So let’s start the year with a bit of optimism. Our last post was about the fact that there is a general lack of understanding of the implications of biodiversity loss, and the contribution of climate change to it. This post is for people who do understand what’s happening to nature, but can see no… Continue reading What do we do about the coming ecological crash? Read more

A few years ago, I was having a beer in the bar at King’s Cross narrowboat marina, when someone called Fred asked me what I did. When I said that I worked for an environmental organisation, he came up with a classic line that I’ve quoted many times since. Read more

Sigi Koko teaches us the different approaches to the levelling layer in Part 3 of how to build an adobe earthen floor. Read more

In Part 2 of how to build an adobe earthen floor, Sigi Koko of Down to Earth Design tackles the all important base layer. Read more

Natural builder Sigi Koko of Down to Earth Design shares how to build an adobe floor. In Part 1, we learn about the substrate through to the insulation layer critical for any earthen floor. Read more

This week we’re talking with Maresa Bossano, who is the co-ordinator for the Community-Supported Agriculture Network in the UK. Read more

Leading straw-bale builder Barbara Jones shares news of an exciting opportunity to develop a growing design company in the natural building world. The author of Building with Straw Bales and star of our straw-bale building online course tells us more from here. Read more

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. Read more

Dave of Lowimpact.org / Noncorporate.org talks with Duncan McCann of the New Economics Foundation (see video below), about platform co-ops. Duncan is starting a taxi platform co-op called Faircab, to challenge Über. Read more

It’s that time of year when the delicious smell of roasting chestnuts fills the air. Jessie Watson Brown shares her tips for foraging, cooking and storing sweet chestnuts for year-round use. Read more

Energy engineer Dr Andrew Rollinson sets out the case as to why pyrolysis and ‘plastic to fuels’ is not a sustainable solution to the plastics problem. Read more

Mark Simmonds gave us some free advice that saved us hundreds of pounds when we were setting up as a workers’ co-op. We talk about his work, and get deeper into the philosophy of co-operation.  Read more

Results show community clean-ups have made a dent in beach litter figures this year but this masks a growing plastic litter trend, according to organisers of the Great British Beach Clean, the Marine Conservation Society. Read more

From launching Scotland’s first 100% co-operatively-owned wind turbine to supporting community solar and hydro-electricity projects across the country, Sharenergy are working hard to keep UK community-owned wind power and more alive in the UK. Read more

We’re going to be publishing a range of videos of interviews with key people involved in building the new economy – an economy that is democratic, non-extractive and sustainable.  Read more

We share exciting news from Bridport Cohousing CLT in Dorset, as they celebrate a landmark step in their work to build a neighbourhood with a difference. Over to them to tell us more from here. Read more

I’ve often suggested that Western states are beginning to resemble an admin department for the corporate sector. Read more

In Part 12 of The Wool Journey, spinning commences at the Natural Fibre Company mill in Cornwall. Over to Sue Blacker to tell us more… Read more

Whether it’s for your kitchen walls or your 5 year old’s latest masterpiece, Sigi Koko shares her simple recipes for homemade natural paint with milk. Read more

We don’t usually blog about petitions – it feels a bit too much like begging, rather than doing things for ourselves and building alternatives from grassroots. However, this petition is too important to ignore, and politicians need to hear it, even though they might not be close to understanding it. Read more