by Steve Byrne | Jul 22, 2013 | off grid
We’re into the final stages of readying Harriet the horsebox to welcome visitors, and it is always those last details that take forever to complete. Our truck house was home for so long, and in it’s new incarnation, refitted with reclaimed materials and things that we have collected along the way, it is a really lovely place to spend time in.
by Steve Byrne | Apr 9, 2013 | off grid, smallholding, the farm
It isn’t a huge amount of solar, but it’s enough to allow us to manage almost entirely without the mains grid. (The washing machine is too much for this system). We have, in theory, enough power to keep us going for 5 days in the event of it being...
by Steve Byrne | Mar 28, 2013 | off grid
A fundamental part of our thinking here at Lackan Cottage is resilience – being able to cope with whatever life happens to be throwing our way at the time. For us, this means doing more ourselves and being less reliant on outside sources. The mainstay of this is...
by Steve Byrne | Mar 15, 2013 | off grid
We love Rima’s work – there’s quite lot of it hanging on the walls here, so this new project is very exciting. The Dark Mountain Project is putting together an album of various artists that are synpathetic to their cause, and it is to be released...
by Steve Byrne | Aug 31, 2012 | off grid
By the sound of it this house has had its share of chimney fires. Whether you’re burning solid fuel or wood, there is likely to be abuild up of tar and soot in the flue, so now is a good time of year to get your chimneys swept before fires are in frequent...
by Steve Byrne | Aug 23, 2012 | off grid
Although it doesn’t have quite the same feeling of outdoor freedom that the composting loo at the farm had, our new compost throne is very fine, and ready to answer the call of nature. I read somewhere that the difference between a compost loo and a composting...
