Lighting the rocket mass heater

Lighting the rocket mass heater

by | Sep 22, 2014 | renewable energy

    Today we pushed on, built a brick support around the base of the firebrick burner, – above, and then backfilled all the gaps with perlite and a clay mix to thoroughly insulate the fire itself, which we want to burn as hot as possible. The clay mix...
Making a start on the rocket mass heater

Making a start on the rocket mass heater

by | Sep 17, 2014 | renewable energy

Now that we’ve the outside of the build done, (regular readers will realise that there is something of a gap here, but don’t worry its coming soon), we are turning our attention to the rocket mass heater that is going to keep the space warm. For those who...
Welcome to the new website

Welcome to the new website

by | Mar 8, 2013 | self sufficiency

  Well folks, after much late night toiling, here it is – our new website and blog. We’ve been with blogger for years now, but the time has come when we need more than it can offer, especially now that we’re a business and have volunteers and...

Small is Successful

by | Sep 29, 2012 | self sufficiency

For those readers who are also smallholders or have small farms, this is an incredibly useful read.Small is Successful – a report put together by the Ecological Land CoOperative – examines eight smallholdings with land-based businesses on 10 acres or less....

How permaculture can save humanity

by | May 7, 2012 | permaculture

We watched this lecture by Toby Hemenway this evening, in which he talks about the meaning of sustainability, and how agriculture as we know it can never be sustainable. He gives the example of the longevity of horticultural societies, and explodes  a lot of myths...

The eco map needs you!

by | May 7, 2012 | permaculture

I’m compiling a map of broadly ‘eco’ places – anything that is involved with a low impact, sustainable approach to life, from Transition Towns to permaculture farms, and interesting buildings. Other than the ones I already knew about, finding...