Info, news & debate
Timber building
Can jobs such as wood-turning return to developed countries?
We’d like to think / hope so, as climate change, environmental damage and fossil fuel depletion make huge supply chains unviable. Most wood turning, for the European market at least, is done in China and the Far East. But how long can this continue – the transporting of almost everything we need in the West from the other side of the world? It’s too damaging to global ecology, and it involves virtual slave labour.
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 …
Small farms, land co-ops and farm housing: Chris Huskins of Fanfield Farm
Today I’m talking with Chris Huskins of Fanfield Farm – an Ecological Land Co-op plot – who is going to build his own house on his smallholding. He’s also trading using mutual credit, via the Open Credit Network.
Scribing wood to stone: how to scribe a wood post to a stone foundation
Ziggy of The Year of Mud shares a how-to guide for scribing wood to stone, with a project fitting a wooden timber frame on to a stone foundation.
Top tips for tiny home living in a small timber building
Are you keen to downsize and downshift? Chris from Loosehanger Oak shares his top tips for tiny home living in a small timber building.
Shou sugi ban: preserving wood using fire with Ziggy of The Year of Mud
Ziggy Liloia of The Year of Mud in Kentucky, USA, shares his how-to guide for shou sugi ban, preserving wood using fire as practised in traditional Japanese timber building. It’s a thing of beauty!
Develop skills at the Hillyfield barn-building project on Dartmoor this summer
Low-impact forestry hub and much more besides, the Hilliyfield are looking for volunteers to help with their barn-building project on Dartmoor this summer. Doug King-Smith tells us more.
Hartwyn free natural building course: 2019 applications now open
We hear from Joe Duirwyn of Hartwyn about a fantastic free natural building learning opportunity running from June to September 2019.
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.
How to source timber: a joiner’s point of view
From growing the trees to selecting the right timber for the job, Andy Reynolds brings a lifetime of experience in forestry, carpentry and innovative thinking to timber for building. Here he explains how to source timber as responsibly as you can.
Wood durability guide: timber durability chart & database
Our woodworker friends at Gate Expectations have put together this great chart of timber durability for anyone working with wood (1 is most durable and 5 is least). Over to Rob from here.
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.
Diary of a tree planter
During winter, while the animals hibernate and the trees sleep, magic happens on hillsides across the land – forests are created! A brief account of the ups and downs of life for a tree planter this winter… creating a woodland on a farm in Devon.
Join our new online community Living Low Impact
We’re excited to introduce our new Facebook group Living Low Impact – and you’re invited!
A natural building bookshelf with Jeffrey the Natural Builder
In this post, Jeffrey the Natural Builder shares his top reading recommendations based on an original natural building books post on his blog. It’s over to him from here. Please note that this article contains affiliate links to bookshop.org – if you purchase we receive a small percentage. Thanks!
How we designed and built our own off-grid home in the woods
Two years ago, we blogged about Anna and Pete’s experience in obtaining planning permission for a self-built, off-grid home in the woods in Devon. Here’s the story of what they built and how they power and heat it.
That knotty problem: how to prune trees to produce quality timber
After reading the excellent article in Smallwoods magazine (issue 61) on formative pruning by Steve Woollard, I thought to build on that article with a perspective from a timber user.
Can you help Barbara Jones and Straw Works set up a National Skills Centre?
Barbara Jones of Straw Works / School of Natural Building is the country’s top straw-bale builder. She is the author of Building with Straw Bales, and is the star of our straw-bale building online course.
Help our off-grid, timber, straw-bale and stone ‘eco-pod’ project happen, then come and stay in it!
Hi, my name is Cassie. My daughter is called Bea, she’s the bigger girls in the picture there. She absolutely loves horses! I also have a son called David, who is going to be an actor; my husband is called Nigel, and our eldest son is called Ted.
What to do if you want to build your home on a spot occupied by an ancient tree
We’ve been contacted several times by people who ask why we’re promoting the building of timber homes and the burning of wood in wood stoves or biomass boilers. Their argument was that timber building and the production of firewood require the felling of trees