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    Blacksmithing & farriery posts

    New website and new plans for 2022 – your involvement welcome

    Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 23-Jan-2022 | 2

    We launched our new website in early January. It’s faster, more robust and (hopefully) easier to navigate. Please let us know if you find any broken links or any other problems. Since 2001, we’ve been developing a huge range of topics covering low-impact technologies, facilities and activities. But with the current economy and money system,… Continue reading New website and new plans for 2022 – your involvement welcome Read more

    Craft in a crisis: helping heritage crafts come back from the brink

    With a host of already endangered heritage crafts at even greater risk as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, what does the future hold and how can we play a part in helping heritage crafts survive and even thrive? Sophie Paterson explores. Read more

    The Bowl Gathering: preserving and reviving an endangered craft

    Sharif Adams, traditional bowl turner and spoon carver tells the story of the Bowl Gathering, from humble beginnings to a thriving gathering of craft revival. Read more

    Farm Hack is coming to Wales! Join in 6-7 October at the CSA Gathering

    You’re invited to participate in skill shares and farm hacks from 6-7 October 2018 at Tyddyn Teg Co-operative near Caernarfon. A joint event between Farm Hack and the Community Supported Agriculture network in Wales, Frank White tells us more. Read more

    Join our new online community Living Low Impact

    We’re excited to introduce our new Facebook group Living Low Impact – and you’re invited! Read more

    How to make a pair of bellows: a step by step guide with Kormak the Carter

    In this post we learn from Cormac Stanton how to construct a pair of working bellows, be they for the fireplace or the forge. A member of the Manaraefan Herred Dark Age and Early Medieval re-enactment group, as Kormak the Carter he works alongside blacksmith Mo Swinhosson. Both are described as highly competent early medieval… Continue reading How to make a pair of bellows: a step by step guide with Kormak the Carter Read more

    What we’re losing: the joy and satisfaction of crafting things by hand

    Jan Zalud of janzalud.co.uk | 12-Mar-2017 | 3

    The video below shows various stages of the production and finish of a 1-metre tall puppet by Jan Zalud. Jan makes all sorts of things – crafted by hand from wood. Read more

    The future will be handmade? The prospects for craft skills in ‘developing’ countries

    Siraj Izhar of Amplife | 15-May-2015 | 8

    The Future will be handmade? In the information age, the question has an absurd ring. But I ask after listening to Ashoke Chatterjee at the Artisans House in Mumbai. As a long time President of the Crafts Council of India, Chatterjee tells us that ‘The Future will be handmade’. The question mark is mine.  Read more

    Visit to the Gransfors Burks forge in Sweden – makers of the world’s best axes

    Standing outside Huddiksval train station, it’s pouring with rain and I am beginning to wonder what the hell I am doing here. Having been travelling for 12 hours I’m tired and hungry, there is no one here to collect me, a taxi is more expensive than my flight from the UK and not a bus… Continue reading Visit to the Gransfors Burks forge in Sweden – makers of the world’s best axes Read more

    What low-impacters are up to around the country: Meadow Forge

    Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 14-Aug-2014 | 0

    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, Read more

    Opportunity for low-impact person in the Loire valley

    Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 16-May-2014 | 0

    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. Read more

    Craft skills are too important to lose

    Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 26-Apr-2013 | 0

    How many people do you know these days whose work involves traditional craft skills? For every craftsperson in the UK, there must be a couple of thousand working in telesales. Read more

    There’s a crash coming – a slap from Mother Nature. This isn’t pessimistic; it’s realistic.

    The human impact on nature and on each other is accelerating and needs systemic change to reverse.

    We’re not advocating poverty, or a hair-shirt existence. We advocate changes that will mean better lives for almost everyone.

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