Want to join a new Midlands co-op with plans for self-build homes for its members?
A growing Northamptonshire based business is looking for individuals who wish to become part of an ethically based worker’s collective. The current business owners, Paul Battye and Melanie Cutler, are looking to turn their business into the new collective to share with like minded individuals Read more
Career change? How about making your living from making and selling baskets?
This is an interview with Fran Blockley of Old Chapel Farm about the potential for making your living from making and selling baskets. Read more
Is modern life a mistake?
I was back recently in my old stomping ground of Bicester in Oxfordshire – it was not a happy visit. Read more
Why we’d be better off living like the Saxons (with a few mod cons)
If you spend your life trying to promote low-impact living, you sometimes get asked the most ridiculous questions. More than once I’ve been asked something along the lines of: ‘you want to take us back to the Middle Ages, don’t you?’ Read more
How to reduce the environmental impact of your wedding
Your wedding day is obviously one of the biggest days of your life — but it can also be huge for your carbon footprint. In the UK, the average cost of a wedding is over £20,000. Not only is this a huge amount of money to spend on a single day Read more
Building a small home has a big payback
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
Looking for the xmas gift that could change someone’s life? Here’s why WWOOF membership could be what you’re looking for
It’s late autumn and I’m sitting alone, feeling empty, in a comfortable house in High Wycombe. It’s 5.30 and I’ve just returned from work; I’m a single moderately successful professional doing the 9-5 in a very ordinary existence. Read more
Rent first to see if a self-build home in a cohousing project at an eco-chateau in France is for you
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
Promoting public transport – how to travel by train more cheaply (without breaking the law)
A way to reduce our impact on the environment is to increase the number of journeys made on public transport relative to the number made by car. So we’re doing this to encourage you to take the train rather than drive. Read more
Having a £3k eco-home is more about attitude than building codes or regulations: interview with Tony Wrench
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
David Fleming’s ‘Lean Logic’ and ‘Surviving the Future’, and why they’re important
I attended the launch of two books at Daunt Bookshop in Chelsea on Wednesday evening. David Fleming died in 2010, and now his friend Shaun Chamberlin has edited his magnum opus, Lean Logic, and Chelsea Green have published it. Read more
Jumble Trail: stroll around your neighbourhood, meet local people, grab a bargain, grab some food and sell unwanted stuff
I’d like to bring to people’s attention a community event I’m championing in my neck of the woods called a Jumble Trail. I’m in Wandsworth, London, but Jumble Trails are happening all over the country, and you can join in. Read more
Volunteer at a crofting / educational centre in the Highlands and learn about the ‘shieling’
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
Why Alicia Keys giving up makeup is important
Readers of the Lowimpact blog won’t necessarily know who Alicia Keys is. She’s an American singer / songwriter who has sold over 35 million albums. So very famous, very successful, and right at the heart of the entertainment industry. Read more
Temple Druid Community are looking for new members and volunteers; opportunity for self-build
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
Work / farmshare opportunity for someone interested in farming, smallholding, forestry, livestock, mushrooms or building stone
Here’s a very interesting opportunity for a budding smallholder – either paid work or farm share, near Totnes in Devon. Over to Richard: Read more
Should the TV licence fee be scrapped?
It’s a tricky one. The argument for the licence fee (and one that I used to subscribe to until I watched the Panorama corporate propaganda piece – see below) is that the Beeb produces drama of a quality not found anywhere else. Read more
Strange but true: energy efficiency actually increases overall energy use
In the 1960 film School for Scoundrels, which is based on the Stephen Potter “Gamesmanship” books, there is a scene where Ian Carmichael (formerly one of life’s failures) is playing tennis with Terry Thomas. Carmichael has just finished a course in lifemanship Read more
Viable self-sufficiency
Back 40 years ago in 1976, John Seymour’s most famous work –The Complete Book of Self-Sufficiency – was published. It was billed as for dreamers and realists which was pretty accurate. Read more
Win a copy of our partner Sally Morgan’s great new book, ‘Living on One Acre or Less’
This is a new book by our partner Sally Morgan of Empire Farm. It’s a comprehensive guide to starting and running your own micro-smallholding. Read more