Info, news & debate
Year: 2018
A beginner’s guide to lambing: from tupping to lookering
Adapted from an original post over at Indie Farmer, founder and editor-in-chief Nigel Akehurst shares his beginner’s guide to lambing as smallholders and sheep farmers prepare for one of their busiest times of the year.
Interview with Matthew Slater: what’s mutual credit, how can it boost the Solidarity Economy, and what can we do to help? (plus webinar)
See yesterday’s blog post for an introduction to this article. This is an interview with Matthew Slater, who co-authored the Money & Society MOOC, a free masters level multidisciplinary online course. He co-drafted the Credit Commons white paper, a proposal for a global solidarity economy money system
The next great transition will be to the Solidarity Economy with a mutual credit exchange system
I’ve been working in the environmental field for over 20 years, and I believe, like the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, that we’re headed for ‘biological annihilation’, and like the good folk at the Dark Mountain Project, that a crash is coming that we may or may not recover from
Fancy volunteering for the summer at an off-grid, Ecological Land Coop smallholding?
Hi – we are James and Sukamala, tenants at Wild Geese Acres, Greenham Reach, which is an off-grid, low-impact farming project established in north Devon by the Ecological Land Coop (ELC) – see website. http://ecologicalland.coop.
The Human Power Plant experiment: how many hours of power generation a day?
In this latest update on the Human Power Plant experiment, we learn just what a daily power generation schedule might involve when it comes to 750 students of Utrecht University literally producing their very own electricity.
How you can gain natural building skills for your own build for free, and help put up affordable, natural, community buildings
Some great ideas from Adrian at Wholewoods. Below are several ways that you can get your hands dirty and gain natural building skills for free, whilst helping to erect beautiful, affordable, natural buildings for schools, charities or educational organisations.
Jo’s Mini Meadow Part 1: how I transformed my lawn into a beautiful mini meadow
In a new series of guest blogs, former PA turned wildlife photographer Jo Cartmell of NearbyWild shares her journey transforming her garden into a haven for nature. It all began with the introduction of a mini meadow… over to Jo from here!
Do you know anyone who might want to donate some land for a sustainable, affordable smallholding legacy?
The Ecological Land Cooperative has launched a campaign to ask landowners for donations of small parcels of land to create clusters of affordable smallholdings for new entrants to ecological agriculture.
Proposal for a ‘one planet’ food revolution
This is the third in a series of articles about ‘one planet’ living – the first in rural areas, and the second in cities. Now we discuss the situation as regards food production.
On a small scale, why is it illegal to give food waste to chickens and other animals?
Imagine you have a factory producing sandwiches for supermarkets and petrol stations etc. Maybe you’re producing 100,000 packs a day or even more. Now imagine the worst thing that could happen. Perhaps someone comes in to work with food poisoning and contaminates the product and 100,000 people come down with food poisoning.
The Food Assembly: connecting you to local farmers and food makers
Sophie Paterson explores how a movement founded in France is connecting communities to local farmers and food makers across Britain: enter The Food Assembly. But does it really offer the best deal to producers, hosts and customers alike?
Democrats, Donald Trump and the dark underbelly of economic growth
Where is real ‘opposition’ in the West when all major parties support cancerous, perpetual growth? Surely it’s time for major political figures to stand up and say that the quest for perpetual economic growth is the engine behind the destruction of the biosphere, and will eventually kill us unless we stop.
The Wool Journey Part 7: uses of different fibre types
Continuing The Wool Journey, Sue Blacker of The Natural Fibre Company explains the uses of different fibre types. It is said that everything of a pig can be used but the squeak and the same is true of fleeces!
Webinar: a non-techie’s adventures with cryptocurrencies – a step-by-step guide to setting up a wallet and trading in Litecoin
This is the first of a series of webinars on specific aspects of the money system and various alternatives to it.
We’re running a series of webinars on how we might change the money system – starting with cryptocurrencies
We’re determined to spread the word that any attempts to move towards a more sustainable and democratic world are doomed to failure if they don’t address the money system.
Why much criticism of the Fair Trade movement is invalid – designed to disguise corporate exploitation of small farmers
The Fair Trade movement was set up to secure better prices for struggling small farmers and craft producers in poor countries, and to provide funds for various improvements in their communities. It has, however, come in for some criticism for various reasons.
How I built a Raspberry Pi Space Invaders arcade machine with my kids
This describes how my kids and I built an arcade machine, based on a Raspberry Pi. So, the first question many of you will be asking is….
![By Christopher DOMBRES (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons](https://www.lowimpact.org/wp-content/uploads/Shopper-e1516826078489.jpg)
Buying green: is ethical consumerism a perfect distraction?
Eco-consumption, ethical consumerism, sustainable shopping. Call it what we may, “buying green” has grown into something of a hot topic in the last decade. But is it the sustainable solution some claim it to be or is it in fact the perfect distraction? Lowimpact.org’s Sophie Paterson explores.
Joy in enough: awakening to a new economics
On 18th November last year there was a one-day workshop in Sheffield called “Joy in Enough – Awakening to a New Economics”. It was delivered by Green Christian who are a multi-denominational charity that have been operating for over thirty years.
Meet madder, woad & weld: traditional dye plants of Europe
In this post, textile artist Teresinha Roberts of Wild Colours tells us all about the top three European dye plants for use in natural dyeing: madder, woad and weld.