kyles on the Scottish island of North Uist.
Born in 1940, Ena paints vivid pictures of growing up on a croft before machinery and ‘going barefoot to collect the peats’. She records a way of life that has changed beyond recognition and is perhaps gone forever. Ena’s gift and skills working with animals and her love for cattle, sheep, chickens, dogs and cats are apparent on every page. Ask people about her and they say, ‘She’s a legend.’
About Ena MacDonald
Born in 1940 in Ardbhan, Kyles, North Uist, Ena MacDonald has spent almost her entire life in crofting. As a young woman, she left home to work in Glasgow and Australia, but returned in 1966 to help her father on the croft, doing everything from cutting peat to growing and selling vegetables for an income.
Quickly, it became her passion. After her father’s death, she took over the croft, played a full and active role in all crofting affairs and travelled widely as a representative of The Crofting Federation. She wrote occasional articles for the Scottish Farmer and Highland Cattle Society before her regular monthly articles for Am Paipear from 2006 to the present.
In 2006, Ena was awarded the MBE for services to crofting and to the community in North Uist. Ena is respected, revered and loved in North Uist and beyond. Ask people about her and they say,‘She’s a legend.