Embarking on a new life in the countryside, away from the trappings of urban existence, is a dream increasingly common to many. This week we interviewed Janet Jenkins about her and her family’s smallholding journey, putting the heart back into the land at Cuckoo Farm. Read more

I am Andy Reynolds, a long-term practitioner of low-impact living, smallholder, author, forester, teacher, carpenter, builder. I’ve been working with Lowimpact.org since the early noughties, and I’d like to share my philosophy on self-reliance with you. Read more

Hi, my name is Cassie. My daughter is called Bea, she’s the bigger girls in the picture there. She absolutely loves horses! I also have a son called David, who is going to be an actor; my husband is called Nigel, and our eldest son is called Ted. Read more

We’ve been contacted several times by people who ask why we’re promoting the building of timber homes and the burning of wood in wood stoves or biomass boilers. Their argument was that timber building and the production of firewood require the felling of trees Read more

Let’s get one thing straight right away…When I say “small”, I don’t mean living in a shoe box.   What I mean by “small” is living in a space that is designed…well designed…for your needs…and no more.  A small space doesn’t mean cramped. Read more

An cohousing eco-hamlet around a chateau in the Dordogne region of France is being formed. You can rent a plot to see if the project is for you, before deciding whether to become a co-owner. Read more

Passive solar design takes advantage of solar orientation and other climate conditions to minimize (and in some conditions, eliminate) heating and cooling requirements for a building. Read more

This is an interview with Tony Wrench of ‘That Roundhouse’ fame. He built a super-eco roundhouse in Pembrokeshire over 20 years ago, and is still living in it, after having many battles with planners and regulatory bodies. Read more

We’ve noticed from comments on our blogs and on social media that environmentally-conscious Americans have a slightly different attitude to using trees as a renewable resource – whether for firewood or for timber – than that prevalent in the UK. Read more

This is a farm-based education organisation.  Our story is the ‘shieling’ – a tradition where folk went up to the hills with the livestock. The shieling is a traditional practice of moving up to the high ground or moorland with livestock, to live there for the summer. Read more

If you would like to build your own home on a smallholding, and produce food, fuel and other products for your family and your local community, but can’t see any way that it could happen, then the Ecological Land Co-op want to hear from you.  Read more

Here’s a quick overview of what the Ecological Land Co-op does, before going on to their latest news. The problem that they were formed to solve is that many people who would like to build a home made from local, sustainable materials, Read more

Temple Druid Community is set in 56 acres of woodland, pasture, steams and meadows in North Pembrokeshire. We are looking for members to join us in creating a community based on the foundations of compassion and respect for nature, ourselves and others and a strong wish to tread gently on the earth. Read more

Ecobuild is a three-day natural building exhibition at the Excel Centre in London from the 8th to the 10th of March. Ecobuild is the leading UK exhibition and conference for the construction and energy market Read more

I am often asked to help with other people’s designs, but one of my principles is never to design with cement. Not everyone knows this about me, and I was recently asked what my general experience was with stem walls made of concrete Read more

Twentieth-century homes tend to contain a lot of non-breathable materials – cement, metal, plastics, impervious paints and renders. Damp-proof barriers prevent rising damp, but the sealed, waterproof, non-breathable approach of modern building brings its own problems Read more

You may remember a previous article about Charlie and Meg’s natural home in Pembrokeshire, that the planners decided needed to be bulldozed because it was ‘harmful to the rural character of the locality’. See here. Read more

Being able to go through the process of making a planning application for a low impact development may be a sign that there has been some progress for those of us who have hitherto lived, to paraphrase, as outlaws on the planning frontier. Read more

Earthships are self-contained living vessels that don’t rely on mains water or energy from big companies. Earthships use natural systems to provide all their own utilities — solar energy for heat and power, and rain for water Read more

We moved to Wales because of an extraordinary Welsh Government policy. I shan’t lie, despite all experience and political conviction to the contrary, we were optimistic. One Planet Development seemed to be the kind of advance for low impact living and sustainable land use that we had been hoping for Read more