Info, news & debate
Year: 2018
My reflections on the Oxford Real Farming Conference 2018
I’ve heard several people say they love going to the Oxford Real Farming Conference because it fires them up for the farming year, and I couldn’t agree more. ORFC is so inspiring to people like us because it was set up by a group frustrated at the lack of representation for organic and small-scale producers …
How you can help the Landworkers’ Alliance get more farmers and better food in the UK
All over Europe, for a long time there has been a trend towards larger, monoculture farms and industrial agriculture. Smaller farms have been swallowed up and farmers have been leaving the land in their millions.
The Wool Journey Part 6: grading, sorting and storing of fleeces following shearing
In the sixth installment of The Wool Journey by Sue Blacker of The Natural Fibre Company and Blacker Yarns, she outlines the crucial steps of grading, sorting and storing of fleeces following shearing.
Debate: how sustainable can an eco-hotel and permaculture community be if it’s for Brits in Portugal?
We were approached by Peter to ask if we would help promote a proposed eco-holiday complex and permaculture settlement in Portugal. I replied that I didn’t think we could, as I have strong reservations about this kind of eco-hotel development, and explained why. Peter came back with some counter-arguments, and I asked him whether he’d …
How to get 500 hot showers from your compost heap!
I guess most people wonder what showers and compost have to do with each other, being showered with compost is probably not anyone’s idea of being cleaned. However there is a perfectly valid connection and it’s one we have been exploiting now for four years and to good effect.
How to identify trees in winter
It’s one thing to identify deciduous trees in summer, with their distinctive leaves on full show, but what about winter? Without leaves, we have to look at other telltale signs. After a bit of practice, it can be easier than you think. Have a go, using these helpful methods, which will make it easier to …
Urban one-planet development: how can cities reduce their ecological footprint?
The last post in this series looked at the vital role of ecological footprinting in ensuring that our individual actions are truly sustainable – i.e. within the limits of what the Earth’s resources can provide. This is called ‘one planet’ development.
How we got olive oil from a small farm in Portugal brought over in a sailboat by a co-operative based in Brighton – and how you can do the same
I recently interviewed Dhara Thompson of the Sailboat Project for our new sailboats topic introduction. He told me that they are one of many new organisations that are working to bring back sailboats for cargo and passenger transport – using the power of the wind to move people and goods around the planet.
Earth.Food.Love: the story of the UK’s first zero-waste shop
Nicola and Richard Eckersley, founders of Earth.Food.Love, share their journey to pioneering the UK’s first zero-waste shop in Totnes, Devon.
The potential power of sharing: from Share Shops to Streetbank
In this post Sophie Paterson of Lowimpact.org explores the power of sharing in a growing movement including The Library of Things, Streetbank, Share Shops and more.