The Fair Trade movement was set up to secure better prices for struggling small farmers and craft producers in poor countries, and to provide funds for various improvements in their communities. It has, however, come in for some criticism for various reasons. Read more …

This describes how my kids and I built an arcade machine, based on a Raspberry Pi. So, the first question many of you will be asking is…. Read more …

Eco-consumption, ethical consumerism, sustainable shopping. Call it what we may, “buying green” has grown into something of a hot topic in the last decade. But is it the sustainable solution some claim it to be or is it in fact the perfect distraction? Lowimpact.org’s Sophie Paterson explores. Read more …

On 18th November last year there was a one-day workshop in Sheffield called “Joy in Enough – Awakening to a New Economics”. It was delivered by Green Christian who are a multi-denominational charity that have been operating for over thirty years. Read more …

In this post, textile artist Teresinha Roberts of Wild Colours tells us all about the top three European dye plants for use in natural dyeing: madder, woad and weld. Read more …

I’ve heard several people say they love going to the Oxford Real Farming Conference because it fires them up for the farming year, and I couldn’t agree more. ORFC is so inspiring to people like us because it was set up by a group frustrated at the lack of representation for organic and small-scale producers at the decades-old Oxford Farming Conference. Read more …

All over Europe, for a long time there has been a trend towards larger, monoculture farms and industrial agriculture. Smaller farms have been swallowed up and farmers have been leaving the land in their millions. Read more …

In the sixth installment of The Wool Journey by Sue Blacker of The Natural Fibre Company and Blacker Yarns, she outlines the crucial steps of grading, sorting and storing of fleeces following shearing. Read more …

We were approached by Peter to ask if we would help promote a proposed eco-holiday complex and permaculture settlement in Portugal. I replied that I didn’t think we could, as I have strong reservations about this kind of eco-hotel development, and explained why. Peter came back with some counter-arguments, and I asked him whether he’d be happy to have this debate in public Read more …

I guess most people wonder what showers and compost have to do with each other, being showered with compost is probably not anyone’s idea of being cleaned. However there is a perfectly valid connection and it’s one we have been exploiting now for four years and to good effect. Read more …

It’s one thing to identify deciduous trees in summer, with their distinctive leaves on full show, but what about winter? Without leaves, we have to look at other telltale signs. After a bit of practice, it can be easier than you think. Have a go, using these helpful methods, which will make it easier to identify trees in leaf too.
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The last post in this series looked at the vital role of ecological footprinting in ensuring that our individual actions are truly sustainable – i.e. within the limits of what the Earth’s resources can provide. This is called ‘one planet’ development. Read more …

I recently interviewed Dhara Thompson of the Sailboat Project for our new sailboats topic introduction. He told me that they are one of many new organisations that are working to bring back sailboats for cargo and passenger transport – using the power of the wind to move people and goods around the planet. Read more …

Nicola and Richard Eckersley, founders of Earth.Food.Love, share their journey to pioneering the UK’s first zero-waste shop in Totnes, Devon. Read more …

In this post Sophie Paterson of Lowimpact.org explores the power of sharing in a growing movement including The Library of Things, Streetbank, Share Shops and more. Read more …