Free learning with a Wholewoods community build camp in 2019
Wholewoods are continuing their fantastic work, offering volunteers on-site learning on a 2019 build camp to construct a roundhouse for OrganicLea. Adrian Leaman has all the details of how to get involved below. Read more
A woodland classroom for north London – help OrganicLea make it happen!
OrganicLea are planning a woodland classroom but need your help to make it happen. Craig Bayne tells us more about how you can get involved with this fantastic opportunity to create more space for nature-based learning and food growing skills in north east London. Read more
Volunteers needed for The Community Farm roundhouse build – could it be you?
The Community Farm is seeking volunteers to help finish their spectacular roundhouse project. Annabel Wallace tells us how you can get involved. Read more
The Big Straw Bale Gathering speakers list is now out
Jeffrey Hart of SBUK shares news about The Big Straw Bale Gathering speakers. A first of its kind event for all things straw-bale building related, find out who’ll be heading to Down to Earth near Swansea from 10-12 August 2018 below. Read more
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. Read more
Request for help to build a reciprocal roundhouse for an environmental charity: great learning opportunity, and it’s free
We’re building a reciprocal roundhouse in April 2017 for an amazing social/environmental charity, Farms for City Children, and we’re calling for assistance. This 3-week ‘Full Build’ gives you the chance to learn by experiencing the whole building process Read more
Having a £3k eco-home is more about attitude than building codes or regulations: interview with Tony Wrench
This is an interview with Tony Wrench of ‘That Roundhouse’ fame. He built a super-eco roundhouse in Pembrokeshire over 20 years ago, and is still living in it, after having many battles with planners and regulatory bodies. Read more
Why do Americans have a different attitude to Brits when it comes to using trees as a renewable resource?
We’ve noticed from comments on our blogs and on social media that environmentally-conscious Americans have a slightly different attitude to using trees as a renewable resource – whether for firewood or for timber – than that prevalent in the UK. Read more
Would you like to help build a 9m roundhouse with a reciprocal, turf roof for the charity ‘Farms for City Children’?
Reciprocal roundhouse build: call for volunteers. Gloucestershire, July – August 2016. We’re building a 9m turf roof roundhouse for the charity Farms For City Children and are calling for assistance. Read more
How Charlie and Meg’s self-built, natural home finally received planning permission with the help of the One Planet Council
You may remember a previous article about Charlie and Meg’s natural home in Pembrokeshire, that the planners decided needed to be bulldozed because it was ‘harmful to the rural character of the locality’. See here. Read more
Career change: how I left software development to become a natural builder
When I was young I wanted to do a lot of different things, but the core ambition was always to do something that would help our environment, not make it worse. Read more
Career change? How to become a self-employed natural builder
We’re approached a lot by people wanting to change career to one focused on one of the topics on our website. The most common topic is probably low-impact building. Read more
We have a huge housing problem, and yet they want to destroy Charlie’s home; you can help
This blog is about the house that Charlie and Meg built. It’s a straw-bale roundhouse with a reciprocal roof, built in the countryside where they grew up. The exterior can be seen above, the interior below, with Charlie, Meg and sprog in the middle. Read more