Articles by Dave Darby
Dave Darby founded Lowimpact.org in 2001, spent 3 years on the board of the Ecological Land Co-op and is a founder member of NonCorporate.org and the Open Credit Network.
Articles by
Dave Darby
French farmhouse free to the right low-impacter (roofing skills would be a bonus)
We are in contact with an English man who has a French property but will no longer be able to live there. He’s happy to give it away to someone who will turn it into the kind of eco-home / low-impact smallholding that he intended.
What is human nature? Are we really a horrible species?
When discussing war, exploitation, wealth disparities, violence and the apparently uncaring nature of society, a common response is: ‘well, that’s human nature for you’. Is it? Really? Are we that bad? Are we inherently, intrinsically, irredeemably horrible?
What low-impacters are up to around the country: Meadow Forge
Nestled in, part way down the side of a beautiful valley in Devon, is probably the most interesting, bonkers, chaotic and inspiring workshop I’ve ever been in. Housed inside what was once an open cow shed, this is where long-standing network member, Dean Aggett,
Tim Harford – the ‘Undercover Economist’ – thinks that the economy can grow forever. Here’s why he’s wrong
Here’s an article that I came across recently. It was written by Tim Harford, the ‘Undercover Economist’, who points out that physicists are telling economists that economic growth can’t continue forever because of the exponential function
An example of Joe Jenkins’ ‘humanure’ composting toilet system, used successfully for 9 years
Our friend Lee has been using a ‘humanure’ compost toilet system, made famous by Joe Jenkins in his book the Humanure Handbook, for over 9 years. I interviewed him to find out how it’s going.
Are holiday/leisure cycle paths like the ‘Camel Trail’ good for the environment?
How do we develop cycling from a leisure activity to part of everyday life? I recently went for a bicycle ride with my partner along the Camel Trail in North Cornwall.
Three-bedroom, earth-sheltered house with a living roof, cob internal walls & sea view; cost: £18,000
Seven years ago, a handsome builder came on a Lowimpact.org ‘how to make biodiesel’ course at Redfield and stole one of our staff. They now live with three children in Cornwall, in an earth-sheltered house that he built himself on his own land.
Is it ethical to eat meat?
A group of around 15 of us meet one evening a month, for something we call ‘Philosophy Club’. The topic of this month’s meeting, which happened last night, was ‘is it ethical to eat meat?’
Do you consider yourself left-wing or right-wing, and does it matter any more?
Do you label yourself ‘left’ or ‘right’, or somewhere in the middle? Do you think the Labour party in the UK or the Democrats in the US, are left-wing parties? Or do you have only a vague idea about what those labels mean?
We have a huge housing problem, and yet they want to destroy Charlie’s home; you can help
This blog is about the house that Charlie and Meg built. It’s a straw-bale roundhouse with a reciprocal roof, built in the countryside where they grew up. The exterior can be seen above, the interior below, with Charlie, Meg and sprog in the middle.
Who runs the world?
It’s widely believed that we have democracies in the West. We’d like that to be the case, but it’s not – because ultimate power is corporate, not political. By ultimate power, we mean the ability to control the direction in which humanity moves.
BBC: ‘Only by increasing productivity can we improve the quality of our lives’. Do you agree?
It’s a quote from an economist invited in to comment about the UK economy on the BBC World Service earlier this week (it doesn’t matter who – this is a point that virtually all economists agree on, to the shame of the discipline).
It’s not possible to demonise people any more, in the age of the internet
Western populations have to kept in a state of fear, so that weapons corporations can continue to make huge profits. People of America – this is your latest enemy:
Opportunity for low-impact person in the Loire valley
We’ve been approached by a very nice man called Rod Harper, who has never used a computer in his life, and so asked us for help in finding someone to rent his property in the Loire Valley.
Could you explain Mercantilism, if you were asked?
If you were asked, could you describe Mercantilism? I dare say you could have a good go at Capitalism and Feudalism. But Mercantilism? And is it worth finding out? I think it is, because it tells us a lot about the system we live under now
Can we have multinational corporations and democracy?
Up until this moment in human history, power has always been abused. By ‘power’ I mean ‘the ability to make decisions that affect the direction in which humanity moves’. Ultimate power in other words, rather than local power.
How do you begin with philosophy?
To get started with philosophy, I think you need three things: a) some idea of where we are – to know what solar systems and galaxies are, and to have a vague idea of how many there are
The top ten economic growth myths
Are you tired of the lazy assumption on Newsnight, the Today programme and in the news media that economic growth is what’s required to solve all of our problems? It’s the Holy Grail, that-which-cannot-be-questioned, from Evan Davies to Jeremy Paxman.
Sneaky marketing: heads-up for anyone with an online presence
Here’s the incomparably wonderful Bill Hicks on marketing. If you don’t know him, just put his name into YouTube. You’re in for a treat.
Re-skilling vs distributism: how to turn ‘do-it-yourself’ into small businesses
Hi all, Lowimpact.org has been all about re-skilling since we started in 2001, and we’ve gained a big audience through that. I was sitting on a bus in London last year, looking down at people in the street in Brixton