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Recent Posts
The future of community-supported agriculture: Alice Brown of Sutton Community Farm (Part 2)
This is part 2 of a conversation with Alice Brown of Sutton Community Farm. In Part 1 we talked about why CSA farms are such a good idea. This time we talk more about Sutton Community Farm and the future of community-supported agriculture within the food industry.
Does anybody fancy a free, one-day course on the viable system model (VSM)?
I recently interviewed Trevor Hilder, a specialist in the viable system model. I’ve been interested in it for a while, since I heard from credible sources that it could be a valuable tool for building the new economy.
How to plaster straw-bale walls with clay: the first coat
Sigi Koko of Down to Earth Design shares her top tips for how to plaster straw-bale walls with clay, beginning with the first, or base, coat.
How to store apples over the winter: a brief guide
You’ve picked your apples but what to do now? Learn how to make the best of the harvest with Nick Mann’s brief guide to how to store apples over the winter.
Why community farms are such a good idea: Alice Brown of Sutton Community Farm (Part 1)
Today I’m talking with Alice Brown of Sutton Community Farm. I’m interested in looking at how we produce food in the new economy. The current system is a disaster in terms of environment and wealth concentration.
Job opportunity: fancy delivering veg boxes for Sutton Community Farm?
Here’s a delivery job with a difference, on offer from Sutton Community Farm in south London. It’s over to them to tell us more.
September forage of the month with Ruby Taylor
Ruby Taylor of Native Hands shares her forage of the month for September, with stress-busting nettle seeds the star of the show as autumn approaches.
Low-impact & the city 14: getting back on a bike after ten years
I’ve never been without a bike until recently. As far back into my childhood as I can remember, I always had one. A bike was always part of my life, part of me.
Turn your grapes into wine with help from OrganicLea
It’s that time of year again when the fab folks at OrganicLea invite grape-growing Londoners to join their community wine-making scheme. It’s over to Craig to tell us more, with a useful guide to harvesting grapes to boot.
Getting started with fishing for food: Part 3 – Lobster pots
Ever fancied fishing for your supper but don’t know where to begin? In Part 3 of her Fishing for Food series, Jessie Watson Brown explores fishing with lobster pots. Possibly a more efficient approach to fishing – once you have put the pot in, it does the fishing for you, leaving you free for a …
New planning developments might allow a lot more people to build their own home
There have been some developments in the planning system that might allow a lot more people to build their own home. First, here’s some background.
Low-impact & the city 13: How to get lots of fruit from a small garden with no work
I’m too busy to have a vegetable garden. I don’t have the mental energy to think about when it’s time to buy seeds, to plant them, water them, prick them out into pots, dig the garden, plant them, and then continue to water them, weed them and harvest them.
Get the Good Food March 2019 in the diary – pots and pans at the ready!
The Landworkers’ Alliance will be joining a host of partners to put farming, food and climate justice centre stage this October. Here’s how you can join them on the Good Food March 2019 in London.
The difference between the co-operative movement in the UK and the US: Cath Muller of Radical Routes
This is the second part of an interview with Cath Muller of Radical Routes (here’s the first part). Cath hitch-hiked across the Atlantic on a sailing boat, to visit co-operatives in the States. I talked with her about the differences between co-ops over there and in the UK.
Exciting job opportunity: Project Officer with Big Solar Co-op at Sharenergy
Are you fired up to find practical solutions to the climate crisis? If so, this job opportunity as a Project Officer with Big Solar Co-op could be right up your street. Over to Jon Hallé at Sharenergy to tell us more.
Scribing wood to stone: how to scribe a wood post to a stone foundation
Ziggy of The Year of Mud shares a how-to guide for scribing wood to stone, with a project fitting a wooden timber frame on to a stone foundation.
The elephant in the room is capitalism. Maybe.
Chris Smaje of Vallis Veg and Small Farm Future shares his thoughts as to why the elephant in the room is capitalism. Maybe. It’s over to Chris from here…
Top tips for tiny home living in a small timber building
Are you keen to downsize and downshift? Chris from Loosehanger Oak shares his top tips for tiny home living in a small timber building.
Networking small businesses and co-ops to replace corporations: Micky Metts on the new economy
This is part 2 of a conversation with Micky Metts of Agaric – a co-op in Boston, Massachusetts that provides online tools for other co-ops. Part 1 is here. I told Micky about some of the meetings and discussions we’ve been having in the UK with people working to build ‘new economy’ infrastructure, like community …
Shou sugi ban: preserving wood using fire with Ziggy of The Year of Mud
Ziggy Liloia of The Year of Mud in Kentucky, USA, shares his how-to guide for shou sugi ban, preserving wood using fire as practised in traditional Japanese timber building. It’s a thing of beauty!