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Recent Posts
Career change: how I left software development to become a natural builder
When I was young I wanted to do a lot of different things, but the core ambition was always to do something that would help our environment, not make it worse.
Class War vs Cereal Killer: is this the way to promote anarchism?
You must know by now about Class War‘s ‘attack’ on hipster cereal cafe ‘Cereal Killer‘. It wasn’t much of an attack, to be honest – no-one was hurt and they were open again the next day. But were they right to target Cereal Killer in their anger about the gentrification of Shoreditch?
‘Restart’ parties: prolong the life of your electrical goods and pick up some useful skills in the process
On Saturday I dropped into a ‘Restart’ party near to where I live in Tooting. If you don’t know what a Restart party is – they’re a group of techies who raise funds to be able to hold events in various locations where the public can turn up with broken electrical goods and be trained …
If Corbyn became PM, what would he really be able to achieve in this system?
First, to reiterate something that has been pointed out on this site many times – the corporate empire is global and governments are national, and that fact alone means that national governments are in no position to challenge the corporate sector.
How do you fancy building your own small wind turbine?
The UK has one of the world’s best wind resources, and exploiting it with small wind turbines is something that, in the right context, can be a very efficient source of power. Wind turbines, however, come with a fairly long list of handicaps when comparing them to other renewable technologies such as solar.
Wanted: new members for a co-operative farm – you are invited to an exploratory weekend
You are invited to Ffynnon Teilo Farm Activity Weekend, to explore creating a co-operative farm – Saturday 26th & Sunday 27th of September. Activities will include: pond clearing, footpath and step renovation, fire making, campsite cooking and farm tour. Camping space available Saturday night.
EU Trade Commission suggests removal of corporations’ right to sue governments from TTIP negotiations; US very unhappy
The biggest objection from the European public to the proposed TTIP trade deal (see here if you don’t know about it) is that multinational corporations will be able to sue elected governments (national or local) if it can be shown that legislation reduces corporate profits in any way.
This is what ‘transparency’ means when it comes to TTIP
Hilarious infographic by SumOfUs on what ‘transparency’ means in TTIP negotiations. But of course it isn’t funny at all. We’d like to see an economy of small businesses
Get inspired to grow your own food: visit gardens producing food in cities
Edible Gardens Open Day is an annual event for Londoners to explore secret gardens, embark on an edible walking tour, or venture further afield to discover people growing in novel places. It’s now happening in other cities too.
Want to experience what life is like in an intentional community?
I joined Redfield Community in Buckinghamshire in 1996 and lived there for 13 years. It’s a Victorian mansion in 18 acres of woodland, fields, gardens and orchards – a registered housing co-op with around 15 adults and 8 kids on average, although people come and go.
Conversation with the ‘Moneyless Man’: our problems are way beyond policy changes – we need a new system
Mark Boyle, the ‘Moneyless Man‘ came to visit last Wednesday. It was the first time we’d met, although we’ve exchanged emails for years. As I suspected I would, I found him to be an inspirational character.
Seed saving: a great idea, and now’s the time to start thinking about it
One of the pleasures of autumn is gathering seeds. It’s a hopeful optimistic act that conjures up thoughts of the next spring, and by and large it’s pretty simple act.
Economists: listen to this man and if you are intellectually honest you will begin to question the basic assumptions of your discipline
This guy is a genius. His name is Miklos Antal – I’d never heard of him before, but his every word cuts through the nonsense that lies at the heart of classical economic theory.
Why does our list of topics include vegetarianism, veganism AND keeping animals?
Isn’t that a bit inconsistent? If we think that vegetarianism or veganism is a good idea, how can we also think that keeping animals – most of which are kept for meat – is a good idea too?
How to preserve pork on a smallholding
In 2014 we had pigs for the first time. Up until then we had only had chickens. We don’t have a freezer in the woods and where you can eat a chicken before it goes off at fridge temperatures, a pig requires preserving.
10 reasons you should care about TTIP, and what you can do about it
TTIP (the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership) is a trade deal between the US and the EU, being carried out right now, in secret, ostensibly to co-ordinate and standardise legislation and to provide clarity, stability and confidence for companies that would like to invest in other countries, and to stimulate growth.
Low-impact & the city 3: our solar pv system is one year old – how’s it performed?
We had solar panels installed on our flat roof on a London terraced home one year ago. The panels are attached to plastic tubs filled with ballast. During the daytime, we use the electricity as it’s generated, so we make sure we use the washing machine / charge phones / anything else we can think of …
Autumn foraging season soon – here’s some inspiration
Arriving at the beautiful setting of WOWO, I immediately knew I’d done the right thing ignoring cold-weather challenges to get myself to this workshop. Given the warmest of welcomes, we were invited to form a circle and take a moment to think about what plant we felt like in that moment. We were to bear …
Flow Hive honey tap set to revolutionise beekeeping worldwide…. what’s wrong with that?
Stu Anderson lives at the end of a steep and stony track not far from Byron Bay in Northern New South Wales. His beautiful, hand-made home stands amongst others, surrounded by lush rainforest. Stu is one half of the father son team behind the Flow™Hive.
What were your ‘light bulb moments’ in understanding the way the world works? Here are mine
Here’s a rash statement, but I believe it to be true. Most people these days know, either rationally or intuitively, that humanity is heading in the wrong direction. If you ask people whether we’ve seen the back of ecological calamaties, financial collapses, corruption, poverty or war