Building your own home, with a little help from your friends

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Wild Goose Community in Bristol is a community of self build homes. I visited Ecomotive’s open day to see the unusual and heartwarming community and to hear the story of how it came about.

The forty dwellings were built by their owners as a group using a Community Land Trust model which has aspects of shared ownership. Self build homes are classified as ‘custom build’. Not all planning authorities are familiar or comfortable with custom build but there are many organisations who can offer you support and help if you decide you would like to build your own home. A good first step would be to check out the National Self Build Association.

The community that surrounds the Wild Goose Space became aware that a developer entered a planning permission for a standard housing development and decided to mobilise to object. Not only were they able to get the developers planning permission refused, but they submitted their own proposal for a mixed development with custom build and community focused buildings, to welcome new people into the area. The majority of people who then got involved were first time buyers, some designed their own homes, some used architects and they all consented to each other’s designs which facilitated getting planning approval. Large tasks like pouring concrete were done together whilst other aspects of building were shared with friends and family. The site was covered in an existing concrete pad and rather than dig this up they built foundations and laid services on top. As you might expect, a quality of life survey for the area found that residents had more local friends, less fear of crime and more general joy in their area and community.

When listing what it takes to make a project like this happen the factors were: ownership, range of skills and experiences, range of funding methods, teamwork, mix of voluntary and paid work, lots of meetings, good legal support, self belief and a lot of persistence.

Planning law is in the process of changing so many people will shortly find that building their own home has become easier. If you are interested in finding land to build upon and financing, below are some more resources to help you.

A house is made of bricks and stone, but only love can make a home.

selfbuildland.co.uk

communitybuild.org.uk

uklanddirectory.co.uk

ecologicalland.coop

buildstoreplots.com

nandp.co.uk

ecology.co.uk

 

The writing’s on the wall

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Ugly, intrusive, negative messages in our public spaces. Commercial billboards in our towns affect us on a daily basis but we have little control over the images and messages we are exposed to. Graffiti also comes in to our public spaces, creating a variety of reactions.

Some graffiti is simple ‘tagging’ where the writer marks an area or is leaving a message for a specific audience or gang. Other graffiti may include more complex artwork or wider political messaging. Bristol is the home of Banksy, the now world known graffiti artist who’s art challenges ideas and questions the dominant culture. Around Bristol I saw different types of graffiti, some direct messages, some abstract, some subtle, some blunt.

A lot of graffiti contains sharp shapes, over sexualised or violent images. The vast majority of graffiti is done by men and perhaps for men? It can leave me feeling that the images have as little relevance to me as the billboards do, other than my empathy for their anger. Some graffiti artists like Banksy go further though, cutting through the noise of images with a counter message that makes you stop.   

When a message does reach me it’s like the shock of seeing a smiling friendly face amongst a sea of angry strangers. Walking over a road footbridge someone has sprayed “Live Free” on the ground. Outside an anarchist community social center I found this:

Near the St. Werbergs City Farm were these images of bees:

There are definately a lot of things to be said and a lot of other voices to be heard, other than those who can pay for a billboard.

A city of food

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Bristol feels like a fantastic hub of activity towards positive cultural change but one of the most noticeable aspects is the food production. Next year will see Bristol become the European Green Capital, the first UK city to receive this award! This reflects the large amount of work and many vibrant projects that are going on in Bristol. There would not be space here to tell you even a fraction of what they are up to, but I would like to do is share some of the wonderful local food production I have discovered during the time here.

Walking through Bristol I’ve been struck by the number of allotments, they are big and also well used. The city also boasts city farms and the Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens which supports groups all over the country. If you have a community garden or city farm, or are interested in establishing one, they can provide support and advice. St. Werbergs City Farm was a wonderful place to visit with animals, growing areas, a cafe and playground.

I loved the beautiful cafe in a Gaudi style, and met some wonderful people there!

Becky volunteers at the farm and shared how she came to get involved.

Around St. Werbergs is a large area of allotments.

I also checked out part of Eastside Root Community Garden. The successful project has a limited lifespan as the railway station is being redeveloped so the group used the space in the intervening time.

 

To vote or not to vote, that is the question

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Many people I’ve met have conflicting views about how to vote or whether to vote at all. With the European and some council elections coming up on the 22nd of May and the general elections next year, it’s a passionate question. There is a website called Vote for Policies where you can compare the policies of parties without knowing which party is which, then select those that you agree with and at the end it tells you which party is the best fit.

