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Sinking into a bit of a depression about both the British and American situation this winter a wise friend kindly reminded me that these issues are merely a distraction from more important things in our everyday lives. Read more

Hours spent in the library? Check. Essay and assignment deadlines flooding in? Check. Tractor driving, wool spinning and weeding at weekends? Check! Read more

US President Donald Trump seems to be locked into a crusade to deny that carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is the cause of climate change. While it is always possible that 97% of the scientific community have got it completely wrong, it would seem unlikely that they have. Read more

By April spring should be well and truly underway, the soil warming up nicely and everything growing away. Don’t be complacent though, it’s been known for a cold snap with snow to strike even in the sunny south of England. Read more

Are you interested in helping create food sovereignty in the UK? Would you like to help create food systems in which everyone has access to affordable, nutritious, culturally-appropriate food? Read more

April is one of the busiest months and one filled with immense responsibility. All your crops are now sown and you care for them as if they are your little babies. Read more

As we move through April towards May, woodlands and waysides start to burst with late spring flowers. One of the most notable of these is the Bluebell which is opening its glorious blue nodding bells this month. We are famed the world over for our bluebell woods Read more

Please share this as widely as you can. I’m on the board of the Ecological Land Co-op, and so I know how much hard work has gone into this – it’s an opportunity for people to shift their money to help change the nature of land ownership in the UK, and receive 3% interest for… Continue reading New Ecological Land Co-op share offer launched: here’s a chance to help bring about change in land ownership in the UK, and receive 3% interest for your trouble! Read more

Ludwig Appeltans shares his top tips on how to stop slugs naturally and keep your garden or allotment thriving – no slug pellets needed! Read more

True soaps can be made from a range of oils and butters which come from plants, trees and in the case of some oils such as tallow and lard, from animals. These oils and butters are chemically classed as mild acids. Read more

Last month, Lowimpact.org’s Sophie Paterson, a trainee with the School of Natural Building, took a hands-on approach learning how to construct recycled car tyre foundations on a Straw Works course at Holy Trinity Church in Tulse Hill, London. Read more

Here’s a free, open source programme for online chat / video chat: Jitsi. The corporate equivalent is Skype, which is now owned by Microsoft. Read more

Glyphosate is the key ingredient in Monsanto’s ‘Roundup’, the product that farmers have to buy to apply to the genetically-modified crops that they’ve bought from Monsanto. Half of Monsanto’s profits come from Roundup sales. Read more

Embarking on a new life in the countryside, away from the trappings of urban existence, is a dream increasingly common to many. This week we interviewed Janet Jenkins about her and her family’s smallholding journey, putting the heart back into the land at Cuckoo Farm. Read more

Katherine Blacklaws and Harriet Parke make the case for reusable feminine hygiene products, re-blogged with kind permission from an original post at Isonomia. Read more

The renaissance of earth building in the UK reflects not only the beauty and utility of the material but also the pressures of rising building costs and the need for lower energy use and waste in building products. Read more

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. Read more

This is the first of two articles examining the non-corporate sector, and its advantages for ecology, democracy, communities and individuals. Here’s a checklist of the benefits of reducing the reach of the corporate sector, but first, let’s work out what kind of organisations comprise the non-corporate sector. Read more

Lowimpact.org is an organisation that was founded by two people in 2001 because of concerns about ecological damage and what that might mean for the future of humanity. The focus has always been on individual lifestyle change Read more

You can join the Ecological Land Co-operative as an investor, by moving some money from your bank savings account (and receiving a better rate of interest). If you agree with the ELC’s principles, this would be extremely helpful. Read more

In response to the pervasive reach of the global agro-industrial complex, growing numbers of farmers across the world are coming together as co-operative organisations to promote and protect small-scale organic food production and environmental stewardship. We take a look below at some of the groups promoting open source agriculture with farmer driven technologies, spearheaded by the… Continue reading Farm Hack : growing innovative open-source agriculture Read more

Exchange has always been part of the human story, whether between individuals, tribes or nations. Some people have what others don’t, due to geography or skill, and exchange is a means of getting what you don’t have, and giving what you have a surplus of. Read more

The Marine Conservation Society is urging people to get through June without plastic. The Plastic Challenge will highlight our reliance on this substance of convenience. Read more

A traditional rural skill sometimes overlooked, crook and stickmaking is making a comeback in the UK. Lowimpact.org’s Sophie Paterson spoke to Joe Musialowski of Wren Country Sticks about his journey to become a professional stickmaker and what the future might hold for this timeless country craft. Supplier of bespoke sticks, crooks and croziers for walkers, shepherds… Continue reading One man and his sticks: meet stickmaker Joe Musialowski Read more

