by Steve Byrne | Nov 19, 2011 | smallholding
Today we finally began to fill in the walls of the roundhouse with strawbale, and suddenly the building has a feeling of solidity. The fairly tight curve of the wall isn’t so easy to follow with bales, but it’s coming along nicely. Here are some of...
by Steve Byrne | Nov 5, 2011 | smallholding
Some great weather today, and we managed to finish off the cordwood wall and the roof boarding. Helen and Jan did a great job of the cob and cordwood, and Wesley braved the roof, so we are all set for the final roof covering this week, and then the walls. The wine...
by Steve Byrne | Oct 16, 2011 | food, smallholding
For a day off, it has been a very industrious one. In the morning I cut another load of cordwood ready for Monday’s volunteer group to continue building the front wall of the roundhouse.A potato harvest has been long overdue, so we raided our plot and came back...
by Steve Byrne | Sep 22, 2011 | smallholding
It is funny how chance encounters can take you down unusual routes in life. Seemingly unimportant events divert you along paths you didn’t even know existed. I can’t remember the first time I saw Simon Dale’s ‘hobbit house’ on the net,...
by Steve Byrne | Aug 16, 2011 | smallholding
by Steve Byrne | Aug 11, 2011 | smallholding
In my search for a well made charge controller that would allow me to configure it properly, I came across Karasouli – www.karasouli.com It’s easily configurable, and also does proper data logging, for voltage and wind turbine performance, and its made in...
by Steve Byrne | Aug 10, 2011 | smallholding
Nothing quite like an occasional reminder of my mortality, (which used to arrive almost daily in my days as a horse trainer, and which are now fairly few and far betweeen), but which today came when the dumper truck I was driving rolled down the hill I was...
by Steve Byrne | Aug 8, 2011 | smallholding
Our solar may be reliable, and every day I thank it for providing yet more free power without having to go and prod it in any way, but there is something very satisfying about sitting watching the wind generator spinning. Somehow it proves that theres electricity...
by Steve Byrne | Aug 3, 2011 | smallholding
Today we put up the wind generator – a huge thank you is due to all those who very kindly gave us something towards it – with any luck that gift will keep on helping to make power for us for a long time to come. Thanks also to Sinead, who unwittingly came...
by Steve Byrne | Aug 1, 2011 | smallholding
It’s been a busy month to say the least, but more of that later. Last week we were in Wales, and spent a few days at the PontYGafel farmhouse plotting the building of our empire, and exploring all the local towns. The Tir Teg group is getting well established...
by Steve Byrne | Jul 7, 2011 | smallholding
A common accusation that I’ve seen made to those who live off grid seems to be ‘you’re off grid and living self sufficiently, but you’ll be quick enough to use the NHS when you get sick, and you’re using a laptop that couldn’t be...
by Steve Byrne | Jun 30, 2011 | smallholding
A COUPLE living an “off-grid” lifestyle say they face prison unless they move from their own land in Willand and return to an existence in the benefits trap. Stig and Dinah Mason bought Muxbeare Orchard after a sudden windfall allowed them to quit their impoverished...
by Steve Byrne | Jun 28, 2011 | smallholding
Its a beautiful morning, but I have to have a quick rant and get it over with. Listening to Evan Davies and Sarah Montague on the Today radio programme this morning, they mentioned that the last Blue Peter programme is broadcasting from London for the last time. Not...
by Steve Byrne | Jun 26, 2011 | smallholding
Just 12 weeks on, and our little veg plot is coming on really well. We’re getting a feel for what will grow where, and enjoying the fruits (literally, we have strawberries) of our labour. A second succession of onions, beans, peas, salads, and all manner of...
by Steve Byrne | Jun 24, 2011 | smallholding
Today I got a sharp reminder of the difference between ‘us’ and ‘them’. Although Northern Ireland already has more than enough tribal troubles, the fact is that there is a huge tribe out there of people who don’t want to be part of the...
by Steve Byrne | Jun 23, 2011 | smallholding
Behold, the heart of my new rainwater harvesting system. This 1000 litre food grade container cost just £30, and will hold enough water to supply the truck for about a fortnight. Thus I’ll be using less than a quarter of the average person’s water...
by Steve Byrne | Jun 23, 2011 | smallholding
Behold, the heart of my new rainwater harvesting system. This 1000 litre food grade container cost just £30, and will hold enough water to supply the truck for about a fortnight. Thus I’ll be using less than a quarter of the average person’s water...
by Steve Byrne | Jun 22, 2011 | smallholding
PV panels get a bad press here in Britain and especially in Northern Ireland. There just isn’t a lot of sun – well not when you’d expect it anyway. Certainly I don’t think I’d like to rely on it, on a large scale. However, for our...
by Steve Byrne | Jun 22, 2011 | smallholding
It may be mid summer, but now is the time to be thinking about where next winters fuel is going to come from, and so I’ve been busy in the woods, cutting and splitting a huge fallen ash tree. Ash is fantastic stuff, because it does burn green, unlike many woods,...
by Steve Byrne | Jun 21, 2011 | smallholding
In the last year or so I’ve met many people on my travels, almost all of whom have been either working out how to change their lives to reduce their burden on the planet’s resources, or who have taken steps to do so. I am in awe of the challenges that many...