Many people especially younger voters want a ‘no confidence’ vote for the entire political system. Russell Brand famously expressed what many young people are feeling when he called for people to not vote. If we do decide not to vote however, it is assumed to be apathy or consent. How could it be considered dissent? If you have decided not to vote, one option is to organise a protest outside your polling station to be ‘counted’ as dissenting voters.

Some other countries offer a ‘none of the above’ option in voting where if a significant proportion vote for this then nominations have to be reopened. In our current system however if we do decide not to vote, staying at home will definitely not have our voice heard. Those considering a non-vote are those most likely to vote for radical reform, so without them the remaining vote becomes more towards the status quo. So whether we vote our choice, or non-vote our choice I hope we will be active and vocal in showing our engagement, because anything else will be to consent to business as usual.

ACE cooperative in Glastonbury

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Sometimes you ask and you find, other times you just have to relax and let things happen. As rain started the aptly named George and Pilgrim pub sheltered me, where by chance I met the amazing Earl at the bar. He’s been a long time member of the Green Party and has started a local energy cooperative called Avalon Community Energy (ACE Ltd). When I heard that I laughed and said “Wonderful! I’ve been looking for you all day, do  you want to sit down?”

Despite a long term disability, Earl has been working with others in his community to bring about a renewable energy park. The plan which they are currently seeking funding for is to combine a number of energy generating aspects that support each other. An anaerobic digestor (converting biological waste into gas), a wind turbine, solar panels and aquaponics (cultivating fish). The beauty of the system is that the different aspects support each other. A modern battery that we are all familiar with is made of acids and toxic chemicals, but a battery is really anything that will store energy. The approach ACE want to take is to use the wind turbine to pump water into a raised reservoir to store the energy. The water an then be released through a turbine when energy is needed. The fish tanks generate nutrients from the fish poo which then flows to feed a hydroponics (growing plants in water) area. Solar panels will be on the roofs of the chicken sheds, who’s waste will feed the anaerobic digestor. It may all sound a little complicated, but then if you tried to describe a foodchain it might sound a little complicated too. In natural systems one ‘waste’ becomes something else’s food, and it is these principles that ACE is trying to emulate.

The group was fortunate to be able to seek out local expertise in finance, energy and organising. There is a lot of support available at the moment for community groups who want to set up an energy cooperative, so if you are interested in the idea find a local energy cooperative to advise you and check out the Center for Sustainable Energy.

A hemp for all people

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Sometimes I know where I’m going and who I’m meeting, other times I know where I am and who I want to find.

In Glastonbury I set about asking people in the town, who’s passionate about the environment in the town?  They directed me to Free, a man so passionate about the uses of hemp that he changed his name to Free Cannabis. Other than it’s more well known use for those with chronic pain, hemp is an exceptionally nutritious seed, a fabric, an insulation, a fuel, a building material and an ingested medicine. Free runs the hemp products shop in Glastonbury – Hemp in Avalon.

Why Transition with your community?

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Maddie Milns works with her local community in Wells to move away from using fossil fuels, in a group called Transition Wells. Maddie explains why she came to do this work.

There are lots of ways that you can work with your community but Maddie came to find that Transition was a really good option for her.

If you would like to see if there is a Transition group near you, or perhaps start one, visit Transition Network.

Pretty in Permaculture at Tapley

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Visiting the permaculture garden at Tapley Park is a beautiful experience not just because it looks great but because the layers of fruit trees, shrubs and other plants strengthen and add to each other so that they grow better together. The word permaculture come from permanent agriculture, a way of farming that works with the ecosystem rather than in conflict with it. By combining species and not using artificial fertilizers or pesticides, farmers are able to get food whilst building soil and increasing biodiversity. We’ll see a lot more of these ideas during the tour!

GMO no

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Visiting Tapley Park near Instow would be a treat anyway, but meeting Hector Christie is a delight. His enthusiasm for people, the environment, highland cattle, playing football and mischief can’t help but make you warm to him. For several years Hector’s battle has been against Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs).

Hector explains to me that the safety concerns regarding GMOs also extends to the system within which they are used. Often the reason for modifying the organism is to make it resistant to a pesticide so that stronger pesticides can be used to remove weeds. The best selling pesticide Roundup is made by agrochemical company Monsanto. The active ingredient glyphosate is safety tested, but the final product is not, yet other ingredients in the product called adjuvants break down the cell walls to enable the glyphosate to enter and kill it. This means that the final product behaves differently to what is safety tested. Following the public outcry in the UK about GMOs they were rejected by many food stores, but they have been quietly creeping into our food. There is no requirement to label them and most of us are unaware. Hector is organising a national demonstration against GMOs later this month on May 20th and demonstrations are taking place all over the country.

