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    The great Human Power Plant experiment: an update

    Regular readers of our blog may recall an earlier post about an exciting experiment taking place in the Netherlands in the form of a hydro-pneumatic human power plant harnessing human energy. Here’s an update on progress so far. Read more

    Opportunity to rent (or cropshare) 7 organic acres in Sussex

    There are 7 acres on offer with this rental rent or organic cropshare opportunity in Sussex (postcode TN35 4AP). It’s across the road from the village of Fairlight and a 5 minute drive to Hastings. Read more

    Cow-calf dairying part 3: calf rumen development

    Here, in part 3 of our series on dairying without removing calves from their mothers, we look at the importance of managing a calf’s nutrition in order to support the effective calf rumen development, essential to her long-term health and productivity. Read more

    Can you offer your IT skills to help build a website to challenge the pro-corporate bias in UK trade deals?

    Linda Kaucher of Stop TTIP | 24-Oct-2017 | 2

    Website help needed: with Brexit, the UK will be heading into international ‘trade’ deals, which are likely to be as much about establishing corporate rights and diminishing democracy as the EU/US TTIP – a deal that is now on the back-burner. Read more

    Omelettes, sticky ribs and Scotch eggs at the Midlands vegan festival next weekend

    The 10th annual West Midlands Vegan Festival is set to be a feast for your palette as well as your eyes. Taking place in Wolverhampton on 28th and 29th October, the event will feature a wide range of global vegan foods, the latest innovations in alternatives for dairy lovers plus the hottest vegan fashion, footwear… Continue reading Omelettes, sticky ribs and Scotch eggs at the Midlands vegan festival next weekend Read more

    The Wool Journey Part 5: harvesting the wool

    In The Wool Journey Part 5, Sue Blacker of Blacker Yarns and The Natural Fibre Company explains the process of harvesting wool with an in-depth look at sheep shearing. Read more

    Is leather tanning ethical?

    Jessie Watson Brown of | 17-Oct-2017 | 0

    Traditional hide tanner, Jessie Watson Brown, offers her thoughts on the ethics of leather tanning, from large-scale industrial tanning, to home-scale natural tanning. Read more

    Is it ethical to eat meat, or to keep animals for meat or dairy?

    Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 15-Oct-2017 | 289

    This is a very important question for us here at Lowimpact.org, because we have courses, books, magazines, links etc on keeping animals and on game. We also have vegetarianism and veganism as topics – because we recognise the environmental benefits of eating less meat. Read more

    The Big Straw Bale Gathering 2018

    Straw-bale Building UK (SBUK) presents The Big Straw Bale Gathering 2018 with the theme of sowing the inspiration, growing the industry & harvesting the knowledge of all things related to building with straw. Read more

    Post-Brexit trade deals explained: how they will hand more power to multinational corporations – at our expense

    Linda Kaucher of Stop TTIP | 10-Oct-2017 | 0

    With Brexit the main aim seems to be to have trade agreements with as many countries as possible and as soon as possible. Little attention is paid (none?) to the content or purpose of those post-Brexit trade deals – and for whose benefit they would be. Read more

    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!  Read more

    How to build or repair a dry stone wall

    Dry stone walling involves either stripping and rebuilding existing walls that have fallen into disrepair, or gapping – repairing gaps where the wall has collapsed. Fewer new walls are built, although foundations sometimes have to be relaid. Read more

    Cow-calf dairying part 2: how cows produce and give milk, and why they need their calves

    In this second post in the series from the Smiling Tree cow-calf dairy we focus on how milk is synthesised and, importantly for cow-calf dairying, what triggers the release or ‘let down’ process. Read more

    Would you like to become a member of a nature-based permaculture community on the Isle of Skye?

    Ludwig Appeltans of Earth Ways | 01-Oct-2017 | 12

    Since December 2016, I, Ludwig Appeltans am the proud owner and custodian of the most beautiful peninsula in Scotland. Read more

    The Wool Journey Part 4: wool attributes amongst breeds, natural colour and health

    In The Wool Journey Part 4, Sonja Bargielowska of Blacker Yarns at The Natural Fibre Company considers wool attributes amongst breeds, natural colour and the importance of a healthy flock. Read more

    It’s a mast year!

    Jessie Watson Brown of | 26-Sep-2017 | 0

    In case you hadn’t noticed… it’s a mast year! Read more

    Cow-calf dairying part 1: the difference between conventional and humanely-produced milk

    This is the first in a series of articles looking at the practicalities of producing ethical, cruelty-free milk by allowing dairy cows to keep their calves. In this post we cover why conventional dairy cows don’t keep their calves and why humanely-produced milk using cow-calf dairying is rare and costs much more to produce. Read more

    The Wool Journey Part 3: wool attributes – length, crimp and lustre

    In the third of The Wool Journey installments based on an original post by Sonja Bargielowska at Blacker Yarns, The Natural Fibre Company leads us to consider length, crimp and lustre. Read more

    The Wool Journey Part 2: wool attributes – thickness

    In the second installment of The Wool Journey guest blog posts from Sue Blacker and colleagues at The Natural Fibre Company, we learn about a key attribute: thickness. Read more

    Why the banks have so much power and how we can take it away from them

    Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 17-Sep-2017 | 9

    I mentioned a while ago that I’m enrolled on a MOOC (massive, open, online course) about banking and the money system. As promised, I’m blogging about some of the things that I’ve learnt (we’ve covered the definition and history of money so far). Read more

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