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Recent Posts
Suggested campaign to remove unnecessary regulations from independent businesses
Three things have happened to me recently that have made me realise that local, independent and/or community-owned businesses have been put at a huge disadvantage as regards regulations that cover their activities, and the independent sector is being unnecessarily penalised for the damaging activities of the corporate sector.
More details of the ujamaa collective village system in Tanzania (from first-hand experience)
This is an account of my visit to two ujamaa villages in Tanzania in the early 1990s, plus a lot more background information on the system itself. The ujamaa system has since been dismantled after pressure from the World Bank, but at its height, 20 million people out of a total population of 24 million …
10 reasons we need a non-corporate system as well as a sustainable one (and there are many more)
Like all environmental / social change organisations, we’d like humans to live in a sustainable system. But unlike many other organisations, we clearly state that we’d like that system to be non-corporate. What do we mean?
No roof space? Build a solar pergola; you can visit this home to see how they did it
Visit the Home with the Solar Pergola. Ever since completing an A-level Physics project in upper school Neil Kennedy dreamed of creating an eco-home. In 2008 major renovations began on the Tring property that he and his wife and three children call home.
10 reasons our yurt holiday on a farm in Wales was the best ever
We got back from a holiday in a yurt at Old Chapel Farm in Powys last night. We were bowled over, and this article is a little advert for yurt holidays on farms and smallholdings in the UK, although several of the points below are specific to Old Chapel.
What’s it like owning a Brompton folding bicycle?
So what’s it like to own a Brompton? I had forgotten how great it was to own a Brompton, actually. I am so used to mine, which I have had for 13 years, that if feels like a part of me and I guess I took it for granted – until it was in being repaired
Some countries don’t get vegetarianism: how to cope as a veggie abroad
If you’re looking to make the change to a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle, there is no shortage of helpful advice out there to guide you as you take those difficult first steps: ‘take things slowly; make it easy on yourself; set realistic goals; provide the right environment for success, etc. etc.’
How you can help cottage industries provide solar in African villages (not for cheap electricity – just for electricity)
We had a solar electric system installed on our house in London last year by Norman Phipps of Assured Solar. We’ve had the system for a year now, and its output was almost exactly what Norman predicted, which means we’re headed for a 9-year payback time.
How to get planning permission for an off-grid, self-build home
Anna and Pete Grugeon of the Bulworthy Project share their experiences and advice for anyone seeking to gain planning permission for an off-grid, self-build home.
Low-impact & the city 2: what are urban gardens for?
I Iive with my partner in a terraced house in London, and we have a garden. So we have to work out what we want the garden for. Do we want to use it to impress people, to give it a ‘make-over’, to make it orderly and tidy, or to produce food? We’ve decided that …
How to answer the question: ‘if you don’t like this system, what do you want to replace it with?’ – aka a review of The Democracy Project by David Graeber
Graeber was a leading light in the Occupy Wall Street movement, and the book begins with a fascinating insider’s view of the goings-on in and around Zucotti Park in 2011. The most important point in the book for me though was the reminder that people always want a blueprint for a new society
Holidays without flying: how to cycle around Scotland on a folding bike
Obviously this isn’t a ‘no-fly’ holiday if you live on the other side of the world to Scotland, but I’m sure you have somewhere beautiful closer to home for a holiday that doesn’t involve an environmentally-damaging flight.
Five myths about economic growth
We were sent this by CASSE – the Centre for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy. Love it – there are so few organisations pointing out the insanity of the quest for perpetual growth (image: http://www.polyp.org.uk).
If you’re not exactly ‘time-rich’, here’s how you can change society with your money as well as your actions
Since Lowimpact began as LILI in 2001, we’ve offered a constantly increasing bank of information, courses, products, services, books, magazines, links, videos and advice for people wanting to change their lives – to live in a more sustainable and less corporate way.
Permaculture Conference & Convergence: 10% discount for Lowimpact visitors
The International Permaculture Convergence, London 2015, will bring together leading experts and practitioners from around the world. We have everything we need to create a sustainable world and future.
Cargo bikes collecting local food waste for anaerobic digestion and biogas
Closing the food-waste-energy loop – a celebration of sustainability. Enjoy a free community event in a beautiful wildlife park learning about closed-loop recycling, urban agriculture, sustainable cities, decentralised waste management, renewable gas and how YOU can make a difference.
Why land, on which to build a home and grow food, is our ultimate security
There’s a general feeling – and a growing one I think – that we’re headed for disaster, and that no-one is in control or able to steer us away from the precipice. Here are four categories of reasons that people give for pessimism about the near future:
Greece v the Empire; how to understand what’s being done to the Greeks
I’ve been thinking about how to write articles about the fact that we live in a corporate empire – trying to work out a way to present the idea, thinking that it would sound rather silly or extreme to many ears. Then a former World Bank economist (Peter Koenig) says:
Thoughts about the Breaking the Frame gathering and an idea for a potential spin-off
I’ve just returned from the Breaking the Frame gathering – a long weekend at Unstone Grange in Derbyshire. My head is still spinning from the workshops, talks and panels featuring specialists on technology around GM, the military, nuclear power, surveillance, synthetic biology, health, energy, toxics annd climate, plus TTIP, emerging and alternative technologies.
How I built a rocket mass heater in our timber-frame classroom
When I built our timber framed classroom last year, one of the concerns was how best to heat it. We are entirely reliant on woodfuel here, and a regular woodburner was going to make a big dent in our precious wood pile.