If you’ve got a sneaking suspicion that whatever we do, we’re not going to transition to a sustainable, democratic future with the current money and banking system, then I agree with you. Read more

Burning wood is a highly sustainable and environmentally friendly heating method. Burning wood on a high efficiency stove can create less CO2 than letting the same wood rot on the floor of a forest. Read more

The modern ram’s horn shepherd’s crook has come a long way since it was first fashioned by shepherds in their crofts: from a purely practical tool with which to catch sheep with by neck or foot to a highly decorated piece of art work for stickmaking shows and competitions. Read more

Last week I blogged about a potentially world-changing idea that could be labelled ‘credit commons’, or the catchy ‘global mutual credit system’. It’s a system of exchange that involves no money. It’s difficult to grasp at first, but the more you think about it, the more you realise that a) it’s implementable, and b) if… Continue reading Can you imagine a world without money? Summary of the ‘credit commons’ idea and how it could be achieved Read more

Daniel Tyrkiel is so dedicated he gets up at 4am every single day. On weekdays it’s so he can to study how to regenerate soil in order to store carbon, clean water, prevent flooding and produce nutritious food, without the need for any chemicals. On weekends it’s to edit his brilliant podcast series, which documents what’s happening… Continue reading Fantastic volunteering opportunity with the Permaculture Podcast – could it be you or someone you know? Read more

A solution to the absence of high-speed wireless networks across some developing countries and increasingly appearing in the form of WiFi based community networks in numerous countries in Europe, building a low-tech internet could have benefits for all. With excerpts from an original Low-tech Magazine article by Kris De Decker, we explore how a less resource-intensive and more energy-efficient… Continue reading Resilient networks: building a low-tech internet Read more

We are offering a little part-time job. It’s only around 10 hours per month, so it could fit in nicely with what you’re doing already. It involves looking after a category on the Lowimpact.org site, and keeping everything updated. Read more

You may remember from our post in May that the month of June marks The Marine Conservation Society’s Plastic Challenge. But what is it actually like to give up plastic? We spoke to campaigner Kate Armstrong of plasticisrubbish.com about her decade-long journey towards and campaign for a plastic-free existence. Read more

Flaming June should bring us a hot sunshine-filled month with the risk of frost passed and those in more northerly parts should be able to catch up with those in the south. We’re also moving towards the longest day, June 21st being the summer solstice so there is plenty of daylight to let you get… Continue reading Fruit & vegetable growing guide for June Read more

Generally one of the busiest months on the vegetable plot, here John Harrison shares his fruit and vegetable growing guide for May. The soil is warm and the plants growing well. But watch out for a sneaky late frost. Keep an eye on the weather forecast and be prepared for frantic last minute wrapping of… Continue reading Fruit & vegetable growing guide for May Read more

June is one of my favourite months in the tunnel or greenhouse. The majority of crops are planted by now and the responsibility of watering your seedlings every day is nearly over. You can enjoy tending your crops and observe how they develop. Read more

May is the most exciting month in your tunnel or greenhouse. This is the time to plant out your summer crops – your tomatoes, peppers, aubergines, cucumbers and basil. Read more

I come back to the subject of economic growth reasonably regularly, or to be more specific, the concept of perpetual, constant, infinite growth. And I’ll keep doing it until this absurd idea is consigned to the same historical category as phlogiston or a geocentric universe. Read more

WOW! We’ve surpassed our initial maximum target of £340,000, and there are still FOUR days to go. Our new investors are helping us continue our work supporting small-scale, agro-ecological farming. Thank you! Read more

A groundswell of farmers around the world are working out how to farm in a more ecologically-friendly way. One of the farmers leading the farming revolution in the UK is John Cherry, who has set up a 2-day conference on his farm in Hertfordshire, 28th and 29th of June. Read more

I am seeking venues around the country to run an exciting course that will help participants prepare for starting and living on a One Planet Development. Read more

We’re delighted to introduce the first in a series of posts by photographer and researcher Walter Lewis of Feeding Body and Soul. He will be sharing a selection of stories from his journey exploring local sustainable food production in England and Wales, beginning with Gazegill Farm in Lancashire. Read more

Hi, I have a small piece of land (approx. 1.75 acres)  with small barn on the Devon-Cornwall border that I would really like to make available to someone committed to creating a permaculture lifestyle.  Read more

