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    Why cement should never be used with natural buildings

    Barbara Jones of Straw Works | 10-Feb-2016 | 19

    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

    Custard creams and the ‘network of global corporate control’

    Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 08-Feb-2016 | 19

    I bought a packet of custard creams the other day, and saw that they were made by a company called Crawfords. I wondered who Crawfords were and who ultimately owns custard creams. I have a general feeling that a small cartel of giant corporations owns more-or-less everything branded 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

    Where does money come from? A bit of history

    Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 05-Feb-2016 | 7

    Here’s a story. Only a minority understand this story (although I think that minority is growing), which is surprising because it has enormous importance for the way the world works.  Read more

    Win a copy of our partner Sally Morgan’s great new book, ‘Living on One Acre or Less’

    Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 04-Feb-2016 | 1

    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

    NHS Chief Executive was a founder member of an organisation lobbying for health to be included in TTIP

    Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 03-Feb-2016 | 0

    Just allow a few seconds for that to sink in. Simon Stevens was Vice President of UnitedHealth Group, the largest health insurer in the US. He was in charge of global expansion of their business. Now he’s Chief Executive of the NHS. Read more

    The discipline of economics presupposes corporate capitalism and perpetual growth, which renders it invalid

    Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 01-Feb-2016 | 2

    Economics is not an unbiased academic discipline, it’s an ideology. Furthermore, economics is based on the false premise that perpetual growth is achievable. It is not, and the reason most people can’t see this is Read more

    One planet people – one-month internships available at Lammas Ecovillage

    As a new generation of aspiring land stewards, we wish to minimise dependence on fossil fuels whilst learning to meet our basic needs of food, shelter, energy and livelihood, from the land.  This has been entirely possible for millennia. However, in a 21st century Read more

    Nationalising assets does not mean that ‘we’ then own them. Let’s hold things ‘in common’ instead

    Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 29-Jan-2016 | 1

    Nationalising something doesn’t then mean that it’s owned by ‘the people’ – i.e. by us. That would only be true if states weren’t controlled by the corporate sector. Read more

    New, cheap tap fitting that does seem to save water without causing flow problems

    Nigel Bamford of Waterblade | 28-Jan-2016 | 0

    I was sent a ‘Waterblade’ by Nigel – it fitted onto our bathroom tap easily, and the reason it causes no problems is that it spreads the water out into a thin sheet that actually makes it easier to wash your hands, for example, rather than more difficult. Read more

    Off-grid living: how big does your renewable energy generation system need to be?

    Andy Reynolds of the Ecolodge | 26-Jan-2016 | 0

    Our friend Andy is determined to be self-sufficient in energy should there be a collapse of the National Grid (and / or societal collapse), and has maintained a wind and solar electrical system with a bank of second-hand forklift batteries for 25 years. Read more

    Review of ‘Drinking Molotov Cocktails with Gandhi’ by Mark Boyle – part 2: the role of violence

    Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 25-Jan-2016 | 36

    This is the second article generated from Mark Boyle’s book Drinking Molotov Cocktails with Gandhi. The first was about the ineffectiveness of reformism when faced with corporate capitalism – ‘The Machine’ as he calls it. Read more

    Introducing the ‘How to do it’ conference on how to change the system from grassroots, London, April 9-10

    Roger Hallam of How to Do It | 23-Jan-2016 | 11

    There are many ideas out there on how to change the world – but very few include a strategy for implementing those ideas. Implementation is key. I had a conversation the other day with Roger Hallam, who used to be involved with Radical Routes, has lived in various communities and now Read more

    How you can support low-impact community ‘Landmatters’ with their planning application

    Simeon of Landmatters | 22-Jan-2016 | 0

    Landmatters co-op is a low impact community in Devon. We’re seeking letters of support for a new round of planning application. Letters of support are invaluable commendations and hugely boosting for a project’s prospects – and morale.  Read more

    Latest news on proposed community / housing co-op / eco-centre in the Midlands

    Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 20-Jan-2016 | 27

    A week ago, we posted about a large, 50-room Victorian mansion with lodge house, stable block, the largest walled garden we’ve ever seen, and 21 acres of woodland that was up for sale on the Worcestershire / Shropshire border. Read more

    ‘Business Against TTIP’ launched yesterday; we could actually win this

    Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 19-Jan-2016 | 1

    I’m beginning to think that we could actually win this struggle against TTIP – the latest in the corporate strategy to undermine democracy. Yesterday, ‘Business Against TTIP’ launched – no corporations involved, obviously, but Read more

    US bans pipeline, TransCanada sues US taxpayers for $15 billion. How TTIP will transfer wealth from taxpayers to corporations

    Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 18-Jan-2016 | 1

    Investor-state dispute settlements (ISDS) have been around for over fifty years. Originally meant to protect investors from losses due to government actions – what may have seemed a good idea at the time has spiralled out of control Read more

    Would you like to be involved in the setting up of a new community and eco-centre in the English Midlands?

    Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 13-Jan-2016 | 71

    Not far from Worcester is a stunning Grade II mansion house, 50+ rooms, stable blocks, 2-bed detatched gatehouse, 21 acres of woodland plus huge walled garden. Lowimpact.org, plus other like-minded organisations, would like to secure it as an intentional community Read more

    How to hitchhike

    How to hitchhike / A guide to hitchhiking for beginners (anybody) / The rules of hitching. Call it what you will, this post is intended to provide useful advice for anybody who wants it. Read more

    Why the Real Farming Conference gave me grounds for optimism

    Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 09-Jan-2016 | 4

    Sometimes, when I’m sitting in front of my laptop screen, I forget how many great people there are out there doing wonderful things, and it’s easy to believe that we’re never going to get rid of this damaging system, and that it will eventually damage ecology so much Read more

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