Here’s Part 2 of my interview with Caroline Bennett, founder of ‘Sole of Discretion’, a community interest company that sells fish caught by a collective of small fishing boats in Devon. Here we talk about the life of small fishing boat skippers.

Green woodworking – beautuful stools, chairs, tables, bowls, spoons and kitchen utensils. What’s not to like? ‘Price’ is what some of you might be saying, and this is a topic we’re going to be coming back to again and again. Price is the stumbling block that is pushing us towards a world of low-quality goods, sweatshops, environmental damage, breakdown of community and unemployment – and away from a world of high-quality goods, craft production, sustainability, short supply chains and vibrant communities.

Career change? Making a living from weaving. At Lowimpact.org we’re interested in helping to bring production back to communities, and so we’re talking with craftspeople, smallholders, natural builders, renewables installers and small business owners in our range of topics. I’ll be asking them about their jobs, and for advice for people who might be interested in doing similar things.

In this article, the LWA’s Horticulture Campaigns Coordinator Rebecca Laughton explains why we have to produce and trade a greater percentage of food locally.

Here’s Part 1 of our interview with Caroline Bennett, founder of ‘Sole of Discretion’, a community interest company that sells fish caught by a collective of small fishing boats in Devon. Here we’re talking about the sustainability and community benefits of small fishing boats, the barriers that they face, and how her business can help you support them.

We recently blogged about a project: ‘rebuilding a home, and changing the surrounding fields from dead agricultural land into an oasis of natural life’ – as well as building an off-grid electrical and heating system. Here’s the next in the series – about repairing an off-grid wind and solar electrical system.

Every year in June, the EU celebrates its annual ‘Green Week’, in which Europe’s environmental elite gather to congratulate each other on how green they are.

Composting toilets are a great choice for low-impact living — for remote or off-grid homes, for self-contained homes, for boats, for camper vans. That much is certain. But is the ‘revolootion’ possible if you’re renting out a flat? With no garden, no plot of land to call your own, does a composting toilet make any sense?

Below are some things that I believe, some that I don’t believe and some that I know. Do you believe similar things? If so, stay in touch. Alternatives are being built – change is coming. Nothing stays the same forever.

Nettles are a truly amazing plant. I recently found out about the ‘super food’ that is nettle seeds, and have been making the most of the nettle patch at the end of the garden ever since.

“Burning biomass is just another path to environmental destruction,” claims a recent article in The Ecologist. Really? Simon Fairlie, who has blithely been burning biomass for the last 50 years, investigates.
Read more …

All governments, including the UK, are telling us that they’re laser-focused on reducing carbon emissions. How are they doing? The chart above shows how they’re doing (source: Our World in Data). There’s a tiny flatline around 2020, but that’s because of the Covid lockdowns. Read more …

There’s a question we often hear: “why don’t you start a political party?” Sometimes this is genuine, and enthusiastic, but often it’s snarky, as in: “why don’t you stop sniping on the sidelines and put your ideas to the masses, who can vote for you if they like them? Then you can implement your proposals. We live in a democracy, after all.” Read more …

Want to work for a great veg box scheme in the south of England? Actually it’s our veg box scheme. And it’s a bag not a a box. Each week we get a bag full of organic fruit and veg from Sutton Community Farm. If you live in south London, I really recommend them. Lovely delivery people, and the quality of the food is really noticeable. Plus we’re helping support a community-based business, swimming against the corporate tide. Read more …

We’ve been following the progress of the Bridport Cohousing project for a few years. They’re interesting because they’re a community land trust, partnering with a housing association to ensure that their 53 properties remain affordable. Bridport is a nice place to live, and house prices have risen by around 15% in the last couple of years. Many incomers are buying properties as second homes – and a high number of second homes is guaranteed to kill any community. Read more …

At Lowimpact.org we’re interested in helping to bring production back to communities, and so we’re going to be talking with craftspeople, smallholders, natural builders, renewables installers and small business owners in our range of topics. I’ll be asking them about their jobs, and for advice for other people who are interested in doing similar things. Read more …

Would you like to be an ecological smallholder? The Ecological Land Co-op are looking for smallholders for plots of land in Devon and Cornwall. More below from Luci at the ELC: Read more …

This is the third part of an interview with Jon Halle of Sharenergy, about the prospects for keeping energy production local and mutualised. Here we talk about community energy, mutual credit and mutualisation of the economy. Read more …

Hi. I’m Andy Reynolds – author, instructor, forester, promoter of self-reliance, and for the last few years I have been reflecting on our project’s progression, as it seems to have reached the stage of early maturity. The project – rebuilding a home, and changing the surrounding fields from dead agricultural land into an oasis of natural life, and a delightful place to live – is something that many people may aspire to, or even dream of. Read more …

This is the second part of an interview with Jon Halle of Sharenergy, about the prospects for keeping energy production local and mutualised. We talk about community energy, Energy Local and the Big Solar Co-op. Read more …