Using salvage building materials brings new life to otherwise discarded items.  Reusing materials can inspire creativity and reduce construction costs. But you need to have a plan, or you risk spinning your wheels and burning out from all the leg work involved. Read more

It’s Community Energy Fortnight from June 24th – July 9th and all over the country there are events to galvanise support for clean power. To celebrate this and to draw attention to Global Wind Day, we are opening up one of Awel’s turbines for people to see inside a wind turbine. Read more

Taking pedal power to a whole new level, an ambitious project will see the conversion of a 22 floor building into an entirely human powered community of 750 students at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. Dubbed the Human Power Plant, Kris de Decker of Low-tech Magazine and artist Melle Smets will lead a team exploring the… Continue reading The great Human Power Plant experiment Read more

I’m going to post three articles about how I built my own sea kayak, followed by some articles about the adventures you can have once you’ve built it. The idea is that you buy some detailed plans and follow them carefully. They will guide you through every step of the build. Read more

What do you consider the correct approach towards multinational corporations – tame them, or start to get rid of them? And what do we mean by ‘tame’ exactly? And what are the problems with multinational corporations in the first place? Read more

In this post we learn from Cormac Stanton how to construct a pair of working bellows, be they for the fireplace or the forge. A member of the Manaraefan Herred Dark Age and Early Medieval re-enactment group, as Kormak the Carter he works alongside blacksmith Mo Swinhosson. Both are described as highly competent early medieval… Continue reading How to make a pair of bellows: a step by step guide with Kormak the Carter Read more

July is usually one of the hottest and driest months so a lot of time may be spent watering. You can reduce water loss and so save yourself some time. Mulching with a layer of organic matter will help preserve moisture but may encourage slugs so you will need to take action against them. Read more

Your polytunnel or greenhouse is absolutely packed and you’ll be harvesting fruits from your summer crops – the first tomato of the year is always the most anticipated and delicious. Soon you’ll have more food than you can cope with. Read more

Chris Smaje of Small Farm Future kindly agreed to share with us a recent blog post of his own about starting a market garden, drawing on his experiences at Vallis Veg, a small farm on the outskirts of Frome in Somerset with a veg box scheme and much more besides. Covering 13 questions collated from… Continue reading Starting a market garden: Q&A with Chris Smaje of Small Farm Future Read more

The first strips are on.  I spent a while setting up the forms on the strongback and securing them with cleats.  I then cut and shaped the stem pieces seen here on the bow. Read more

This information is now out of date, but here’s Crabapple’s website. Contact them if you’re interested. Thanks Read more

In the third instalment of the building your own sea kayak series, after a long break in the build over the winter the materials have arrived for the next stage of the process. The Petrel’s cockpit is recessed to give it a lower profile, which makes Eskimo rolls easier.  The forms are temporally glued to the… Continue reading Building your own sea kayak part 3: cockpit, sealing & fibreglassing Read more

This year marks the 10th year of SuperHomes, the innovative and multi-award winning national network of over 200 homes which have all reduced their carbon footprint by a minimum of 60%. There’s a record 100 free Open House events occurring across all parts of UK Read more

This question is really important for us at Lowimpact.org, because we’re all about providing information and other resources on ways that people can live in a less environmentally-damaging way. So I was very interested to see that researchers at Lund University in Sweden recently put the hours in Read more

This week Lowimpact.org met Geoff, a.k.a the Veg Oil Guy, who runs two websites and a YouTube channel chronicling his exploration of diesel to vegetable oil conversion and proving veg oil motoring can be done! Read more

Asked to describe the average greenhouse, many readers might picture a mainly glass structure. There is, however, an alternative which offers even greater growing potential across the seasons with far less energy consumption: the solar greenhouse. Particularly popular in China since the late 1970s, solar greenhouses make use of passive solar energy to retain the… Continue reading A tale of two greenhouses: in praise of the solar greenhouse Read more

The Phone Co-op is the UK’s only co-operative telecoms provider. 100% member-owned, they have a democratic internal structure and no external shareholders. You can just become a customer, or you can become a member too, and have a say in the way the co-op is run. Read more

Many of us consider it a waste product but, in fact, is urine a good fertiliser? Scarlett Penn of WWOOF UK sets out why we should pause for thought before we flush. Read more

A volunteering event to make beautiful natural buildings affordable for schools, charities, community groups, trusts and pubic organisations who put other people and the environment first. Read more

