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Land
Not so nasty nettle – an honourable compendium for an overlooked plant!
Recipes for the humble nettle. Read how to pick, choose and cook with this overlooked plant.
Designing your garden for extreme heat
Many perennials, shrubs and trees – particularly newly planted – are going to struggle in the kind of conditions we’re faced with as I write – record high temperatures after months of low rainfall. What can we do to help them?
Consider gifting land to the Ecological Land Coop to support agroecological farming
At Low impact we love to hear about our companion organizations’ successes, this reblog from the ecological land coop describes why we are celebrating. The ecological land coop have been inspired to try a new approach in their campaign to reawaken our rural economies after they were gifted land by two very noble ecologically minded farmers in Wales…
Reflections on building the ‘Commons’ economy
Lowimpact has been around since 2001, and we’ve provided lots of ways to help people live more sustainably. We’re going to also be focusing on how to build the ‘commons’ economy in future, as a viable alternative to the status quo.
Review of ‘Going to Seed’, new book by Simon Fairlie
This is a review of Simon Fairlie’s new book, Going to Seed, out on Feb 10th – his ‘counterculture memoir’ – although at times I’ll unapologetically veer into (hopefully relevant) political rambling.
Please help the Ecological Land Co-op with their latest OPD application
The Ecological Land Cooperative would like to ask you for some support. As you may be aware, in 2020 we submitted a One Planet Development application to create 2 new small farms on our site at Furzehill on Gower. Due to one of the potential farmers having to pull out we have withdrawn that initial application and have just resubmitted an OPD application for 1 farm with the other original farmers.
Hedgelaying and culture wars
Nick Mann bemoans the fact that many concerned about conservation are opposing hedgelaying on social media because of a perception that it’s damaging to plants and wildlife.
Market gardening and working horses: help co-create a new enterprise in Devon
Our network members Ben and Lorraine of Forest Crafts are hoping to find one or two people to help them develop a new business involving market gardening, working horses and working alongside volunteers. It’s a great opportunity for the right person / people.
Support the Landworkers’ Alliance by buying their beautiful 2022 calendar
We’d like to bring the Landworkers’ Alliance to your attention if you don’t know them already. They’re a wonderful organisation that could do with your support. You could help them in a small way by purchasing their beautiful 2022 calendar, or if you have a shop, ordering in bulk at a discount to sell on.
Using a scythe to cut your lawn, not a lawn-mower: Part 3 – technique
Part 1 was about your lawn; Part 2 about your scythe and blade. Part 3 is about scything techniques for short grass. With a bit of practice, you don’t really need the plastic, resource use, electricity and noise involved with lawn-mowers.
Building the new economy with mutual credit in Costa Rica
Here’s a conversation with Emmanuel Savard, co-founder of a group in Costa Rica that’s looking at providing all the essentials of life – food production, housing and energy – for their town via regenerative, non-extractive, sustainable, community-based exchange and investment models.
Using a scythe to cut your lawn, not a lawn-mower: Part 2 – the scythe
Part 1 was about your lawn; Part 2 is about your scythe and blade; and Part 3 about scything techniques for short grass. With a bit of practice, you don’t really need the plastic, resource use, electricity and noise involved with lawn-mowers.
Using a scythe to cut your lawn, not a lawn-mower: Part 1 – the grass
We’re often asked if it is possible to mow a lawn with a scythe. The answer is yes and there are many people in the UK doing just that! Lawn mowing can be a test of a scythers skill, it takes some thought and practice to do well. Here is a summary of the factors …
Sacred forests of Ethiopia: how they can be recreated anywhere
In these days of gloom and confusion it is good to remember that our world is not ONE continuous story where everything inexorably gets worse – or better – but that our world is full of many stories that are unfolding in parallel. This weekend I was uplifted by the moving account of the holy …
Can burning biomass be sustainable?
“Burning biomass is just another path to environmental destruction,” claims a recent article in The Ecologist. Really? Simon Fairlie, who has blithely been burning biomass for the last 50 years, investigates.
Would you like to be an ecological smallholder?
Would you like to be an ecological smallholder? The Ecological Land Co-op are looking for smallholders for plots of land in Devon and Cornwall. More below from Luci at the ELC:
Building your own sustainable future
Hi. I’m Andy Reynolds – author, instructor, forester, promoter of self-reliance, and for the last few years I have been reflecting on our project’s progression, as it seems to have reached the stage of early maturity. The project – rebuilding a home, and changing the surrounding fields from dead agricultural land into an oasis of …
Can organic farming feed the world?
Now there’s a question – posed by Chris Smaje of the Ecoogical Land Co-op. Chris joined the board of the ELC as Dave of Lowimpact left, and since then Chris has produced a book called A Small Farm Future, which we review here. Members of Lowimpact have become involved in the world of mutual credit, …
How to build a bent willow chair
Complement your home or outdoor space with an easy chair, rocking chairs or a living willow chair! This guide should help you to build a bent willow chair – a fantastic piece of willow furniture. Building a willow chair is incredibly satisfying. Just imagine, when you’ve finished you can literally sit back and enjoy your …
New found freedom: WWOOFing as a digital nomad
Are you a remote worker dreaming of pastures new? WWOOFer Imogen shares how her experience of WWOOFing as a digital nomad enabled her to combine making a living with meaningful volunteering.