Then on May the 24th there will be an international day of demonstrations and marches against Monsanto to Get Monsanto Out.

 

As the human walks

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I am grateful that I am not a crow. However, it does constrain my route options. The fact is footpaths aren’t always going where you want to go, meaning often you do have to use the roads. Previously I would have been a fan of sustainable transport schemes which separate cyclists, pedestrians, motorists etc, and in some cities I still might be, but the bulk of the country can’t accommodate that policy. What happens when you retreat from the roads is that motorists don’t expect to see you there, so they drive faster. People who have no choice but to use the roads then have a more dangerous place.

I’m not suggesting that you go out and walk along your nearest busy A road alone (it’s not fun and rather scary) but if you look on your OS map you’ll find the roads are colour coded. Yellow seems to be quite narrow so cars go a lot slower, light orange might be a bit busy (a car every few minutes), dark orange will probably be stressful and a bit risky and red they’ll be gunning for you. So I would heartily recommend yellow coded roads, light orange too especially when you’re highly visible, to remind people in cars that other types of transport are used on roads.

Horses for courses

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A couple of days ago I was walking through the woods when I came accross a beautiful shire horse, all harnessed up. It turned out that he was being used to drag Sitka Spruce trees out from the wood to increase bidiversity and for use in a biomass boiler! The man conducting the operation was John Williams who was well aware of the value of maintaining traditional practices.

We’ll have more of a use for these horses as fossil fuels decline with peak oil.

You can see the horse in action here.

Then just yesterday I met Jonathan who runs a gorgeous B&B called Higher Bidicott Farm, where he farms with horses and has done all his life! He trains around three working horses a month for other people so that they can be used on other farms too.

A passion for transport

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By accident I stumbled accross E & TVR. These mysterious letters signify the Exeter and Teign Valley Railway. A railway that was dismantled not because it was unprofitable or because it was unused, but as part of a government policy which happened decades before I was born. Colin Burges has made it his lifes passion to campaign for a reinstatement of railways, especially those that are largely still intact. He sees a future where cars are off the road and people and goods are back on the rails.

The E&TVR visitors center is a whimsical and sometimes darkly funny look at his love of the railway and desire for a more environmentally conscious transport policy – the thing that caught my eye was a crushed car labelled “The only green car”! I spent the night in the beautiful minature railway car, Tadpole, which was lovingly made by Colin and normally sleeps children whilst adults often book the larger Toad. As well as the restored line, loading yard, and information hut there is also a small rail car that children can take rides in. Located next to a beautiful river, it’s a very peaceful spot.

If you are nearby I would heartily recommend learning from the displays and from the very knowledgeable Colin himself. I give you fair warning though, don’t expect an ‘easy ride’ if you arrive by car! 🙂

Educating to learn

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Acorns learning at Oakwood Denbury is an outdoor leaning center run by a family. Steph and I arrived to find an outdoor fire, a long table with food and friends celebrating with their children. I won’t tell you too much about the center but rather invite you to go and experience it. With food growing and an equal weight on emotional literacy as well as numeracy. Sharona one of the founders shared this with us:

We’re all on a journey as humans. I really felt alone but now there’s a feeling that we’re in this mass community.

The site certainly had a rocky journey getting going because of difficulties getting planning permission, despite the fantastic work they do. But they recieved nearly a hundred letters of support including from Satish Kumar and Schumacher College. Steve tells me:

We’re still putting our head above the parapet just by being here. People have been frightened by it.

Looking at the beautiful wooden teaching huts, the growing plants and the circle of wooden stools the madness of such fear is apparent.

Embercombe is located near High Ashton and is more about your inner transformation than the practical skills you will learn, although there are sustainable skills to explore. The large site runs a wide range of programs for different groups and ages and through their volunteer program people come to live on the site for several months and change their lives. I spoke with the founder Mac about those who come to Embercombe. More information will be in the final documentary after the tour. The key emphasis has been on the inner changes to enable people to act, which in these times has now become so important.

Speaking with some of the volunteers it’s clear that their time here has been amazing ,challenging and life changing.

It’s really good at opening your eyes to what you do and who you are.