The year’s sheep shearing season is almost at an end. This week, our friends at Indie Farmer shared with us their sheep shearing photo story and interview with Ed Gingell, the so-called ‘Lewis Hamilton’ of sheep shearing, who visited Hockham Farm in 2015 to shear the flock and returned again to do the same just… Continue reading The sheep shearing season: an interview and photo story Read more

Haybox cookers use retained heat to cook the food and save energy. They are also very convenient as food can be prepared and kept hot for hours and then served up when needed. This can be great when having friends for a meal Read more

August with a little luck brings us the best of the summer weather but being the traditional holiday month it can be hard to keep on top of the vegetable plot growing with a fortnight away, even if a neighbour can be persuaded to water as required. Read more

In August there is even more bounty than in July, whether you’re growing in a polytunnel or a greenhouse. You may have produced enough courgettes and cucumbers for the whole neighbourhood. The tomatoes are made into soups and frozen and you reap the rewards for all your efforts. Read more

Our new report, “A Matter of Scale”, highlights how a diverse and vibrant sector of small farms is providing employment, attracting new entrants and incubating entrepreneurs. Read more

This week our friends at Indie Farmer shared with us their how-to guide to haymaking by hand, in which founder and editor-in-chief Nigel Akehurst collaborated with small-scale farmer Simon Fairlie, co-editor of The Land Magazine. Read more

“You don’t have a slug problem, you have a duck deficiency” – Bill Mollison Read more

“Many sheep farmers waste more than a third of the grass on their farm because they do not plan grazing wisely.” This is according to Susan Buckingham, extension officer at the Institute of Biological, Environment and Rural Sciences’ Grassland Development Centre Read more

Downshifting means working less, earning less and spending less and it’s what Lowimpact.org’s Sophie Paterson has spent the past year attempting to do. She shares what she’s learnt so far and why she’d encourage others to embrace downshifting too. Read more

Here’s an article that’s part review of the latest book  by Douglas Rushkoff (buy it – it’s excellent), part ramble about twenty-first century capitalism. Read more

Once a mainstay of households in times gone by, the humble larder provided a practical storage solution for foodstuffs requiring storage over a longer period of time. Read more

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. Read more

In this post, I’m sharing some of my recent explorations into the subtle nuances and helpful tips for safe mushroom foraging this autumn. Now, I don’t want to scare you, but I do think it’s very important. Read more

This is a question for anyone working in the field of environmental sustainability. What’s actually happening to the biosphere, how bad is it, and should we tell people or keep it quiet? Read more

“A sharp tongue is the only edge tool that grows keener with constant use.” So said the American writer and diplomat Washington Irving. In this post, we explore the importance of tool sharpening in woodworking with artisan Robin Wood MBE. Read more

September is the end of summer although we’re often lucky to have an Indian summer with blue skies and sunshine, nothing is certain with the weather. The bulk of the harvest comes home now and as crops come out the plot begins to empty. Read more

Your tunnel or greenhouse is likely to get a little bit out of hand during this month, with most crops not being at their prime any longer. Pests and diseases are also spreading much faster than before. You have to decide which plants to clear and which ones to leave a bit longer. Read more

In this post based on an original at Small Farm Future, farmer Chris Smaje relates words of wisdom curated as part of a talk he gave at the Oxford Real Farming Conference in 2016. Read more

Recently The Guardian ran an article by John Harris called “They say after Brexit there’ll be food rotting in the fields. It’s already started.” To summarise, John is saying Brexit has made the UK look an unfriendly place to our European neighbours and with the increasing financial fortunes of eastern European nations, farm workers are… Continue reading Should we be reliant on cheap foreign labour to work on our farms, or is there a better way to feed ourselves? Read more

How about a human-powered tool that allows you to plant out 264 young plants per minute (!) without bending over? The paperpot transplanter, developed in Japan, allows you to do just that (if 264 seems a bit precise, it’s because each little paper chain contains 264 pots). Read more

In the first of a series of guest blog posts from Sue Blacker and colleagues at The Natural Fibre Company, we invite you to embark upon The Wool Journey, exploring the what, how and why of all things wool. Read more

I want to talk about something which can help us design more ethical and sustainable ways of keeping our livestock. It is a subject that has always fascinated me and, if you keep animals, I think you will find it fascinating too. It is the is the study the behaviour of animals, particularly in their… Continue reading How the study of animal behaviour (ethology) can help you keep livestock more ethically and sustainably Read more

Linda Kaucher of Stop TTIP UK recently alerted us to the fact that the US government is determined to go into battle with any country that tries to restrict imports of its genetically-modified food. Read more

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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