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tural buildings, roads and fences must be provided by the crofter. Since 1976, it has become more common for a crofter to acquire title to his croft, thus becoming an owner-occupier.The average size of a croft is around 5 hectares, however this varies greatly: Some are only 0.5 ha, while others ex- tend to more than 50 ha, often with a share in hill grazing, held in common with other crofters in a township. As most crofts cannot support a family or provide full-time employment, many crofters have other occupations to support their income. These occupa- tions not only contribute to their liveli- hoods, but also to the rural economy. Historically, landlords deliberately kept crofts below self-sufficiency in order to oblige tenants into tied labor.Today, there are over 17,700 registered crofts in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, and over 12,000 crofting households, representing about 30,000 family members. Crofting households represent around 30% of households on the mainland Highlands and up to 65% of households in Shetland, the Western Isles and Skye. Crofts form a unique tenure system that goes back over 200 years. Approximately 2,000 are owner-occupied, but the majority of crofts remain tenanted.protected by lawSince 1886, a series of Crofting Acts have been passed, providing securityto crofters, protecting them from being unfairly removed from their land, guar- anteeing fair rent and allowing them to claim compensation for improvements should their tenancy come to an end. Crofting Connections is a project run by Soil Association Scotland, in partner- ship with the Scottish Crofting Federa- tion. The project enables children and young people living in crofting com- munities throughout the Highlands and Islands to learn about crofting past, present and future. The project’s ob- jectives are to increase understanding among children and youth of the con- nections between crofting, food, health and the environment; support schools and communities in creating local food- growing initiatives; promote crofting to young people and encourage new en- trants; safeguard the crofting heritage and traditions unique to local communi- ties; encourage communities to reduce their ecological and carbon footprints; and increase public knowledge and ap- preciation of croftingCrofting Connections coincides with major legislative reform known as the Crofting Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 to ensure crofting has a sustainable and profitable future in the 21st century. It recognizes its multiple economic, social and environmental benefits – the most important of which is to safeguard the heritage and culture unique to different crofting communities through the cus- todianship of successive generations.73© PETE GlanVIllE