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Recent Posts
September forage of the month: elderberry elixir
With autumn approaching, Ruby Taylor of Native Hands shares one of her all-time favourite recipes for an elderberry elixir.
Biodiversity loss is driven by economic growth: Prof. Julia Steinberger
Dave Darby talks with Julia Steinberger, professor of ecological economics at the University of Leeds and a member of the IPCC, about her work and the links between biodiversity loss and economic growth.
How to make a walking staff in three easy steps
Sean Fagan of Pioneer Bushcraft sets out how to make a walking staff, and why they’re the best friend to have with you in the great outdoors.
We need to completely close down industrial animal agriculture
Industrial agriculture is cruel to animals, cruel to people who work in it, it damages the environment and concentrates wealth in very few hands. I guess if you’re reading this, you know that already, and I don’t have to explain it. The problem is, it’s still there, doing its vile stuff every day. What do …
Zero food miles, zero packaging and plenty more: in praise of allotments
Monday marked the beginning of National Allotments Week 2020, at a time when the number of prospective allotmenteers far exceeds the number of available allotments. So what do allotments have to offer that means so many of us are itching to get our hands dirty?
Pushing up the veggies: human composting, coming to an end-of-life facility near you soon
Natural organic reduction, a technique for turning human remains into “soft, beautiful soil” is being billed by its American developers, Recompose, as the greenest of green funerary practices. A licence was granted in March 2019 by Washington State and the company hopes to open for business in 2021.
Keeping communities growing: how to get involved
With huge changes demanded by the Covid-19 pandemic, community gardens and growing spaces up and down the country are adapting to new realities. Here’s how you can support and get involved in their work to keep communities growing.
Beware the ‘Great Reset’: a power grab by billionaires
The world is run by and for billionaires. If you’d prefer it to be run democratically, for all of us, then don’t be fooled by the ‘Great Reset’ – a request by the corporate and financial sectors for governments to give them taxpayers’ money to take more control.
The Wool Carder bee – and why it’s one of my favourites
Which are your favourite species of bee? For Nick Mann of Habitat Aid, ranking high among them is the Wool Carder bee.
Why ‘green growth’ is an oxymoron: Brian Czech of CASSE
This is part 2 of an interview with Brian Czech (part 1 is here), the president of CASSE (Centre for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy). He served in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from 1999-2017, and as a visiting professor of natural resource economics in Virginia Tech’s National Capitol Region.
How to make your own shampoo bar with neem oil and nettle
Tempted to learn how to make your own shampoo bar? Here’s a great simple recipe from The Soap Kitchen, which combines nettle and neem oil.
The Money and Society MOOC — and my subsequent adventures in mutual credit
The Money & Society MOOC was launched by Matthew Slater and Jem Bendell in 2014. In four dense but perfectly assimilable 2-hour videos, it blows open your understanding of economics, in an incredibly liberating and empowering way.
A beginner’s guide to foraging – Part 4: foraging for fruits, nuts and fungi
From greengages to giant puffballs, in the final instalment of a beginner’s guide to foraging, our friends at Ethical.net tackle the task of foraging for fruits, nuts and fungi.
What post-Covid communities could look like, if enough of us want it
Here’s a little story for anyone who’s noticed that things aren’t going too well in our communities. Small businesses are going under, unemployment is on the rise and money’s becoming scarce.
A beginner’s guide to foraging – Part 3: foraging on the coast
Part 3 of the beginner’s guide to foraging introduces us to foraging on the coast, covering everything from marsh samphire to mussels and much more in between.
Mutual credit and economic crashes: interview with Laurence Anderson of Tradeswap, Australia
Today I’m interviewing Laurence Anderson of Tradeswap – a mutual credit network in Australia. I’m very interested in what you’re up to Laurence, because as you know, a group of us are trying to set up mutual credit networks in the UK, with a view to building a global credit commons.
A beginner’s guide to foraging – Part 2: common edible weeds and wild plants
In Part 2 of a beginner’s guide to foraging from our friends at Ethical.net, we learn which common edible weeds and wild plants can make their way to our plates.
Naresh Giangrande, co-founder of Transition Network: the future for local economies, Part 2
This is a continuation of an interview with Naresh Giangrande, co-founder of Transition Totnes and the Transition Network, on the future for local economies post-covid. Part 1 is here.
A beginner’s guide to foraging – Part 1: the basics of foraging
We share a first instalment of a beginner’s guide to foraging from our friends at Ethical.net, starting with the basics of when and where, and the importance of safety and sustainability.
How can people keep working if the economy crashes and there’s just no money around?
Imagine that there’s an enormous economic crash coming. Say, the biggest economic crash in history. Outlandish, I know, but just give it a try.