A place where you can really BE, with genuine people who reflect you back.

 

Surprises in our hedgerows

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Since arriving in Devon I’ve been delighted by the variety of species. Because England has lost 97% of it’s wildflower habitat since 1940 in many places verges and hedgerows are often the last refuge for plants and the species that feed on them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcbxPlFtuaw

During the walk from Totnes to Denbury we looked at how the hedgerows have changed. Laying a hedge (cutting the side and bending it down) is now a rare event, with most hedges maintained by cutting the sides and tops. In this short video, Matthew explains the curious sight of bent hedges.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zm9ONN_t1tI

If you are looking for a snack, you may find primrose flowers which I was surprised to learn taste rather like rose turkish delight. Moreish. Or if you are looking for something to boost the flavour in your cooking, try wild garlic which is out in force at the moment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOZOlaJtQ34

 

 

Natural beekeeping

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Phil Chandler AKA The Barefoot Beekeeper, is obsessed with bees. And with good reason, these amazing ceatures are the foundation of our foodchain, with our foods having been selected over millenia by the actions of bees.  What is Natural Beekeeping I asked him and why is it different from the more commercialised style?

In Natural Beekeeping the emphasis is on a respect for the bees and not interferring anymore than is necessary. Rather than taking all the honey and replacing it with a sugar solution, the beekeeper takes only the excess honey that is available and avoids disturbing the hive. Because bees create honey as a food for their babies it contains all the things that they need, so they are stronger if they are able to eat it. The hives are carefully contructed by bees to minimise the risk of airborne diseases, so avoiding opening the hice helps to allow the bees to control the environment inside.  You can learn more about natural beekeeping and visit the discussion forum at www.biobee.com.

If you are also interested in supporting the protection of bees, Phil is a founder of Friends of the Bees.

Introducing Totnes

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The first days in Totnes have been incredible, pictures and videos will be up soon but here’s a taster of this amazing town.

These days Totnes is usually best know as the home of Transition – a process for moving your community towards a positive future away from fossil fuels. Transition Network now includes groups around the world and their website is a fantastic resource of “how to”s and inspiration.

Oddly the first thing I noticed on the way to Steph Bradley’s beautiful cottage are that the verges in the areas around Totnes have a wider range of plant species than I’m used to – Devon council has taken the enlightened step of not cutting them and leaving them for the bees and other life.

The town itself is a beautiful tourist location with a castle, dozens of independent traders, gurgling river, rare breeds farm and steam train. I like to do a ‘smile test’ in places and see how many people smile back and how long it takes them. Totnes is a big 9\10 on my totally random measure – most are already smiling at you!

Rob Burbea resident Buddist meditation teacher at Gaia House shared some of his thoughts on meditation and climate change as well as introducing us to DANCE (Dharma Action Network for Climate Engagement). It is wonderful for me when I see a spiritual respect for our existence being translated into how we live in the world. More on this wonderful aspect will be in the documentary of the Buzz Tour.

The people and organisations of Totnes have engaged with positive change to such an extent that despite the towns small size there are several environmental event going on every day! The South Devon Green Living magazine Reconnect is an astonishing collection of news and views, many of the achievements right here in Totnes.

One event we were able to attend was the Community Conversation organised by Schumacher College. With key words like ‘Exploration’, ‘Transformation’ and ‘Subversive thinking’ groups made a collage on the theme, discussing the issues it raised.  Schumacher College offers courses on sustainable living by using active participatory learning – doing rather than listening. Their courses focus on three systemic areas of our society – economics, design and food. If you are thinking you need some learning to help you move forward, their courses would be a great choice.

The Community Conversation draws allies together and one of the interesting people I met was Josh from Network of Wellbeing where they support putting wellbeing into practice.

 

What can you expect from The Buzz Tour?

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What can you expect from the next four months? A lot of inspiration, some mishaps and some great times. 🙂 As we walk we will be updating the blog with information when we get to internet connections. We’ll be taking short video clips to post as we go. We’ll be introducing concepts and linking to sites where you can find out more. We’ll also be taking higher quality video footage for a documentary which will be released after the tour has finished. Sometimes there may be reflective podcasts for you to put your feet up and listen to, at other times a gallery of photos of places you may never have seen. And throughout there will be amazing people, doing what they can for the future of our culture and our planet. So friends if you can’t be with us on the walk, we invite you to be with us here, to learn and to discover as we do, and to change the culture, not the climate.